ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— After over a month off from competition, The University of New Mexico swimming and diving teamis in Malibu, Calif., for a meet at Pepperdine on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Held at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool, the Lobos will face the Waves and Colorado State starting at 2 p.m. MT with a live stream available for fans to watch.
UNM last competed at the SMU Invitational back on Nov. 23, in which the Lobos finished fifth with 492.5 points.
The Lobos were led by Hedda Øritsland, who contributed to a third-place result in the 400-yard medley relay, a fourth-place finish in the 800-yard free relay and the 200-yard medley relay, a fifth-place result in the 400-yard freestyle relay, and a seventh-place showing in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Individually, the sophomore set the school record in the 100-yard freestyle at 49.49 to finish second overall and just 0.02 out of first, and finished fifth in the 100-yard butterfly with a 54.23.
Other notable performances from the three-day meet were freshman Nicholle Toh, placing third in the 100-yard butterfly with 53.73 and in the 200-yard butterfly at 2:00.19, and freshman Josephine Carpenter’s 16:44.78 in the 1650-yard freestyle to finish fourth.
From the diving board, Natasha Dark produced the highest finish for the Cherry and Silver in the platform with a 210.20 to finish second, with Hannah Tiendas behind her in fourth with a score of 191.80.
Historically, this is the second straight year that the Lobos have travelled to Malibu to compete against Pepperdine, with the Lobos coming out on top with a 160-89 victory last season. The Lobos won all 14 events at the meet with three multiple individual winners in Klara Farkas, Matea Sumajstorcic and Øritsland.
Along with winning each event, the Lobos swept the top three spots in the 200-yard freestyle and in the 200-yard butterfly and produced the top two finishes in the 1000-yard freestyle and the 200-yard medley relay.
Entering Wednesday’s meet, Øritsland holds the fastest time in the MW in the 100-yard freestyle with her 49.49, while UNM has the two best times in the 1000-yard freestyle with Sumajstorcic in first with 9:59.19 and Carpenter second at 10:11.48. In addition, Carpenter is second in the 1650-yard freestyle with her recent 16:44.78 time. Toh also is among the best in the Mountain West, leading the conference in the 200-yard butterfly with 2:00.19 and third in the 100-yard butterfly at 53.73.