NEW ORLEANS, La. --- The Lobos got two event wins from Sophia Corder and one from Arianna Stokes, and had several other PRs on the day as the Lobos finished up the Mardi Gras Invitational, facing off with host Tulane in the morning and North Texas in the afternoon.
UNM lost to Tulane 65-33 and to North Texas 39-28.
Corder won 100-yard fly in the morning against Tulane, and then doubled with the 50-yard fly against North Texas. She won the third of eight events (seven swimming plus the 1-meter dive), topping Phoebe Johnson of Tulane by 0.02 seconds. That made it 18-11 Tulane, but the Green Wave took first and second in the next three swimming events to clinch the win.
Still, it was a solid start to the day for UNM as Stokes was third overall in the 100 free and Mollie Gorman continued a solid freshman campaign with a third-place showing in the 100-yard breaststroke. In the 1-meter dive, Esme Abaddi-MacIntosh was third overall with a 272.05 to pick up points.
In the afternoon match, the Lobos and North Texas match was the tightest of the three for UNM, and the tightest of the entire meet. North Texas finished ahead of UNM in the team diving competition for a 5-3 lead, and it went to 10-6 after the relay, but UNM and North Texas split the subsequent four events. Corder won the 50 fly, and Rian Bleyendaal turned in a PR in the event as UNM pushed for points.
Kaylah Yazzie and Alex McGill then went 2-3 in the 50-yard backstroke, followed by Emily Ford coming in second in the 50-yard breaststroke. In the fifth swimming event, Stokes won the 50-free in 23.70 to get UNM within 31-26, but UNT went 1-2 in the 400 IM to clinch the win.
Along with Bleyendaal’s PR, Lizzie Briske turned in a PR in the 50-yard breaststroke, and Ava Schlosser did the same in the 50-yard backstroke.
The Lobos host Northern Arizona on Saturday at 11 am at Seidler Natatorium.