Feb. 5, 2011
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The University of New Mexico swimming and diving team dropped its final regular season meet to the Aggies of NMSU. The final score of 144-98 marks the fourth straight contest in which NMSU has defeated UNM.
“New Mexico State swam well today and they deserve a lot of credit,” said head coach Tracy Ljone. “We now have three weeks to get ready for conference and we have a ways to go, but the team is composed of an amazing group of ladies who have all worked hard this year.”
For the second straight meet junior Aubrey Bush finished first in the 3-meter springboard with a final score of 324.0, she also claimed the top spot in the 1-meter with a score of 305.25.
Both scores are season bests for the diver, and rank among the top performances in the Mountain West Conference for this season. Her score on the 3-meter ranks fourth on the MWC performance list for the 2010-2011 season, and the final on the 1-meter puts her in second behind diver Allie Smith of Wyoming.
Teammate Ashlee Erickson finished third in the 3-meter with a score of 288.38, while freshman Melissa Bollig finished fourth with 273.00.
In the water Monica Dudley and Jennifer Burgess placed one and two in the 1000-yard freestyle with times of 10:35.09 and 10:35.70. Burgess also finished third in the 500-yard free with a time of 5:13.28.
Tonya Gramstad had a final time of 1.58.84 in the 200-yard free placing her third in the event. Tesse Maciejko finished fourth in the 50-yard free with a final of 25.32, she also placed third in the 100-yard free with a time of 54.37.
Senior Nanette Wittenberg finished second in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:13.34, and Jorgi Hobson placed second in the 100-yard butterfly with a final of 58.40
“This year we started the regular season off great,” said Ljone. “The competition got tougher as we went, but the ladies on the team worked hard and they will continue to work hard. This year we made great strides, and we hope to end the year off with a fantastic showing at the conference meet.”
The Lobos have now entered their taper period before the Mountain West Conference Championships take place in Oklahoma City Feb. 23-26, 2011.