For their opening home meet of the season, the New Mexico State University Aggies took on the University of Northern Colorado Bears and collected 131 points but were outscored by the Bears’ 169 points.
Starting the meet off on the right foot, the Aggies swept the 1-meter diving event after freshman Mira Tinani scored 11 points to sit in first place and fifth-year Italia Aranzabel took second with an additional four points. The Bears struck back and clinched first place in the next six events.
In the 200-medley relay, it was close ‘till the fly section when the Bears pulled ahead to take the event. Sophomore Naomi Slee kept UNC’s Kyra Rabbes in her sights in the 1000-yard free but around the halfway point Rabbes increased her lead to take first.
Riding their momentum, the Bears continued to dominate and took the 200-yard free but only by the tips of their claws after NMSU’s sophomore Katie Rink came in a fraction of a second behind. The Aggies attempted to regain control in the 100-yard back after freshman Emily Dobbins put forth a strong effort but just fell short and settled for second place.
The Aggies almost saw relief in the 200-yard fly after sophomore Estel Galo was trailing behind in fourth place but managed to turn on the jets. But before Galo could close the gap, UNC’s Payton Irwin powered through to take first but Galo followed less than a second behind.
The Aggie’s dry spell ended here when Rink powered through the 50-free followed by Aranzabel and Tinani taking the 3-meter drive. Despite the energy shift, the 22 points scored by the three proved to be insufficient especially after the Bears tallied another win in the 100-yard free.
In the 200-yard back, Aussie swimmer Dobbins pulled out all the stops to win, not by one body length, but by two, making her competition eat her bubbles. The same can’t be said for the 200-yard breast where UNC’s Maria Erokhina and Bryanna Ungs took both top spots. Canadian distance swimmer Slee faced off against Rabbes again for the 500-yard free but, similar to the 1000-yard free, Rabbles exhibited greater endurance and overtook Slee.
Refusing to back down, Thunder Bay native senior Lindsay Puhalski took second in the 100-yard fly then immediately thundered through the 200-IM for another second place title.
In the final event of the meet, the 400-yard free relay, the Aggies team included Dobbins leading the charge, followed by Slee, junior Elizabeth Cervantes-Vanderlugt and sophomore Dreamer Kowatch. Despite their efforts, the Aggies failed to bridge the gap and fell the behind the Bears by 38 points.
After the meet, UNC head coach Lisa Ebeling applauded both sides for their performances.
“This is always a good meet for us, NMSU helps us test our team and push them to their limits,” Ebeling said.
NMSU head coach Rick Pratt followed and expressed his appreciation of his team.
“We had a lot of great breakout swims, and many awesome swims from our freshman,” Pratt said. “Overall we had a great first meet and we’re just getting started.”
The Aggies will remain at home for their Alumni meet on Sat. Oct. 21 at 11 a.m. and will then travel to Texas Christian University to face off against the Horned Frogs on Friday, Nov. 3.
