Lobos Drop First DI Dual
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico Lobos fell to the New Mexico State University Aggies in the Halloween Howl on Saturday. Heading into Saturday, the Lobos trailed by a score of 87-80 and they could not claw back and lost 197-156. The final nine swimming events and the three-meter diving competition were completed on Saturday in Albuquerque to wrap up the two-day meet.
The first events of the day were the preliminary rounds of the three-meter diving competition. After a short break, the swimming got underway. NMSU’s ‘A’ relay barely out-touched UNM’s ‘A’ relay in the 200-medley relay to kick off the races. The Aggies’ victory in the 200-medley relay was their first of six first-place finishes on the day, including the 50-yard freestyle, 100 yard backstroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 400-yard IM, and the 400-yard freestyle relay.
The Lobos won three events on Saturday and again did well in the diving competition. New Mexico’s Camila Batista, Paige Lyons, and Josie Carpenter placed first, second, and third respectively in the 1000-yard freestyle, again displaying the program’s dominance in distance events. Batista handily won the event by nearly seven full seconds and recorded her second individual top-two finish in the meet (with the 500-yard freestyle on Friday). UNM’s Marina Olmstead won the 100-yard butterfly race by less than a second in the sixth event of the day. She was barely able to hold off NMSU’s Aimee Burton to finish in first. The Lobos’ Olivia Bishop, hero of Friday’s 200-yard freestyle relay, dramatically touched-out the Aggies’ Neza Kocijan in the 200 yard-freestyle. This was her second thrilling finish of the meet and she came out on top in both of them.
The finals for the three-meter diving competition occurred on Saturday immediately following the 100-yard backstroke event. In the competition, the Lobos again came away with a victory, this time courtesy of Jocelyn Gallais. She was able to hold off the Aggies’ Italia Aranzabal by less than three points. Daphne Scheck again placed well in diving this meet, placing third in the three-meter after coming off a win in the one-meter competition.
If this meet is any indication, the Lobos should fare well this season in distance events and in diving competitions when facing other NCAA Division 1 foes. UNM faces their next opponent next weekend, November 5-6, in Flagstaff, Arizona, versus Northern Arizona University.