FORT COLLINS, Colo.— Senior
Olivia Hansson and junior
Antonia Leese each won an event and took second in another to lead the Colorado Mesa University women's swimming & diving team's effort in a Friday afternoon double-dual against NCAA Division I opponents Colorado State University and the University of Denver here at the Eldora Pool Ice Center.
Official team scores were not currently available although the host CSU Rams claimed nine event wins, including both relays, to go 2-0 throughout the dual while the Denver Pioneers picked up five wins throughout the 16-team format while going 1-1.
Hansson won the 1,000-yard freestyle in ten minutes, 27.21 seconds and later took second in the 500 free in 5:03.77 while Leese claimed the 100 breaststroke win in 1:04.74 before turning in a time of 2:22.03 to finish second in the 200 breast for the Mavs, ranked second in NCAA Division II according to the initial CSCAA Top 25 Dual Meet Poll.
Kenya Meyer led the Maverick divers as she finished fourth in the 1-meter competition with 234.10 points over six dives while
Juli Holt was fifth in the 3-meter with 233.35 points, just ahead of Meyer's sixth place tally of 230.95.
Other highlights for the Mavs included a third place finish in the meet-opening 200-yard medley relay and a trio of fifth place finishes from sophomore
Gabby DeLuna, freshman
Abby Uhl and senior
Tori Bartusiak. The relay squad of
Taylar Hooton, Leese,
Kiara Borchardt and Bartusiak finished in 1:44.78. DeLuna finished the 200 fly in 2:12.71, just four one hundredths of a second quicker than
Amber Siverts, who finished sixth in 2:12.75. Uhl the 200 backstroke event in 2:06.06 while Bartusiak finished the 100 fly in 57.92 seconds.
After the relay and Hansson's win in the 1,000 free,
Kendyll Wilkinson paced the Mavs in the 200 free, taking sixth in 1:55.23. Wilkinson also led the Mavs in the 100 free, placing ninth in 54.76 seconds.
Hooton then led a Maverick trio in the 100 backstroke, touching in 58.75 seconds to place seventh.
Elsewhere,
Reagan Horn was the top Maverick finishers in the 50 free, placing eighth in 24.61 seconds.
Hansson also led the Mavs in the 200 IM with a mark of 2:12.80 before anchoring the Mavs to a fifth place 400 free relay time of 3:36.03.
Ada Qunell, Wilkinson and Borchardt swam the earlier legs.
The Maverick women will continue their season next Friday afternoon facing another NCAA Division I opponent in the University of Utah Utes in Salt Lake City. The fifth-ranked Maverick men will also take on the Utes after swimming at No. 24 Colorado School of Mines in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual on Saturday.
