FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team put up a fight on Saturday, winning five events, but dropped a 187-113 dual meet to Boise State in the Aquatic and Tennis Complex. The Lumberjacks got a pair of wins each from senior
Alina Staffeldt and junior
Christina Torrente in their final dual meet to finish the regular season with a 5-4 dual record.
"We swam pretty well and our top-end girls really competed well," said head coach
Andy Johns. "The biggest difference was the quality of depth that they had. We're trending in the right way and this was a really good experience to handle some adversity. I'm really proud of all of their efforts today."
Boise State, ranked No. 47 in the country, came out on top in the showdown between conference champions. The Broncos, the defending Mountain West champions, flexed their muscle by placing first in 11 of 16 events and setting three new pool records in the 100 backstroke, 50 freestyle and 200 breaststroke.
Staffeldt set a pool record herself, breaking her own previous mark in the 200 butterfly. In her last home meet as a Lumberjack, Staffeldt clocked an ATC record time of 2:02.91 – besting her previous record of 2:03.11 – to win her first of two events. Staffeldt also won the 100 fly with a time of 56.10.
Torrente swept the diving events for the third consecutive dual meet with scores of 277.05 and 296.55 on 1-meter and 3-meter respectively. She led a shorthanded NAU diving unit with her victories, while freshman
Jenny Cheetham placed third overall on both springboards.
"We didn't have everyone diving which was disappointing, but in general we're doing a very nice job," said diving coach
Nikki Huffman. "Christina won both boards and she looked strong, but she's still not perfect either. I saw consistency from everyone and we still have a lot of room for improvement. I feel we'll get there in the next few weeks."
Redshirt junior
Monique King was NAU's lone remaining winner, placing first in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 10:21.21. King broke the race wide open in the final 200 yards to claim victory in the meet's first individual event.
NAU started the meet with a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay, posting a time of 1:43.22, before King's win. Boise State won the next three events leading into Staffeldt's record performance in the 200 fly. Staffeldt was one of three Lumberjacks in the top four in the event with junior
Andrea Schmidt and freshman
Niamh McDonagh finishing third and fourth respectively.
After Torrente's 1-meter win concluded the first half of the meet, Boise State led 89-61 through eight events. The Broncos proceeded to win the next four events, but the Lumberjacks posted a solid showing in the 200 breaststroke. McDonagh finished second and was followed by junior
Sarah Takach and sophomore
Emily Martin as NAU went two-three-four in the event.
Staffeldt won the 100 fly and McDonagh added a second runner-up finish in the 200 individual medley to highlight the last few events of the day.
The Lumberjack swimmers' regular season concluded on Saturday as they will now solely turn their focus to preparation for the WAC Championships.
The divers will host one more meet next Friday and Saturday in the Aquatic and Tennis Complex with a two-day Quad Diving Meet. NAU will be joined by Boise State, New Mexico and New Mexico State in the regular season finale. Competition on both days will start at 10:30 a.m.
