TUCSON, Ariz. (January 8, 2022) - After the two day meet hosted by the University of Arizona, the Lumberjacks are heading back to Flagstaff ready to dominate the remaining competition on schedule.
NAU and Arizona's two day meet was exhibition, meaning no scores were calculated for either team. The 'Jacks put up impressive swims throughout both sessions, totaling five individual first place finishes, and plenty of top-three times for the team.
DIVING HIGHLIGHTS
- Maegan Jensen placed third in the 1m diving event, with a score of 285.68, followed by Victoria Knapp coming in fourth with 279.53.
- Both Jensen and Knapp's scores in 1m were NCAA Zone qualifying scores
- Adding another NCAA Zone qualifying score, the 3-meter dives were highlighted for the 'Jacks by Knapp who placed second with 294.38
- Emily Luberto came in fourth in the 3m dives with 254.40.
- Aly Jones made her return to the 3m boards, where she finished seventh with a score of 244.35.
SESSION TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- NAU's 'A' Relay team, consisting of Sophie Velitchkov, Delaney Phillips, Caylah Jago, and Annie Carlton, finished third in the 200 yard medley relay to begin session two.
- Maddy Rey (5:07.31), Casey Craffey (5:07.72), and Francesca Criscione (5:10.40) placed second, third, and fourth respectively in the 500 yard freestyle.
- Jane Shroufe brought NAU's only individual first place finish of the day in the 200 Yard IM, coming in at 2:10.99.
- Haley Mayhew added a top-three finish to the teams victories in the 200 IM, placing third at 2:12.24.
- The 'Jacks found success in the 100 backstroke, as Velitchkov came in second at 57.90.
- The 100 yard breaststroke proved to be another strong suit for NAU, as Phillips came in second at 1:07.12, followed by Mayhew in third at 1:07.46, and Abigail Nelson in fifth at 1:07.59.
- Rey (2:06.48) and Freshman Ashley Lawrence (2:08.44) topped the 200 butterfly in second and third place, respectively.
- Wrapping up the two-day dual meet, the Lumberjacks 'A' relay team consisting of, Bena Koehn, Katy Smith, Annie Carlton, and Rey, finished in second with a final time 3:33.70.
QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH ANDY JOHNS
"It was important to get more racing experience and to race against a quality team like Arizona, we're really getting experience that will help us at the conference meet where everybody is going to be going that fast. Getting back into a more normal routine is going to be helpful and we have to really work on the details, that's going to be the focus this week."
QUOTABLE | HEAD DIVING COACH NIKKI KELSEY
"This weekend was really good for us and next weekend will be too, we're going to see tougher competition from here on out and we need that right now. Our conference is getting more competitive and we have a strong team but we need to make sure we're keeping them hungry. Delaney Schnell just won a silver medal in the last olympics so seeing competition at that caliber is awesome for us."
UP AHEAD
The team will get back in action next week, as the diving squad will head to California to compete in the UCLA Diving Invite, that will take place Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Swimming will travel to St. George, Utah, to take on some conference competition at Dixie State in a dual meet. To stay up to date with NAU Swimming and Diving, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
