FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team knew the competition would be stiff during their season-opening double dual, and the talent brought into the Wall Aquatic Center pool was among the best the Lumberjacks have ever seen. A total of nine pool records were broken on Friday as evidence of LSU and Wyoming's performances, but the Lumberjacks more than held their own with senior Kendall Brown shining with two overall event wins in the 400 and 800 freestyle.

"Kendall was the swimmer of the meet for us, not to mention she won the 200 IM versus Wyoming which gave us a chance at the end," said head coach Andy Johns. "Overall we had a lot of great racing, and we were up against two really good teams. That does nothing but help us get better. I'm really proud of the way Kimmy Richter swam, and Urte (Kazakeviciute) had a great 200 breaststroke. We're going to have a battle again with Wyoming tomorrow and we're looking forward to swimming a few different races."

Friday was the first of a two-day double dual between NAU, LSU and Wyoming. After Friday's 15 event schedule, the Lumberjacks trail Wyoming by a score of 150-131 and LSU by a score of 197-84. The first day's team scores will be completed with the 1-meter diving event on Saturday.

Brown was the highlight for NAU as she posted two overall wins in the two distance freestyle events. Brown won the 800 free in Friday's first individual event posting a time of 9:07.45, which was over 10 seconds better than LSU's Nicole Hlavacek. She later won the 400 free with a time of 4:25.82, besting the Tigers' Devon Dabney by two seconds. Brown concluded her day with a third-place overall finish in the 200 IM, which was good for first in the head-to-head dual versus Wyoming.

Sophomore Claire Hammond shined in the 100 and 200 freestyles, recording a pair of top three overall finishes. In the 100 free, she finished runner-up with a time of 57.57 which trailed LSU, but narrowly bested Wyoming's Emily Ridout. That was a follow up to Hammond's third-place effort in the 200 free with a time of 2:07.61. She sat behind a pair of LSU swimmers, but was able to nab the victory against Wyoming. In fact, NAU went one-two versus Wyoming in the 200 free coupled with sophomore Kimmy Richter's fifth-place overall finish.

Richter also teamed for a one-two finish for the 'Jacks in the 400 free, placing third overall. Coupled with Brown's win, the Lumberjacks took the top two spots versus the Cowgirls. NAU enjoyed its third one-two finish head-to-head with Wyoming in the 200 breaststroke where junior Urte Kazakeviciute and sophomore Melanie Harris placed second and fourth overall. Kazakeviciute was narrowly out-touched at the wall by LSU's Colleen O'Neil by less than eight-tenths of a second, but still posted a solid time of 2:38.90.

Sophomore Alina Staffeldt starred in the two butterfly events, garnering a pair of outstanding finishes in the 50 and 200 fly. Squaring off against LSU's All-American Kara Kopcso, she finished third overall in the 50 fly with a time of 28.28, and second overall in the 200 fly with a time of 2:19.25. Her 200 fly performance was a winning one versus Wyoming.

On the diving boards, junior Alexa Geiger led the way with an NCAA Zone qualifying score of 282.10. She secured a spot in the NCAA Zone E Meet, which NAU will be hosting in March, in her first regular season meet on 3-meter and notched a second-place overall finish. She won the head-to-head against Wyoming, and was followed in fourth overall by senior Chelsea Jackson. Jackson was third when looking at each dual meet individually, while freshman Raquel Gonzales placed fifth against Wyoming – and seventh overall.

"I was ecstatic with how our team dove today in our first meet," said diving coach Nikki Huffman. "Lex winning against Wyoming, and being second against a great competitor, was great accomplishment considering she's been battling an injury. The freshmen also did a great job. They all overcame something, whether it was attempting new divers or overcoming an injury. I was really happy with how they all dove and this was a great start to the season."

LSU also leads Wyoming in their women's dual meet, 177-104.

LSU and Wyoming's men's teams also competed with Wyoming holding the 168-112 advantage with one diving event remaining on Saturday. Between the two men's teams, they combined to break 10 Wall Aquatic Center records in the first NCAA men's meet in Flagstaff since 1999.

"It was exciting to watch the men's meet and it was a battle," Johns said. "It brought a lot of energy to the pool and that carries over to our women, even if we don't have a men's team."

The combined men's and women's meet continues on Saturday in the Wall Aquatic Center at 9 a.m. The meet is free for all fans to attend and will feature 12-event schedule on both the men's and women's side.

For live updates during the meet, follow @NAUSwimDive on Twitter.