DENVER –  The University of Denver men's and women's swimming and diving programs swept Wyoming in dual meet action on Saturday afternoon at El Pomar Natatorium. In a battle of the 2018 Summit League Champions and the 2018 Western Athletic Conference Champions, Denver's men improved to 2-0 in duals this season with a 184-114 victory, while the women went to 4-1 on the year by a score of 155-145.
 
Denver's men and women combined to win 21 of the 32 events on Saturday.
 
Redshirt-senior Heidi Bradley (Victoria, B.C.), freshman Brandi Vu (Longmont, Colo.), junior Kylie Cronin (Marblehead, Mass.) and senior Lauren Moden (Parker, Colo.) led off the meet with a victory in the 400 medley relay, combining for a time of 3:45.45 to win the race by 5.45 seconds.
 
Denver's men got its meet off to the right start as well, taking the men's 400 medley by 2.76 seconds as junior Neil Wachtler (Waco, Texas) and sophomores Anthony Nosack (Beaverton, Ore.), Adriel Sanes (Rosharon, Texas) and Cameron Auchinachie (Binghamton, N.Y.) earned a time of 3:20.24.
 
Junior Colin Gilbert (Kamloops, B.C.) and classmate Jesse Haraden (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) backed up their 1-2 finish in the 1000 free on Thursday night at Air Force with another 1-2 showing less than 48 hours later. Gilbert reached the wall first in a time of 9:42.19, while Haraden pushed his teammate to the end with a time of 9:43.93.
 
Auchinachie and junior Hugo Sykes (Weston, Conn.) finished 1-2 in the 100 free on Thursday before finishing in the top two spots in the 200 free this afternoon. Auchinachie reached the final wall in 1:41.96 to take first ahead of Sykes who finished second in 1:42.06.
 
Bradley got the Denver women back in the win column, out-swimming the rest of the field in the 100 back with a time of 55.98. Wachtler earned his second win of the weekend in the 100 back with a time of 50.09 in the men's race.
 
Vu recorded her second victory in the campaign in the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.69 to earn the women their second-consecutive event victory. Denver's men didn't win the 100 breast, but Sanes and Nosack combined for seven points for Denver with a 2-3 finish in times of 56.87 and 57.34.
 
Cronin and junior Josie Valette (Boulder, Colo.) captured the top-two spots in the 200 fly on Saturday. Cronin reached the wall first in 2:05.23, ahead of Valette's time of 2:07.78. The victory for Cronin was her fourth in the event this season.
 
Senior Kyle Ewoldt (Gilbert, Ariz.) led a trio of Pioneers that gave Denver some separation by sweeping the podium in the men's 200 fly. Ewoldt clocked in at 1:51.39, classmate Graham Walker (Nairobi, Kenya) reached the final wall in 1:52.97 and freshman David Mihalic (Ljubljana, Slovenia) finished third in 1:53.04.
 
Moden made it three 50 free wins on the season on Saturday with her time of 23.75 to win the sprint, while Auchinachie and sophomore Jackson Gainer (San Jose, Calif.) took the second and third spots in the men's race with times of 20.86 and 20.93.
 
On the other side of a break for diving, Moden got right back in the win column, finishing 1-2 with sophomore Aysia Leckie (Georgetown, Ontario) to give Denver the top 13 points in the race with times of 51.63 and 52.52.


Sykes picked up a freestyle win for the Denver men in the 100 free, out-touching the next three Wyoming swimmers with a time of 45.83.
 
Freshman Patrick Groters (Santa Cruz, Aruba) picked up his first win in Crimson and Gold on Saturday out-swimming the field by nearly three seconds in the 200 back with a time of 1:51.75.
 
Vu's early season breaststroke success continued in the second half of Saturday's meet, as the Denver freshman led a group of Pioneers that captured the top-four spots in the 200 breast. Vu finished in 2:21.10, sophomore Charlotte Simon (Saint Remy, France) clocked in at 2:24.13, classmate Ally Yancy (Cave Creek, Ariz.) reached the final wall in 2:25.53 and senior Courtney Laird (Overland Park, Kan.) recorded a time of 2:25.54.
 
Sanes earned his first event win of the opening weekend of competition for the men in 2018-19 with a 2:04.35 in the 200 breast.
 
Gilbert and Haraden went 1-2 in the second distance race of the day as well. Gilbert won the 500 in 4:39.50, ahead of Haraden's 4:43.19.
 
Valette and Cronin switched spots in the finishing order of the 100 fly as Valette edged out her Denver teammate with a 55.98, 0.61 seconds ahead of Cronin's second place finish. Walker beat out Ewoldt for the top spot in the men's 100 fly, reaching the fourth wall in 50.34.
 
Denver's women didn't win the 400 IM, but did earn a valuable seven points in the race to keep the Pioneers lead at one heading into the final race. Sophomore Uma Knaven (Chapel Hill, N.C.) finished second in 4:31.49, while classmate Emily Vandenberg (Ajax, Ontario) clocked in at 4:35.76 to take third.
 
Mihalic followed up his win in the 200 IM at Air Force on Thursday with a victory in the 400 IM Saturday, reaching the wall in 4:03.47 to lead a trio of Pioneers to the podium positions. Ewoldt recorded a 4:05.94 to take second and freshman Blayze Jessen (Denver, Colo.) finished third in 4:08.60.
 
Denver's 200 free relays capped off the meet with a pair of wins. Bradley, Moden, Valette and Leckie combined for a time of 1:33.37 to take the women's race, while the quartet of Auchinachie, Gainer, Sanes and Sykes captured the top spot with a 1:21.43.
 
Saturday Afternoon's Event Wins
Women's 400 Medley Relay – Heidi Bradley, Brandi Vu, Kylie Cronin, Lauren Moden – 3:45.45
Men's 400 Medley Relay – Neil Wachtler, Anthony Nosack, Adriel Sanes, Cameron Auchinachie – 3:20.24
Men's 1000 Free – Colin Gilbert – 9:42.19
Men's 200 Free – Cameron Auchinachie – 1:41.96
Women's 100 Back – Heidi Bradley – 55.98
Men's 100 Back – Neil Wachtler – 50.09
Women's 100 Breast – Brandi Vu – 1:03.69
Women's 200 Fly – Kylie Cronin – 2:05.23
Men's 200 Fly – Kyle Ewoldt – 1:51.39
Women's 50 Free – Lauren Moden – 23.75
Women's 100 Free – Lauren Moden – 51.63
Men's 100 Free – Hugo Sykes – 45.83
Men's 200 Back – Patrick Groters – 1:51.75
Women's 200 Breast – Brandi Vu – 2:21.10
Men's 200 Breast – Adriel Sanes - 2:04.35
Men's 500 Free – Colin Gilbert – 4:39.50
Women's 100 Fly – Josie Valette – 55.98
Men's 100 Fly – Graham Walker – 50.34
Men's 400 IM – David Mihalic – 4:03.47
Women's 200 Free Relay – Heidi Bradley, Lauren Moden, Josie Valette, Aysia Leckie – 1:33.37
Men's 200 Free Relay – Cameron Auchinachie, Jackson Gainer, Adriel Sanes, Hugo Sykes – 1:21.43
 
UP NEXT:
Both programs will head to Iowa City next week to battle Iowa and Michigan. The two-day dual meet will begin on Friday at 5 p.m. MT, before the three teams return to the water on Saturday at 9 a.m. MT.
 
Fans interested in making a donation to the men's and women's swimming and diving programs can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.   
 
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