FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 24, 2018) – The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team will officially open the 2018-19 season this Friday, Oct. 26 on the road in Albuquerque, N. M., against New Mexico at 3 p.m. (MST). Part two of the Lumberjacks' season outlook previews the team's butterfliers, individual medley swimmers, and divers.
Butterfly
This event will be led by senior
Andrea Schmidt and junior
Kate Bier.
Schmidt has shown great success with this stroke over her three years at Northern Arizona but will be looking for her first ever gold medal at the WAC Championships in the 200 fly. In the previous two seasons, she has recorded a third and fourth place finish. Currently Schmidt holds the record for the third fastest time in the 200 fly at NAU.
Schmidt's counterpart Bier broke onto the WAC scene last year as she recorded a fifth-place finish in the 200 fly while having a career-best time of 2:02.81.
Joining the veteran pair will be sophomore
Maddie Seidl, who had impressed so far this fall at the pentathlon and blue and gold events where she was right on the tail of the two upperclassmen.
With the previous three focusing on the 200 fly the Lumberjacks will look to
Elisa Rodriguez in the sprint fly events, such as the 50 or the 100.
Individual Medley
NAU will look at a broad mix of swimmers in the individual medley with senior
Sarah Takach and sophomore
Niamh McDonagh at the top leading the way. These swimmers will give the Lumberjacks a combination of both veteran experience and an upcoming talent.
Takach has become a known name in the IM event for the Lumberjacks as she is entering her senior season. She is currently holding the record for the third fastest 400 IM time in program history while also recording two top ten finishes in the WAC Championship last year.
McDonagh was the new face for Northern Arizona in the individual medley last year. In her freshman campaign, she was able to get a sixth-place finish in the 400 IM while also recording the fifth fastest time in the history of the program.
Besides for Takach and McDonagh, Northern Arizona will have sophomore
Sam Seiber and freshman
Astrid Villeda swimming some of the IM events.
"In this event, we have some numbers and some depth, but we are very solid with our top two of Takach and McDonagh," NAU head swimming coach
Andy Johns said.
Divers
Northern Arizona has talent all over the place with their 2018-2019 squad. The group is led by two seniors
Tatiana Kurach and
Christina Torrente.
Kurach since transferring into NAU for her sophomore season has won back to back WAC Diver of the Year awards and three gold medals. While in her sophomore year she was able to make it to Nationals, making her the second diver in the history of the program to make it to Nationals. She also holds the second-highest score in the 1-meter dive in program history.
Although trailing Kurach, Torrente has closed the gap over the last year. In the 2017-2018 WAC Championships, she was able to have three top-three finishes in the Championship meet. She also holds the fifth-highest score in NAU history in the 3-meter dive.
Fellow senior
Olivia Payne will also look to be an intricate part of the team, with her impact being on the platform. Payne was able to finish fifth at the Championships last year. The fifth-place performance is ten spots higher than she had placed in the 2016-2017 season.
Besides the veterans, the diving team will have a nice mix of youth in it. The 'Jacks will have two athletes diving in their first collegiate meets this year with redshirt-freshman
Emily Sharrer and freshman
Alyssa Jones. Both were able to show great potential at the blue and gold where Sharrer was able to finish second on the team in the 3-meter.
