Jan. 14, 2005

Results

DENVER - The University of Denver men and women's swimming and diving teams dominated their first meet of 2005 this afternoon in El Pomar Natatorium with men defeating Colorado (157-63) and Metro State (161-42), and the women also defeating Colorado (161-73) and Metro State (161-33). 16 different Pioneers won their events.

"I thought we raced great today," said head coach Jim Henry. "I was impressed with the way our athletes came out this afternoon. I think it is going to be a great month and we will be in a good position heading into the conference championships in February."

The women came out and tallied 13 first-place finishes including both relays, while the men won 11 events and both relays. Sophomore Harmony Zeller (Arvada, Colo.) started out the meet with a dazzling win in the 1650-yard freestyle (17:48.59), over 30 seconds faster than her nearest competitor fellow Pioneer sophomore Meghan McNally (Lonetree, Colo.). Freshman Nathan West followed with his own win in the 1650-yard freestyle (16:44.95) for the men.

Freshman Tessa O'Connell (Denver, Colo.) and sophomore Katie Conyers (Lakewood, Colo.) finished one and two in the 200-yard freestyle posting times of 2:02.42 and 2:04.39, respectively, while freshman Erik Bordwell (Willmette, Ill.) and senior Matt Kazan (Littleton, Colo.) did the same for the men with times of 1:48.62 and 1:49.77, respectively.

In the sprint events junior Christy Breen (Fairport, N.Y.)and freshman Matt Diotte (Auburn, Wash.) sped to the wall and claimed top honors in the 50-yard freestyle. Freshman Caroline Carson (Midland, Texas) and sophomore Craig Jollands (Hillcrest, South Africa) both won the 400-yard individual medley. Carson was nearly 10 seconds faster than her nearest competitor (4:45.07) and Jollands over five seconds faster than his nearest competitor (4:09.21). Jollands added another win later in the evening in the 500-yard freestyle (4:49.37).

Freshman divers Holly Watson (Sugar Land, Texas) and Wolf Audet (Madison, Conn.) contributed to the Pioneers domination and swept the diving events. Watson scored 221.80 points on the three-meter board and 236.55 points on the one-meter board, and Audet recorded 206.60 points on the three-meter board and 180.80 points on the one- meter board.

Other Pioneers who contributed and recorded first-place finishes for the women were junior Michaela Amereller (Munich, Germany) in the 200-yard backstroke (2:12.91), sophomore Natalie O'Rourke (Meadow Vista, Calif.) in the 500-yard free (5:18.27), freshmen Jackie Bradford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) in the 200-yard butterfly (2:12.00), Kelsey Totura (Castle Rock, Colo.) in the 100-yard free (52.87) and Olivia Pollard (Wildomar, Calif.) in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:30.05). Other first-place finishes for the men included senior Jordan Chittley (Toronto, Ontario) in the 200-yard butterfly (2:00.00) and freshman Serge Wenzel (Englewood, Colo.) in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:15.92).

The Pioneers return to action next weekend when the women host Northern Colorado on Friday, Jan. 21 at 4:30 p.m., and the men square off against Air Force on Saturday, Jan. 22 in Colorado Springs at 11 a.m.

MenDenver 157, Colorado 63Denver 161, Metro State 42Colorado 109 Metro State 74
WomenDenver 161, Colorado 73Denver 161, Metro State 33Colorado 119, Metro State 96