Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, October 4
USAF Academy, CO
5:00 PM
Colorado State
at
Front Range Invitational
Team Ready to Make Waves From Outset
10/2/2024 1:16:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Rams head south for Front Range Invitational
FORT COLLINS  – As a new season approaches, the hope is to do so riding the momentum from the one prior.
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Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team, coming off a third-place finish at the Mountain West Championships, open the year at the Front Range Invitational this Friday and Saturday, hosted by Air Force.
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The Rams will compete with a roster of local schools, with Denver, Wyoming and Northern Colorado helping to fill the lanes and the diving well. The meet begins Friday at 5 p.m., with Saturday's action set to start 10 a.m. There will be a live stream of the weekend event.
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The meet will help establish a baseline for the season, and CSU coach Christopher Woodard has his roster focused on a few key areas.
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"There are two things. One, knocking the rust off," he said. "Even if they were training at a high level during the summer, the last meet they swam was long course meters. It's getting back to being very precise. We have to be able to crush turns, underwaters and breakouts. That's where meets and races are won. I think knocking the rust off and getting back to some basic racing skills. Second is doing a two-day meet right out of the gate. Not only are we swimming at 7,200 feet, which is a challenge onto itself, it's coming back and doing it again. There's no rest phase here.
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"It probably goes against some other coaches philosophies. I've seen people do amazing things with little energy. I'm not a firm believer you automatically go to the heart. Your opponents are doing the same things. For us, it's remembering execution. Can I go one more kick underwater, can I breathe one less time, and that's what I want them thinking about when things get hard."
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Friday's schedule features 11 events, with nine more on Saturday. Three of those will take place in the diving well as Friday features both the 1- and 3-meter springboards, the platform on the final day.
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To Woodard, it's a bonus to have a meet with platform diving on the slate so early. Colorado State diving coach Chris Bergere had a trio of freshman, none of whom have vast experience in the event.
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"I'm eager to see what they can do on the platform. We don't typically get to compete platform this early in the season," Woodard said. "That's one of the reasons I'm interested in this meet."
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The Rams went 8-2 in dual meets a season ago, their conference finish the best since the 2002 campaign. The surge was led by two-event champion Erin Dawson in becoming the meet's Most Outstanding Performer. Dawson is one of five returning all-conference performers, including diver Maggie Di Scipio, Lexie Trietley, Tess Whineray and Maya White. Dawson, Whineray and White all hit NCAA 'B' standards during the year, with Di Scipio qualifying for NCAA Zones.
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Dawson broke the school record in both the 200- and 500-yard freestyles, while the Rams reset the school standard in a trio of relays (400 and 800 freestyle, 400 medley).
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Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team, coming off a third-place finish at the Mountain West Championships, open the year at the Front Range Invitational this Friday and Saturday, hosted by Air Force.
Â
The Rams will compete with a roster of local schools, with Denver, Wyoming and Northern Colorado helping to fill the lanes and the diving well. The meet begins Friday at 5 p.m., with Saturday's action set to start 10 a.m. There will be a live stream of the weekend event.
Â
The meet will help establish a baseline for the season, and CSU coach Christopher Woodard has his roster focused on a few key areas.
Â
"There are two things. One, knocking the rust off," he said. "Even if they were training at a high level during the summer, the last meet they swam was long course meters. It's getting back to being very precise. We have to be able to crush turns, underwaters and breakouts. That's where meets and races are won. I think knocking the rust off and getting back to some basic racing skills. Second is doing a two-day meet right out of the gate. Not only are we swimming at 7,200 feet, which is a challenge onto itself, it's coming back and doing it again. There's no rest phase here.
Â
"It probably goes against some other coaches philosophies. I've seen people do amazing things with little energy. I'm not a firm believer you automatically go to the heart. Your opponents are doing the same things. For us, it's remembering execution. Can I go one more kick underwater, can I breathe one less time, and that's what I want them thinking about when things get hard."
Â
Friday's schedule features 11 events, with nine more on Saturday. Three of those will take place in the diving well as Friday features both the 1- and 3-meter springboards, the platform on the final day.
Â
To Woodard, it's a bonus to have a meet with platform diving on the slate so early. Colorado State diving coach Chris Bergere had a trio of freshman, none of whom have vast experience in the event.
Â
"I'm eager to see what they can do on the platform. We don't typically get to compete platform this early in the season," Woodard said. "That's one of the reasons I'm interested in this meet."
Â
The Rams went 8-2 in dual meets a season ago, their conference finish the best since the 2002 campaign. The surge was led by two-event champion Erin Dawson in becoming the meet's Most Outstanding Performer. Dawson is one of five returning all-conference performers, including diver Maggie Di Scipio, Lexie Trietley, Tess Whineray and Maya White. Dawson, Whineray and White all hit NCAA 'B' standards during the year, with Di Scipio qualifying for NCAA Zones.
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Dawson broke the school record in both the 200- and 500-yard freestyles, while the Rams reset the school standard in a trio of relays (400 and 800 freestyle, 400 medley).
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Players Mentioned
FR, FLY, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BK
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, BR IM
/ Women's Swimming & DivingWednesday, March 18
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