FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 1, 2019) – Northern Arizona University women's swimming and diving earned a 169-131 over the University of New Mexico, improving its record to 2-2.
Fernanda Montiel and
Elisa Rodriguez each posted two event wins, while
Jenny Cheetham swept the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events for the Lumberjacks.
To open the meet, New Mexico won in the first three events (200 relay, 1000 freestyle, 200 free), keeping NAU down 36-23.
"We were in a hole after the first three events," head coach
Andy Johns said. "We are really happy with how we bounced back."
Despite the lead, the 'Jacks took other places in the top five, stifling UNM from scoring too high. In the relay, the 'Jacks took second and third.
Lainie Bell,
Hope Williams,
Maddie Seidl and
Elisa Rodriguez clocked in at 1:46.04. Alongside them,
Sarah O'Connor,
Sara Jendbro,
Lauren Hazel and Rodriguez came in third with a time of 1:48.37.
In the 100 backstroke,
Fernanda Montiel (57.98), Bell (57.99), and
Sarah O'Connor (58.21) earned the top three spots to even the playing field, 39-39.
The 'Jacks flipped the lead from UNM to NAU (51-46) after the 100 breaststroke when
Hope Williams took her first event victory with a time of 1:05.28. After the event, NAU kept its lead.
Northern Arizona added some insurance points before the first break with
Maddie Seidl's win in the 200 butterfly, Rodriguez's in the 50 free, and Cheetham's in the 3-meter, and took the score to 90-64.
"We were solid," Johns said. "It was really great to see them not be down after the first events."
Northern Arizona went on to achieve first place in six of the last eight events, coming up in short in the other two.
Rodriguez's second first-place win was in the 100 free, hitting the touch pad at 51.51, just seconds away to her fastest time of 48.90. Montiel found her second win in the event right after, the 200 backstroke, ending her swim at 2:05.60.
In a close race,
Haley Mayhew posted a first place victory in the 200 breaststroke, beating UNM's swimmer by 12 milliseconds, timing in at 2:24.64
Cheetham's success on both platforms today means she qualified in both the 1-meter (281.70) and 3-meter (309.60) in the NCAA Zone Diving Championships. Last week,
Emily Sharrer's scores qualified her.
"All three girls did new dives that they hadn't competed in before and they all did pretty well," associate head coach
Nikki Huffman said. "We're right where we should be at this time of the year and I hope to keep seeing them get better like they have been."
After a win by
Niamh McDonagh in the 200 IM (2:09.14) and again in the 400 free relay by Rodriguez, Montiel, Spielman and
Miranda Nichols (3:29.73), the 'Jacks secured their final score of 169-131 over the Lobos.
The Lumberjacks return to their home pool at the Wall Aquatic Center this next Saturday, Nov. 9 with the first event starting 10:30 a.m.
