FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Since last competing at home on Dec. 6, the Northern Arizona swimming & diving team has spent the last month well-traveled. From Las Vegas to San Diego to Tucson, the Lumberjacks have endured through two training camps, a three-day invitational and a pair of dual meets making their return home all the more welcomed. On Wednesday, NAU will host WAC opponent Northern Colorado in the Wall Aquatic Center at 4 p.m. in the team's final home meet of the season.

"The meet falls at a good time for us after coming back home because it helps us keep focus on what we're working towards," said head coach Andy Johns. "Northern Colorado has some good athletes who are going to make us work for everything in the meet. Being home is definitely nice and the timing is good. We're looking to continue to get sharper because we've done the majority of the hard work and now we have to focus on cleaning up the little things and Wednesday is a great opportunity to do that."

NAU is coming off a challenging double-dual against nationally ranked Arizona and Oregon State, both of the Pac-12, in Tucson last Friday. The Lumberjacks suffered defeats in both head-to-head competitions, but nearly pulled off the upset of the Beavers with the meet being decided in the final relay of the day in an eventual two-point loss.

The Lumberjacks are 3-4 in dual meets this season after their two losses last weekend, but managed to post solid results given the cold conditions they dealt with at UA's outdoor facility.

Freshman Roni Houck led the way for the Lumberjacks with a pair of victories against Oregon State in the 50 and 100 freestyle bringing her total to five dual meet wins in her first season. Freshman Kimmy Richter won the 100 butterfly and junior Eva Pold won the 200 fly in the other two individual wins for NAU last week, while several other swimmers recorded runner-up finishes. On the diving side, sophomore Alexa Geiger and junior Chelsea Jackson placed third on 1-meter and 3-meter respectively.

Last season, NAU defeated Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo. by a score of 178-117 which ran its all-time series record versus the Bears to a perfect 9-0. The 'Jacks won 12 of the 16 events in the victory, with senior Caitlin Wright winning the 500 free and Jackson and Geiger combining to sweep the diving events. Junior Kendall Brown won the 200 backstroke and senior Alexis Juergens took the top spot in the 200 fly.

This season, the Bears carry a 6-4 dual meet record but have not competed since winning the Nebraska-Omaha Invite on Dec. 6. Northern Colorado placed seventh at last year's WAC Championships. Wednesday's dual meet will feature some of the top divers in the Western Athletic Conference with NAU featuring Jackson, Geiger and junior Carlye Townsend who are all in the top eight in at least one of the boards. Northern Colorado meanwhile brings with them Savanna Meadows who holds top four scores on each board including the top score on 3-meter, narrowly besting Jackson at the moment.

Admission is free for all fans to attend Wednesday's meet.

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