ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Lobos head to Reno, Nevada, hoping that a little bit of lady luck is on their side as UNM looks to continue improving with a dual meet against Nevada at Lombardi Pool. The meet will UNM’s second of the semester after competing at North Texas last week, while the meet is the first of the semester for Nevada.
UNM enters the meet officially at 0-4 while Nevada is 1-3. UNM is looking for its first ever win over the Wolf Pack as UNM is 0-4 lifetime against Nevada.
The Lobos are looking to continue its rapid season-long improvement. The Lobos picked up six wins in 16 events in its dual meet with the Mean Green of North Texas. UNM swept both diving competitions with senior Kristen Hepfer winning in the 3-meter and freshman Alice English winning the 1-meter. On the swim front, UNM’s Maya Clise won her first race of the season in taking the 1,000-yard freestyle by nearly four seconds over Kennedy Eichler. Jordan Foster earned two more wins, in the 100-yard breaststroke (topping teammate Kiana Raagas) and in the 200-yard breaststroke as well.
Katy McCarter won the 100-yard freesyle and finished second in the 50-yard free as well.
UNM, which hosts Wyoming next Saturday at 11 a.m. on Senior Day, is looking to take another big step in the rejuvenation of the program that has already seen more event this wins in 2023-24 than in all of the 2022-23 season. A key factor in the season has been depth, as the Lobos just don’t have a ton of it. The Lobos have just four divers and only Hepfer and English have competed in every meet this year. The Lobo also only have 16 swimmers active on the roster, giving the team a total roster of 20. Most teams have at least 25 on a squad, and those extra five mean UNM doubles up on a lot of races in 2023-24, which makes UNM’s improvement this season that much more remarkable.
Fans can watch the meet vs. Nevada via the Mountain West Network.