The Pioneer swimming and diving teams returned to the pool in impressive fashion over the weekend after a 35- day hiatus from competitive collegiate action.

Friday’s action saw the men defeat BYU, 175-125, at El Pomar Natatorium, while the DU women (199) bested both BYU (148) and New Mexico (140).

On Saturday, the men’s 173-127 and women’s 173.50-126.50 victories over University of Wyoming were highlighted by four pool records being broken.

“It was fun to watch our team come out and swim the way they did this weekend,” said head coach Brian Schrader. “These were two of our biggest competitions of the year and to have them take place on back -to- back days and perform the way we did is definitely something to be proud of.”

In Friday’s return to the pool, junior Samantha Corea and freshman Amanda Sanders led the way for the Pioneer women. Corea took first place in the 100 backstroke (56.03), 100 butterfly (55.83) and 200 backstroke (2:01.56). Sanders won the 100 breaststroke (1:04.03), 200 breaststroke (2:19.85) and 200 IM (2:08.80).

Freshman Johanna Roas helped the Pioneers’ cause by posting two victories, finishing ahead of the pack in the 100 freestyle (51.00) and the 50 freestyle (23.97). DU junior Bridgette McNally, also won two events, the 200 freestyle (1:53.44) and 500 freestyle (5:04.08).

In Friday’s men’s meet, the Pios were led by three wins apiece from sophomore Dylan Bunch and senior Kyle Milberg. Bunch won the 1000 (9:33.52) and 200 freestyle (1:41.07) in back to back events. He added another top finish in the 500 freestyle (4:35.18).

Milberg was dominant, as usual. The senior won the 100 backstroke (49.49), 100 butterfly (49.29) and 200 backstroke (2:47.00).

The momentum from Friday’s performance carried into Saturday’s meet against in-state rival Wyoming.
Juniors Ross Edfort and Dana Gau got the Pioneers off to a promising start. Edfort’s 348 points in the one-meter dive took the top spot while Gau qualified for the zone competition with a 273.50 score in the women’s one-meter dive event.

“I was really anxious for this because I competed at Wyoming for four years and I’m a dedicated alum,” said DU Diving Coach Channing Kimball. “I was excited to be representing DU and I am very happy with the way our divers came back strong after such a long layoff.”

The Pioneers followed up by breaking pool records in the first two relay events. The women’s 400 relay team (Roas, Sanders, Drew Matthews, Corea) broke the previous record by three seconds, setting a new mark of 3:45.61. Corea’s first 100 in the relay was also a record time.

The men’s 400 relay team (Milberg, Tanner Krall, Patrick Guillory, Kyle Robrock), not to be out done, broke the men’s pool record with a time of 3:19.69.

Milberg and Bunch, again, led the way with wins in three events. Andrew Torres’ 200 butterfly (1:48.79) set a new record and Bridgette McNally joined Corea and Sanders in winning three events for the women.
While the DU teams made it look easy in the pool, the hard work put in during the holiday break played a major role in this past weekend’s major success.

“We went to Puerto Rico for eight days, six of which we swam double practices and had weight sessions,” said Schrader. “I think they bought into what we were doing, trained well, and it was good to see that our hard work paid off this weekend.”