Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, February 7
Denver, CO
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Denver First Chance
Divers Take Advantage of First Chance
2/7/2026 12:53:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Ovesen cracks another top 10; Lee hits a second zones cut
DENVER  – Denver's First Chance meet is set up to give some swimmers a chance to close a season on a strong note, which some of Colorado State's swimmers did over the course of Friday and Saturday. First-year diving coach additionally saw it as a chance to continue to build on momentum, which his squad did the first day.
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On Friday, the divers had their one chance to shine and took advantage as freshman Sydney Ovesen put her name in the program's top 10 on the 3-meter board with a score of 295.65, while Riley Lee hit her NCAA Zones cut on the 1-meter with a 273.25. Ovesen and Lee finished second and third, respectively, on 1-meter; third and sixth on the 3-meter. Juliana Dodd closed in on her first zones cut in that event, falling just shy.
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O'Dea believes his crew tapped into the relaxed atmosphere, particularly Lee, who had been pressing recently.
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"It definitely just kind of shows that we're in the right trajectory moving towards the end of the season. Everyone's making some good progress and overall it was a great practice meet to have at the end of the season and definitely a confidence booster for some of the girls leading in the conference," O'Dea said. "The whole environment was relaxed. All the girls from all the teams were having a good time. They actually kept music playing, which is a little bit more unique, but definitely relaxed the girls a little bit.
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"I think that was something that had been getting in Riley's way, is she was trying a little too hard in some of the recent meets to get that cut and was the reason why she hadn't gotten it yet. Definitely had the capability and had been pretty close, was one point off at NAU, but definitely a relief for her."
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In the lanes, Hadley Dodson and Carly Nelson posted personal-best swims, while Emma Lindstrom had the team's best race finish, placing fourth in the 200-yard freestyle.
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Colorado State now turns full attention to the Mountain West Championships which run Feb. 18-22 at the University of Houston.
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On Friday, the divers had their one chance to shine and took advantage as freshman Sydney Ovesen put her name in the program's top 10 on the 3-meter board with a score of 295.65, while Riley Lee hit her NCAA Zones cut on the 1-meter with a 273.25. Ovesen and Lee finished second and third, respectively, on 1-meter; third and sixth on the 3-meter. Juliana Dodd closed in on her first zones cut in that event, falling just shy.
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O'Dea believes his crew tapped into the relaxed atmosphere, particularly Lee, who had been pressing recently.
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"It definitely just kind of shows that we're in the right trajectory moving towards the end of the season. Everyone's making some good progress and overall it was a great practice meet to have at the end of the season and definitely a confidence booster for some of the girls leading in the conference," O'Dea said. "The whole environment was relaxed. All the girls from all the teams were having a good time. They actually kept music playing, which is a little bit more unique, but definitely relaxed the girls a little bit.
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"I think that was something that had been getting in Riley's way, is she was trying a little too hard in some of the recent meets to get that cut and was the reason why she hadn't gotten it yet. Definitely had the capability and had been pretty close, was one point off at NAU, but definitely a relief for her."
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In the lanes, Hadley Dodson and Carly Nelson posted personal-best swims, while Emma Lindstrom had the team's best race finish, placing fourth in the 200-yard freestyle.
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Colorado State now turns full attention to the Mountain West Championships which run Feb. 18-22 at the University of Houston.
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