National rankings bring expectations and the Idaho swimming and diving team met those expectations Saturday in Las Cruces, N.M.
The 22nd mid-major ranked Vandals logged their third WAC win in four tries with a 173-127 victory over New Mexico State.
“It was great to get back to what we do well and that’s competing,” Idaho coach Mark Sowa said. “The Aggies are a really well coached good team and we knew we would have our hands full. I thought these Vandals handled that challenge great. It wasn’t always pretty, but you don’t get points for style.”
The win over New Mexico State adds to Idaho victories over WAC foes Northern Colorado, Grand Canyon and Seattle U. The one conference loss came at Northern Arizona.
Against NMSU, junior Rachel Millet got right back into her dominating season leading Idaho with three individual victories. She won the 100-yard backstroke in 56.66 seconds, the 200 backstroke in 2:04.11 and the 200 individual medley in 2:07.42. Millet also swam the starting leg of the winning Vandal 200 medley relay.
Millet was honored as the WAC Swimmer of the Week for her performances.
“Rachel (Millet) loves to race and relishes competition,” Sowa said. “She is putting together a great season and we are excited to see where she can take this thing.”
Another Idaho standout was fellow junior Erica Anderson. Anderson notched two individual victories for the Vandals with wins in the 50 free (24.75) and 200 breaststroke (2:24.86).
Senior Megan Venlos also won two individual events for the Vandals winning the 100 and 200 freestyle races in addition to a leg in the winning 400 freestyle relay.
On the diving boards, senior Paige Hunt won the 3-meter springboard with a score of 299.92 scoring 30 points more than the next finisher. She also added a second place finish in the 1-meter dive with a score of 258.82 points to earn WAC Diver of the Week and sweep the awards for Idaho.
“It has been so fun to watch Paige (Hunt’s) progression into a tremendous diver and teammate over the last couple of years,” Sowa said. “She has really upped her game recently and we feel like she still has her best diving ahead of her.”
The Vandals take a break from WAC play in their next meet to take on Pac-12 competition. On Saturday, Oregon State comes to the UI Swim Center for Idaho’s Senior Day.
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]