DENVER – The BYU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams concluded a hard-fought competition against Denver and New Mexico Friday, triumphing over New Mexico but falling to Denver.
The women were victorious over New Mexico totaling 158 points to its 140.The men’s team came up short with 125 points to Denver’s 175. The women totaled 111 points to Denver’s 189.
“It was a tough meet, and we haven’t competed in over a month. All things considered, we did better than we anticipated,” BYU head coach John Brooks said. “I have a great deal of respect for the head coaches at Denver and New Mexico. Denver’s men and women were ready for us, and New Mexico is a great team.”
The meet kicked off with men’s and women’s diving including all three schools. Raleigh Williams Taylor took second place in the women’s 1-meter for the Cougars with 280.40 points. Mackenzie Rands took second in the women’s 3-meter with 277.85 points.
Junior Nicholas Suder took the solo win on the men’s 3-meter board for the Cougars with a score of 325.10. Matt Hopper took second on the men’s 1-meter with 291.20 points.
In the pool, the men’s team began and concluded the meet with two exciting relay wins over DU. The team of Rainer Ng, Chad Sorensen, Jordan Fletcher and Jake Taylor took first in the men’s 200 medley with a time of 1:31.77, just two-hundredths of a second over DU. In the 200 free, the team of Fletcher, Stott Bushnell, McKay King and Taylor finished in 1:23.09.
Senior Kimberly Doroghian earned the first and only women’s win of the night in the 200 fly, completing the event in 2:06.27.
The next win came from Fletcher, who completed the 50 free sprint race in 20.52.
Junior Hayden Palmer earned his solo win of the night in the men’s 200 IM. He finished the event in 1:53.60 with teammate Stephen Richards following close behind with a time of 1:54.02.
Rafael Alfaro snagged a second-place finish in the men’s 200 free with a time of 1:42.67.
In the 100 back, Ng earned second place for the men’s team with a time of 49.82, and for Hailey Campbell another second-place finish with a time of 57.49.
Sorensen was next to earn a second-place finish in the 100 breast with a time of 57.50.
In the 100 free, Andrea Grant grabbed a second-place finish with a time of 52. 36. Taylor also finished second for the men’s team, finishing in 46.32.
Next up was the women’s 200 back, where Campbell finished in second for the Cougars in 2:06.47.
Palmer finished in the second-place position in the men’s 200 breast, touching the wall in 2:06.96.
The Cougars earned two more second-place finishes in the 100 fly. For the women’s team, Doroghian touched the wall in 56.63 and Fletcher for the men in 49.52.
The Cougars now gear up for the Deseret First Duel meet, hosted by the Cougars at the Richards Building pool. The meet will be held Jan. 24 beginning at 5 p.m. MST.