The Pioneer men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept their home meet over the weekend, with the women topping Western Athletic Conference (WAC) opponents Idaho and Colorado School of Mines with scores of 173-125 and 228-43, respectively.
The men’s team also triumphed over sole opponent Colorado School of Mines with a final score of 164-119.
“The girls did a nice job,” said head coach Brian Schrader. “It’s always good to have an early meet with conference rivals and then to finish with such solid results.”
Senior Alex Suppan led the women, winning both the 200 butterfly and the 400 IM. She also swam the lead-off leg in the 400 medley relay team, which placed first overall. The relay team consisted of Suppan, freshman Madeline Eyolfson and sophomores Samantha Corea and Drew Matthews.
The Pioneers claimed the top three spots in four events on Saturday. In the 100 backstroke, senior Kristen Milberg took first, followed by sophomore Bridgett McNally and freshman Zoe Huddleston.
Their second top-three sweep came in the 200 backstroke, with Corea in the lead followed by Huddleston and junior Gretchen Cohen. Another 1-2-3 finish came in the 500 freestyle, with junior Jaclyn Best leading the way and senior Tia Totura and Rooney coming in second and third.
The final top-three sweep for the Crimson and Gold was in the 400 IM, where Suppan, Milsberg and Eyolfson claimed the first three spots.
Three more Pioneers tallied individual first-place finishes for the women’s team: Best in the 1000 and 500 freestyle races, Eyolfson in the 100 breaststroke and McNally in the 200 breaststroke.
“I’m really pleased with the efforts today,” said Schrader. “Now, our goal is to get in some good training before finals to prepare to compete hard at the end of the month.”
As for the men, junior Kyle Milberg led with two individual victories in the 50 freestyle and the 200 backstroke.
Much like the women, the men’s team tallied several 1-2-3 finishes. In the 1000 freestyle, sophomore Jeremiah Zgliczynski took first, followed by junior Matt Absher and senior Jorge Palma. Freshman Andrew Torres and his classmate Dylan Bunch placed first and second in the 200 freestyle, while sophomore Willy Van Dehy came in third.
Seniors Jeff Cox and Mark Maguire, along with junior Ryan Holly finished top three in the 100 backstroke, while senior Robert Barrett, sophomore Eric Anderson and senior Andy Lee swept the 200 butterfly.
The final sweep for the swimmers was in the 50 freestyle, as Milberg placed first, followed by junior Doug Mackenzie and senior Cole Worsley.
Mackenzie had an individual victory in the 100 breaststroke, and the Crimson and Gold also won the 400 medley relay with a team of Holly, junior Tanner Krall, Worsley and Maguire.
DU continued to dominate on the diving board as the men swept the three-meter dive. Sophomores Ross Edfort and Simon Latimer finished first and second and freshman Alex Hoffner-Heinike placed third.
Edfort also claimed an individual first-place finish in the one-meter dive.
“We’re really starting to see some things come together,” said diving head coach Aaron D’Addario. “The freshmen are starting to do some bigger dives, and they’re really starting to look better on the boards. Things are starting to come around at the end of the fall, and we’re working hard and moving in the right direction.”
