A break from the abnormally cold weather in Tucson seemed to be the cure for the No. 2 Arizona women’s and No. 5 men’s swimming and diving teams, as both teams were coming off of a disappointing performance on Jan. 12-13.
The UA women (6-2, 3-2 Pacific 10 Conference) took the two-day meet on Friday and Saturday against No. 8 Southern Methodist 235-116 and No. 12 Texas 213-139, while the men (5-3, 1-2) beat SMU 145-104 but fell to No. 1 Texas 188-165, with both events in Austin, Texas.
“”We’re just getting a little bit better with each week, which is all I can hope for right now,”” said UA head coach Frank Busch.
On Friday, the women’s team finished first in six out of eight events to lead both teams on the first day of competition.
The relay team of juniors Lacey Nymeyer and Brandy Collins and sophomores Lara Jackson and Anna Turner won the 200-yard freestyle relay, the first event of the day.
Also victorious were Nymeyer in the 500y freestyle, senior Whitney Myers in the 400y individual medley, freshman Caitlin Iverson in the 200y backstroke and fellow freshman Annie Chandler in the 200y breaststroke.
The women finished the day by winning the 400y medley relay with the team of Nymeyer, Chandler and freshmen Andrea Boritzke and Ana Agy.
“”For the women, a little different story (than the men), we pretty much overwhelmed them,”” Busch said. “”It’s not that we performed great. We performed well, but we’re a much better team right now than Texas.””
For the second day of competition, the men went on a run of their own, winning five out of nine events including both relays.
“”I couldn’t ask for any more from our guys,”” Busch said. “”They stood up against the No. 1 ranked team in the country right now, and our kids did real well.””
They won the 200y medley relay with the team of juniors Albert Subirats, Ivan Barnes, and Darian Townsend and sophomore Nicolas Nilo before the relay team of senior Adam Ritter, Subirats, Townsend and Nilo took first place in the 400y freestyle relay.
Freshman Jean Basson was victorious in the 1,650y freestyle, while Subirats won the 50y freestyle and Ritter took first in the 200y individual medley.
“”I look at this, and I see where we are,”” Busch said, “”and I see the team that we just raced against, and I know at the end of the year I believe we’re a better team than they are. I know it’s hard to say losing the dual meet, but I just kind of know our depth and what we’re doing.””
The women were once again victorious on Saturday, winning four events, including the 200y medley relay in which Nymeyer, Jackson, sophomore Justine Schluntz and Chandler set an NCAA consideration time of 1:41.43.
Nymeyer had her second individual victory of the weekend in the 200y freestyle event, while Jackson won the 50y freestyle.
Chandler finished her sweep of the breaststroke events on Saturday by winning the 100y event.
On the men’s side, Friday’s competition showed mix results, placing first in only four events.
Ritter posted the first win for the men in the 200y breaststroke, Subirats followed in the 100y butterfly and Basson won the 500y freestyle.
To finish the day, the relay team of Ritter, Barnes, Subirats and Nilo posted a first-place finish in the 400y medley relay.
Busch said he was also pleased with how the teams adapted to swimming in a different place after swimming at home the past two dual meets.
“”This team is easy to travel with. They watch out for each other,”” he said. “”It’s a good group. It’s a special group of kids.””
In the diving well
For the diving team, senior Megan MacDonald came in fourth place in the 3-meter competition, while sophomore Allison Scaife also finished fourth in the 1m event.
On the men’s side, freshman Mike Guilfoil came in second place in the 3m competition and third in the 1m.
