Lobos Send Seniors Out Winners 194-106 over NMSU
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Nicholle Toh and Hedda Øritsland each won two individual races and then combined for two more relays, and Natasha Dark swept the 1 and 3-meter platform dives as The University of New Mexico blitzed past rival New Mexico State 194-106 on senior day for the Lobos. UNM had four seniors participate in their final home meet, with three picking up four wins between them.
The win evened UNM’s dual meet record at 2-2, and it marked UNM’s ninth-straight win over New Mexico State. It was also UNM’s largest margin of victory over New Mexico State since a 131-point win (196-65) over the Aggies on January 13, 1996.
The meet was basically over before the fans got settled in after the senior day ceremony which saw the team honor Albuquerque natives Breanna Wiercinski and Dark along with Talia Passerelli and Asami Terada. UNM took gold in 14 of the 16 events on the day, including both relays.
UNM went ahead for good after the opening event, the 3-meter dive. Dark won that event 267.9 to 264.45 over teammate Jocelyn Gallais, with Hannah Teindas coming in third, giving UNM a quick 16 points to NMSU’s three. In fact, all five Lobos out scored NMSU in the discipline with Sara Rogers and Daphne Scheck finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
After a short break for the senior ceremony, it was to the swimming lanes, and New Mexico quickly put the hammer down and never gave the visiting Aggies a chance. First it was a dominant relay performance in the 200-medley which saw Øritsland get UNM out to a nearly two second lead, and then Terada, Toh and Wiercinski never let anyone gain ground, giving UNM another 11 points.
Josie Carpenter picked up a win in the 1,000 free, followed by Anya Hammond in second and Maya Hammond in fifth, and through three events UNM led 41-14 through three events.
After a loss in the 200-yard free UNM’s seniors took over, each turning in a gold medal performance, Wiercinski in the 100-yard backstroke and Passerelli in the 100-yard breaststroke. Wiercinski came from behind at the 75-yard mark with a big turn and final kick, and Passerelli came back from sitting third after 50 yards. Those wins, plus solid scores by their teammates made is 74-38 after six events.
After the seniors’ shining moment, it was the future’s turn, and with a plethora of freshmen dotting the lineup, Nicholle Toh outshined them all. Toh picked up the first of two individual wins, this in the seventh event, the 200-yard butterfly. She obliterated the field by over seven seconds in giving UNM a 86-45 lead. UNM would basically clinch it over the next three events.
Øritsland won twice in three events, winning the 50 and 100-yard free styles around another Dark win, this in the 1-meter platform. That pushed UNM well over the century mark at 125-64, and at that point it was just a question of how big the final margin would be.
It would be a lot and UNM kept pouring it on.
Andrea Mariscal got her name in the win column with a wire-to-wire win in the 200-backstroke, and after just NMSU’s second win of the day, UNM went back to work. Bolladottir picked up a win as a part of a top three sweep in the 500 free with Camila Batista in second and Carpenter in third. Toh returned for another butterfly win, this the 200, and then Mary Aoki got a win in the final individual race, the 200-yard individual medley, taking the lead at the midway mark and then cruising to the win.
UNM finished it off in style with a wild finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with Øritsland recovering over the final 25 yards for UNM’s 14 win of the day.
The Lobos head to Reno, Nevada for their final dual meet of the season, taking on the Wolf Pack on Friday night at 5 p.m. Mountain Time.
| Event | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Total | |
| NMSU | 3 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 4 | – | 106 |
| UNM | 16 | 11 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 13 | – | 194 |
Note: The 3-meter platform (event 8 in the results) was the first event held. The 1-meter platform (event 14 in the results) was the 8th event held. The above linescore reflects that order, with diving in yellow.
UNM Individual scoring
Toh 18, Øritsland 18, Dark 18, Bolladottir 14, Aoki 14, Carpenter 12, Passarelli 12, Mariscal 12, Wiercinski 10, Gallais 8, Terada 7, Bishop 6, Tiendas 5, Batista 5, A. Hammond 4, Zukowski 2, Tomaszek 1, M. Hammond 1
Wins
3-meter Dive (Dark)
200-Medley Relay (Øritsland, Terada, Toh, Wiercinski)
1000 Free (Carpenter)
100 Backstroke (Wiercinski)
100 Breastroke (Passerelli)
200 Butterfly (Toh)
50 Free (Øritsland)
1-meter Dive (Dark)
100 Free (Øritsland)
200 Backstroke (Mariscal)
500 Free (Bolladottir)
100 Butterfly (Toh)
200 IM (Aoki)
400-Freestyle Relay (Bishop, Wiercinski, Toh, Øritsland)