FLAGSTAFF, Ariz (October 21, 2022) - NAU Swimming and Diving opened up the 2022-23 season with a bang, securing a win against a duo of NAIA schools and one WAC opponent that made the trip to the Wall Aquatic Center.
NAU defeated Arizona Christian University (207-69), Ottawa University Arizona (207-6) and The University of Idaho (182-110). The Lumberjacks hope the win over conference-foe Idaho is a precursor for the year as NAU begins the journey toward a 10th consecutive WAC Championship in February.
"I'm really happy with their result and especially their efforts," NAU swim head coach Andy Johns said of his swimmers. "That was some hard racing. It's a great start this season."
The Lumberjacks started the meet strong with a win in the 200-yard medley relay with Team A finishing with a time of 1:46.60, better than NAU's Team A victory in last season's opener by over half a second. The winning team of Sophie Velitchkov, Delaney Phillips, Elsa Musselman and Nicole Kepl beat Idaho's Team A by over one second.
Velitchkov was one of the many Lumberjacks that showed out in the meet, winning every event she participated in to earn four victories. The sophomore won the 100-yard backstroke (56.82) for the second year in a row and was followed by this year's Pentathlon winner Gracie Munk (57.54).
Velitchkov continued her dominance with a win in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.36. She finished off her perfect day with a victorious 200-yard backstroke (2:06.80), beating the field by over a second. NAU claimed the top four spots in the event with Munk (2:08.02), Annie Carlton (2:08.42) and Abigail Tashlein (2:10.21).
Munk, fresh off her Pentathlon win in September, finished right behind Velitchkov in both the 200 and 100-yard backstroke.
As the program continues to grow its veteran talent in hopes of another conference title, underclass students continued their success in the Pentathlon as well as the Blue and Gold meet. Sophomore Bena Koehn carried the torch for the newcomers, finishing on the podium in her three events, including wins in the 100-yard free (52.55) and the 200 yard free (1:54.88).
Freshman Elsa Musselman also won the 200-yard Butterfly (2:09.17) by over three seconds as the Lumberjacks swept the top four in the event.
"Bena was impressive," Johns said. "Elsa was really good. I think for a first college swim meet, a lot of our freshmen swam really well."
The freestyle events were particularly strong for NAU. Sophomore Helena Robla-Alvarez matched her Blue and Gold winning performance in the 500 yard free (5:11.84). She finished behind Koehn in the 200 yard free with a time of 1:55.57.
The Diving Team also performed well, with all seven Lumberjack divers finishing in the top seven of both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.
Junior Maegan Jensen topped the boards of the 1-meter dive (273.90), beating the Wesche twins of Grace (273.75) and Margaret (272.25), to round out the podium. The standings shifted in the 3-meter dive with freshman Mackenna Stocker winning her first event as a Lumberjack and was the only diver to break 300 points (302.70).
Jensen, the Wesche twins and Stocker qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships with their top-four finishes in the 1-meter dive. The four also qualified for the zones in the 3-meter dive for finishing in the top six of that meet. They are joined by sophomore Makenna Sammons and junior Reaney Preston in the 3-meter dive.
"I loved how the top four or five were all so close in scores," NAU dive head coach Nikki Kelsey said. "It just shows that these ladies are going to keep pushing each other, which is going to help them get better and better."
NAU has a quick turnaround as the season gets underway. The Lumberjacks will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico for a meet against the University of New Mexico on Friday, Nov. 4.
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