Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, December 2
Albuquerque, NM
4:00 PM
Colorado State
272
at
81
New Mexico
Rams Clearly See Way to Dual Sweep
12/3/2022 2:45:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Matheson inches up in program Top 10 of 200 fly; Albanna hits Zones cuts
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The second day was all about the finishing touches.
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Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team put the hammer down on the first day of a Mountain West double-dual against New Mexico and Air Force, winning seven of the eight events competed, then followed up just as impressively on the final day, winning eight of the 10 events to complete the sweep by beating the host Lobos 272-81Â and the Falcons 237-116.
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The wins push the Rams' dual streak to 20 consecutive victories, now 6-0 this campaign.
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"We talked about it going into the meet. Philosophy says you accept reality as it is, and we definitely had some hurdles, some challenges," CSU head coach Christopher Woodard said. "The meet had some unique situations and some changes to the schedule, so I told the girls you can't control the reality, you can control your reaction to it and how you handle it. That's where it showed. Whatever was thrown at them, they just kept pushing, and that's the sign, to me, of a championship team.
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"We're kind of to the point where it's nice to count the wins up, but it's great to have them in our back pocket. It's more about continuing to build confidence for the next meet. I'm just really impressed with what they're doing under the circumstances. It's really starting to make me think we've got something going and Houston is going to look pretty good to us."
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Junior Lucy Matheson continued her torrid pace at the start of the season, winning all three of her individual events, giving her 10 race wins in a row. Her solo effort on Saturday as the most impressive, as she led a 1-2 finish in the 200-yard butterfly. Her time of 2:00.63 ties for fourth in program history with teammate Amanda Hoffman, who was right behind her in the race in 2:01.08. Matheson had ranked fifth for CSU in the event at the start of the season.
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Albuquerque product Jessica Albanna placed second on both the 1- and 3-meter boards for the Rams, with Braeden Shaffer posting top-five finishes on both. Albanna, a senior, thrived in her return home, as her 1-meter score of 268.95 and her 3-meter total of 280.35 are both Zones qualifying scores, the first of her career.
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"She practiced here over Thanksgiving, so she was really comfortable, and that makes a big different when you're comfortable," diving coach Chris Bergere said. "She grew up there and had a good experience. She came in and hit 12 dives in a row and qualified twice on Zones, so she was ecstatic. Braeden dove pretty well too."
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On Friday, Colorado State put a lot of distance between itself and the attending conference foes, winning all nine events, including a pair of relays – the 200-yard medley and 400 free. It wasn't just the Rams' top-end speed which left an impression, it was the depth.
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Freshman Lexie Trietley led a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 free at 50.72, with Megan Hager (51.52) and Anika Johnson (51.92), then Matheson led the same charge in the 200 backstroke, starting with her 2:02.17, just in front of Kendra Preski in 2:02.33 and Caroline Perry in 2:04.92.
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Erin Dawson led a 1-2 finish in the 400 individual medley with classmate Maya White in second, and a few races later, Matheson was in front of another CSU 1-2 punch, this time in the 100 fly; she touched in 55.34, Hoffman in 55.36. The 500 free went the same way as the 400 IM, with a twist – White won in 5:00.10, with Dawson second in 5:04.34. Katie McClelland won the 200 breaststroke in 2:19.25 for the Rams' other race win.
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Saturday, the Rams performed in very much the same manner, as the front end of the 200 fly wasn't the only race they dominated.
Â
Trietley won the 50 free in 23.28 with Hager right behind in 23.78 and in the final individual event, Johnson led a 1-2-3 finish for CSU with her time of 1:51.90. Hager followed at 1:52.33, with Dawson closing at 1:53.97.
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White won the 1,650 free in a time of 17:09.87, with Dawson winning the 200 IM in 2:04.78. The Rams made it a clean sweep in the relays by taking the 400 medley and 200 free on the final day.
Â
The Rams not only won races but did so with some of the fastest times of the season. The team produced 33 new entries into the season's top times, replacing all three times in four events, rather impressive to Woodard considering the circumstances.
Â
"It's less from the cycling of the season and the rest standpoint and more from the fact we are hurting," he said. "there's not an athlete out there who isn't dealing with some injury or illness at this point. We had to pull Liza Lunina out of the meet entirely. There were several standouts, but definitely the 200 flyers and our divers. Those were maybe the two biggest performances of the weekend."
Â
The Rams will be off from competition for a month for the holiday break, with the next meet being a double dual at Flagstaff, Ariz., against Northern Arizona and North Texas on Jan. 6.
