Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, October 18
Fort Collins, CO
4:00 PM
Colorado State
120.5
vs
141.5
Washington State
Cougars Spoil Rams’ Home Opener
10/18/2024 7:24:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Washington State takes final three events
FORT COLLINS – Christopher Woodard received just what he expected, and maybe even more.
The Colorado State women's swimming and diving coach expected a tight battle with Mountain West newcomer Washington State paying a visit in the Rams' home debut at Moby Pool on Friday, and with six pool records reestablished, the tight battles he envisioned were delivered by both sides.
In the end, the Cougars won the final three races – two of them with 1-2 finishes – to surge past the Rams for a 141.5-120.5 dual victory.
"We knew it would be a see-saw battle, and it played out almost exactly the way we thought. I think the only thing that we maybe didn't account for is how hard it would hit us down the stretch," Woodard said. "So, as we start to get to those last three events, you could definitely see fatigue with some of our bigger marquee athletes. We just have to get healthy and be more consistent in training."
With no diving contested, Colorado State delivered wins in six of the 14 events, with Tess Whineray and Erin Dawson both winning a pair of races. The team also opened the dual with a pool record in the 200-yard medley relay, the quad of Whineray, Dawson, Katie Flynn and Lexie Trietley posting a 1:42.77, breaking the program's former mark.
In two of those wins, the Rams produced 1-2 finishes, first with Whineray's pool mark of 54.74 in the 100 back followed by Maisy Barbosa, then Dawson's victory in the 500 free (5:04.23) came with Maya White in tow, actually tying with Washington State's Tatum Janning at 5:05.93.
After the race, the Rams held a narrow 104.5-102.5 lead. Then it evaporated as Washington State's Dori Hathazi broke her second pool record of the day (both coming in the butterfly events), followed by Emily Lundgreen's victory in the 200 IM, both races with a pair of Cougars at the top.
To Whineray, that's what the Rams will take away most from the day.
"This team, we definitely don't like losing, but there's definitely a lot to learn when you lose," Whineray said. "The second half of the meet, usually we do amazing and really build into it, but we kind of fell off a little bit in the second half. I really think we're going to work on the endurance and keeping going for the whole meet."
The defeat dampened the overall mood, but there was plenty from which they would draw encouragement. Two meets into the season, Whineray is already building off a tremendous freshman campaign which saw her earn All-Mountain West honors in both the 100 and 200 backstrokes.
Coming from New Zealand, the battle of the walls was a code she needed to decipher, but is now one she has down pat, including the push needed from stronger underwaters. Woodard has lost the capability of her doing something which surprises him.
"I wish I could yes, but every time she goes in, I know she's a threat," Woodard said. "She certainly has the nerves behind the blocks, but I think she has confidence in her ability, and that really is just so key. She spent the summer really hammering out underwaters which is definitely something you need at the NCAA level and in the US, and less so really in European or other long-course championships."
After touching the wall in the 100, Whineray looked at her time with a bit of amazement, even if it meant she'd hit her target. As she noted, wanting and doing can be two different things in the sport.
Wanting and getting, however, feels pretty amazing.
"You never know, you know? You put everything into it, and it could not turn out," Whineray said. "It worked out today, so I'm really happy with it.
"I'm really happy with how I'm swimming so far. That 100 back, my goal was to go out and get the pool record and I'm really proud of myself for doing that," she said. "Following that up with the 200 back, there are definitely places to improve, but I'm really happy with how it's going so far."
Barbosa's meet was also a bit of a continuation, one which has seen her have to battle back from injury the past two seasons. She started to make some major strides at the end of last season, and now the senior is posting encouraging results. She's good with where she's at, especially because she's had mixed feelings about the first two meets.
Not the results – she's good with those – but how they were achieved.
"I don't want to say feel better or worse, I just feel different. I think we're at a very different part of the season, and that first meet you have sort of an expectation where you're super excited and ready to go out and race," she said. "With this, we're getting back to the groove. I think with college swimming it's about to consistently keep up times and being able to do that whether I feel good or not feels really nice. Woody, (associate head coach) Lisa (Ginder) and I have been joking a lot about how it is freshman-year Maisy again, and it feels great."
She swam an off event (the 100 fly), as well as the 200 individual medley, scoring in both races. Woodard called it "humble swag," seeing the old confidence come back. He's also encouraged by her desire to branch out and do new things, all in the name of the team.
The odd part – and why she's not paying much attention to how she feels – is how her results came about. At Air Force, she felt great. Friday, not so much.
The trick was still producing despite how she felt, which for anybody is pretty spectacular. She thinks some of it blends into what the team is working on, which is being confident regardless of mood, opponent, pool or altitude.
"I don't want to jinx anything. If I'd say anything, I'd say I felt really bad," she said. "I didn't feel good. The thing with swimming is you have to be able to swim well when you feel bad. It's a huge win. That's something you have to expect."
