Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, November 30
Iowa City, IA
All Day
Colorado State
at
Iowa Invitational
Rams Get Feet Wet on First Split Day
11/30/2023 6:55:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Di Scipio posts top two scores of season on 1-meter
IOWA CITY, IOWA – Competing at an NCAA-level facility and in a preliminaries-finals format for the first time, the first day of the Hawkeye Invitational was a chance for the team to get a good feel for the layout.
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Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team sits in fourth place after the opening day at the CRWC Natatorium at the University of Iowa. The Rams are fourth with 141 points in a field which includes the hosts, Nebraska and Rutgers out of the Big 10 and Iowa State from the Big 12.
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"Honestly it was a bit of a mixed bag. I was relatively happy, but we've got some things to focus on," CSU coach Christopher Woodard said. "I think we need a little bit better preparation and focus for some of those events. I think we're just looking to see what's going to happen or looking to coaches to direct instead of taking advantage of the situation. I have a feeling, much like when we've gone to other meets, we're going to start to roll as the meet goes."
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Maggie Di Scipio, the lone diver for Colorado State at the meet, posted the team's top two scores on the 1-meter board this season, placing sixth with a 260.50 in the finals after a 261.10 in the morning session. The prelims score is a personal best for the sophomore.
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It bettered her previous mark of the season by more than 20 points, putting her in range for an NCAA Zones qualifying tally.
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"The highlight was Maggie," Woodard said. "She dove really consecutively this morning and tonight. She's about five points off zones. She did very well."
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The day in the lanes was highlighted by the team's relays, both of which dropped time. The 200-yard freestyle quad of Megan Hager, Lucy Matheson, Ashlyn Hembree and Lexie Trietley took third in a time of 1:32.60, easily a season best and less than a second off the school record. Matheson and Trietley came back to form half of the 400 medley squad, placing fifth in a time of 3:44.54 with Tess Whineray and Claire Wright joining them.
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The Rams made their biggest push in the 50 freestyle as Trietley and Hager placed second and eighth overall, the lone event where the team had two 'A' finalists. Both of them posted season-best times in the prelims. They had a pair of scores in the 500 freestyle as Maya White (4:56.91) and Anika Johnson (4:57.69) finished eighth and 12th, respectively, both posting season-best times and getting under the 5-minute mark. The 200 IM featured three scorers for the team as Erin Dawson placed fifth (2:03.04), Sydney VanOvermeiren 10th (2:03.43) and Maddi Geyer 16th (2:05.66).
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The invite is set up to where every swimmer gets two cracks at an event each day, but only the top 16 will score. The goal is to swim fast enough to get a scoring lane in the morning, then drop time and try to move up the standings in the finals. For Colorado State, it was a hit-and-miss proposition.
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"What we're trying to focus on is this is a new opportunity, so it's embracing the opportunity," Woodard said. "You get to see some quality teams, some Big 10 teams and you get to compete in an NCAA Championship-caliber pool, so let the other stuff go. Don't fret about the exact perfect warmup or how you're feeling or who's in the lane next to you, just get between the lanes and let it all out."
Competition will begin Friday at 9 a.m. MT with preliminaries, with the finals slated for 4 p.m.
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Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team sits in fourth place after the opening day at the CRWC Natatorium at the University of Iowa. The Rams are fourth with 141 points in a field which includes the hosts, Nebraska and Rutgers out of the Big 10 and Iowa State from the Big 12.
Â
"Honestly it was a bit of a mixed bag. I was relatively happy, but we've got some things to focus on," CSU coach Christopher Woodard said. "I think we need a little bit better preparation and focus for some of those events. I think we're just looking to see what's going to happen or looking to coaches to direct instead of taking advantage of the situation. I have a feeling, much like when we've gone to other meets, we're going to start to roll as the meet goes."
Â
Maggie Di Scipio, the lone diver for Colorado State at the meet, posted the team's top two scores on the 1-meter board this season, placing sixth with a 260.50 in the finals after a 261.10 in the morning session. The prelims score is a personal best for the sophomore.
Â
It bettered her previous mark of the season by more than 20 points, putting her in range for an NCAA Zones qualifying tally.
Â
"The highlight was Maggie," Woodard said. "She dove really consecutively this morning and tonight. She's about five points off zones. She did very well."
Â
The day in the lanes was highlighted by the team's relays, both of which dropped time. The 200-yard freestyle quad of Megan Hager, Lucy Matheson, Ashlyn Hembree and Lexie Trietley took third in a time of 1:32.60, easily a season best and less than a second off the school record. Matheson and Trietley came back to form half of the 400 medley squad, placing fifth in a time of 3:44.54 with Tess Whineray and Claire Wright joining them.
Â
The Rams made their biggest push in the 50 freestyle as Trietley and Hager placed second and eighth overall, the lone event where the team had two 'A' finalists. Both of them posted season-best times in the prelims. They had a pair of scores in the 500 freestyle as Maya White (4:56.91) and Anika Johnson (4:57.69) finished eighth and 12th, respectively, both posting season-best times and getting under the 5-minute mark. The 200 IM featured three scorers for the team as Erin Dawson placed fifth (2:03.04), Sydney VanOvermeiren 10th (2:03.43) and Maddi Geyer 16th (2:05.66).
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The invite is set up to where every swimmer gets two cracks at an event each day, but only the top 16 will score. The goal is to swim fast enough to get a scoring lane in the morning, then drop time and try to move up the standings in the finals. For Colorado State, it was a hit-and-miss proposition.
Â
"What we're trying to focus on is this is a new opportunity, so it's embracing the opportunity," Woodard said. "You get to see some quality teams, some Big 10 teams and you get to compete in an NCAA Championship-caliber pool, so let the other stuff go. Don't fret about the exact perfect warmup or how you're feeling or who's in the lane next to you, just get between the lanes and let it all out."
Competition will begin Friday at 9 a.m. MT with preliminaries, with the finals slated for 4 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
FR, FLY, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BR, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, FLY
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, BR, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FLY/BK/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BR, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BK
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, BR IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BR, IM
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