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Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team put the hammer down on the first day of a Mountain West double-dual against New Mexico and Air Force, winning seven of the eight events competed, then followed up just as impressively on the final day, winning eight of the 10 events to complete the sweep by beating the host Lobos 272-81Â and the Falcons 237-116.
Â
The wins push the Rams' dual streak to 20 consecutive victories, now 6-0 this campaign.
Â
"We talked about it going into the meet. Philosophy says you accept reality as it is, and we definitely had some hurdles, some challenges," CSU head coach Christopher Woodard said. "The meet had some unique situations and some changes to the schedule, so I told the girls you can't control the reality, you can control your reaction to it and how you handle it. That's where it showed. Whatever was thrown at them, they just kept pushing, and that's the sign, to me, of a championship team.
Â
"We're kind of to the point where it's nice to count the wins up, but it's great to have them in our back pocket. It's more about continuing to build confidence for the next meet. I'm just really impressed with what they're doing under the circumstances. It's really starting to make me think we've got something going and Houston is going to look pretty good to us."
Â
Junior Lucy Matheson continued her torrid pace at the start of the season, winning all three of her individual events, giving her 10 race wins in a row. Her solo effort on Saturday as the most impressive, as she led a 1-2 finish in the 200-yard butterfly. Her time of 2:00.63 ties for fourth in program history with teammate Amanda Hoffman, who was right behind her in the race in 2:01.08. Matheson had ranked fifth for CSU in the event at the start of the season.
Â
Albuquerque product Jessica Albanna placed second on both the 1- and 3-meter boards for the Rams, with Braeden Shaffer posting top-five finishes on both. Albanna, a senior, thrived in her return home, as her 1-meter score of 268.95 and her 3-meter total of 280.35 are both Zones qualifying scores, the first of her career.
Â
"She practiced here over Thanksgiving, so she was really comfortable, and that makes a big different when you're comfortable," diving coach Chris Bergere said. "She grew up there and had a good experience. She came in and hit 12 dives in a row and qualified twice on Zones, so she was ecstatic. Braeden dove pretty well too."
Â
On Friday, Colorado State put a lot of distance between itself and the attending conference foes, winning all nine events, including a pair of relays – the 200-yard medley and 400 free. It wasn't just the Rams' top-end speed which left an impression, it was the depth.
Â
Freshman Lexie Trietley led a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 free at 50.72, with Megan Hager (51.52) and Anika Johnson (51.92), then Matheson led the same charge in the 200 backstroke, starting with her 2:02.17, just in front of Kendra Preski in 2:02.33 and Caroline Perry in 2:04.92.
Â
Erin Dawson led a 1-2 finish in the 400 individual medley with classmate Maya White in second, and a few races later, Matheson was in front of another CSU 1-2 punch, this time in the 100 fly; she touched in 55.34, Hoffman in 55.36. The 500 free went the same way as the 400 IM, with a twist – White won in 5:00.10, with Dawson second in 5:04.34. Katie McClelland won the 200 breaststroke in 2:19.25 for the Rams' other race win.
Â
Saturday, the Rams performed in very much the same manner, as the front end of the 200 fly wasn't the only race they dominated.
Â
Trietley won the 50 free in 23.28 with Hager right behind in 23.78 and in the final individual event, Johnson led a 1-2-3 finish for CSU with her time of 1:51.90. Hager followed at 1:52.33, with Dawson closing at 1:53.97.
Â
White won the 1,650 free in a time of 17:09.87, with Dawson winning the 200 IM in 2:04.78. The Rams made it a clean sweep in the relays by taking the 400 medley and 200 free on the final day.
Â
The Rams not only won races but did so with some of the fastest times of the season. The team produced 33 new entries into the season's top times, replacing all three times in four events, rather impressive to Woodard considering the circumstances.
Â
"It's less from the cycling of the season and the rest standpoint and more from the fact we are hurting," he said. "there's not an athlete out there who isn't dealing with some injury or illness at this point. We had to pull Liza Lunina out of the meet entirely. There were several standouts, but definitely the 200 flyers and our divers. Those were maybe the two biggest performances of the weekend."
Â
The Rams will be off from competition for a month for the holiday break, with the next meet being a double dual at Flagstaff, Ariz., against Northern Arizona and North Texas on Jan. 6.
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Players Mentioned
DIVE
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, FLY, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BR, FLY, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, FLY
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, FL
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FREE, FLY, BACK
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FLY/BK/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BACK, BREAST, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, FLY
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, BR IM
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