PROVO, Utah — Despite best efforts, the women's swim and dive teams fell to the University of Denver on Friday evening, 160-83. As a team, the Cougars suffered a combined loss to the Pioneers with a final score of 274-212.
In the first event of the day, a team consisting of Brynn Sproul, Mackenzie Miller, Emma Marusakova and Halli Williams got the Cougars on the board in the 200-yard medley relay, placing third with a time of 1:45.44. The women continued their strong start in the following 1000-yard freestyle event, as Megan Bergstrom (10:28.19) and Regan Geldmacher (10:30.01) placed first and second for the Cougars.
In her very first appearance as a Cougar, newcomer freshman Victoria Schreiber placed second in the 200-yard freestyle, recording a 1:54.19. Sproul also posted a solid time of 1:54.18 in the event, coming in third. In the 50-yard freestyle, Julia Bartell contributed to the Cougars final point tally as well, recording a 23.97. She would also place second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.96.
In the 500-yard freestyle, Bergstrom took the outright win for BYU, swimming a 5:06.77. The final individual event of the day featured the 100-yard breaststroke, as Miller swam a 1:04.68.
In the final event of the meet, a team of Sproul, Bartell, Marusakova, and Williams placed second in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:32.63. Freshman Schreiber, Lily Flint, Bergstrom, and Geldmacher also had a strong performance in the event, swimming a 3:35.32 as a team.
For the divers, Alexia Jackson led the way for the Cougars in the 1-meter dive, scoring a 260.33 to place second in the event. She also recorded the highest score in the 3-meter dive, scoring a 281.55.
The women's swim and dive teams will next compete in the Air Force Invite on Jan. 20 and 21. Times for the events will be posted in the days leading up to the events, as well as information on how to follow the events live.