Which the Rams experienced a lot of in the meet. The deal is moving forward with the positive and the negative.
The Colorado State women's swimming and diving coach expected a tight battle with Mountain West newcomer Washington State paying a visit in the Rams' home debut at Moby Pool on Friday, and with six pool records reestablished, the tight battles he envisioned were delivered by both sides.
In the end, the Cougars won the final three races – two of them with 1-2 finishes – to surge past the Rams for a 141.5-120.5 dual victory.
"We knew it would be a see-saw battle, and it played out almost exactly the way we thought. I think the only thing that we maybe didn't account for is how hard it would hit us down the stretch," Woodard said. "So, as we start to get to those last three events, you could definitely see fatigue with some of our bigger marquee athletes. We just have to get healthy and be more consistent in training."
With no diving contested, Colorado State delivered wins in six of the 14 events, with Tess Whineray and Erin Dawson both winning a pair of races. The team also opened the dual with a pool record in the 200-yard medley relay, the quad of Whineray, Dawson, Katie Flynn and Lexie Trietley posting a 1:42.77, breaking the program's former mark.
In two of those wins, the Rams produced 1-2 finishes, first with Whineray's pool mark of 54.74 in the 100 back followed by Maisy Barbosa, then Dawson's victory in the 500 free (5:04.23) came with Maya White in tow, actually tying with Washington State's Tatum Janning at 5:05.93.
After the race, the Rams held a narrow 104.5-102.5 lead. Then it evaporated as Washington State's Dori Hathazi broke her second pool record of the day (both coming in the butterfly events), followed by Emily Lundgreen's victory in the 200 IM, both races with a pair of Cougars at the top.
To Whineray, that's what the Rams will take away most from the day.
"This team, we definitely don't like losing, but there's definitely a lot to learn when you lose," Whineray said. "The second half of the meet, usually we do amazing and really build into it, but we kind of fell off a little bit in the second half. I really think we're going to work on the endurance and keeping going for the whole meet."
The defeat dampened the overall mood, but there was plenty from which they would draw encouragement. Two meets into the season, Whineray is already building off a tremendous freshman campaign which saw her earn All-Mountain West honors in both the 100 and 200 backstrokes.
Coming from New Zealand, the battle of the walls was a code she needed to decipher, but is now one she has down pat, including the push needed from stronger underwaters. Woodard has lost the capability of her doing something which surprises him.
"I wish I could yes, but every time she goes in, I know she's a threat," Woodard said. "She certainly has the nerves behind the blocks, but I think she has confidence in her ability, and that really is just so key. She spent the summer really hammering out underwaters which is definitely something you need at the NCAA level and in the US, and less so really in European or other long-course championships."
After touching the wall in the 100, Whineray looked at her time with a bit of amazement, even if it meant she'd hit her target. As she noted, wanting and doing can be two different things in the sport.
Wanting and getting, however, feels pretty amazing.
"You never know, you know? You put everything into it, and it could not turn out," Whineray said. "It worked out today, so I'm really happy with it.
"I'm really happy with how I'm swimming so far. That 100 back, my goal was to go out and get the pool record and I'm really proud of myself for doing that," she said. "Following that up with the 200 back, there are definitely places to improve, but I'm really happy with how it's going so far."
Barbosa's meet was also a bit of a continuation, one which has seen her have to battle back from injury the past two seasons. She started to make some major strides at the end of last season, and now the senior is posting encouraging results. She's good with where she's at, especially because she's had mixed feelings about the first two meets.
Not the results – she's good with those – but how they were achieved.
"I don't want to say feel better or worse, I just feel different. I think we're at a very different part of the season, and that first meet you have sort of an expectation where you're super excited and ready to go out and race," she said. "With this, we're getting back to the groove. I think with college swimming it's about to consistently keep up times and being able to do that whether I feel good or not feels really nice. Woody, (associate head coach) Lisa (Ginder) and I have been joking a lot about how it is freshman-year Maisy again, and it feels great."
She swam an off event (the 100 fly), as well as the 200 individual medley, scoring in both races. Woodard called it "humble swag," seeing the old confidence come back. He's also encouraged by her desire to branch out and do new things, all in the name of the team.
The odd part – and why she's not paying much attention to how she feels – is how her results came about. At Air Force, she felt great. Friday, not so much.
The trick was still producing despite how she felt, which for anybody is pretty spectacular. She thinks some of it blends into what the team is working on, which is being confident regardless of mood, opponent, pool or altitude.
"I don't want to jinx anything. If I'd say anything, I'd say I felt really bad," she said. "I didn't feel good. The thing with swimming is you have to be able to swim well when you feel bad. It's a huge win. That's something you have to expect."
Which the Rams experienced a lot of in the meet. The deal is moving forward with the positive and the negative.
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Players Mentioned
BK, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, FLY, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BR, FLY, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BK
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, BR IM
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