As the spring semester heats up, the Idaho swim and dive team looked to cool off from the program’s 181-119 loss against New Mexico State in the desert.
The team returned to Moscow to face Pac-12 opponent Oregon State in the team’s Senior Meet.
The Vandals beat the Beavers 188-106 and took 12 of the 16 events Saturday to regain momentum before a lengthy road trip.
Idaho coach Mark Sowa said he knew the team would turn it around after the Jan. 12 meet in La Cruses, New Mexico.
“Last week was rough and they learned a lot from it,” Sowa said. “We sat down after our loss and asked what did you learn and forced them to self-evaluate. They made a lot of nice adjustments this week, especially in training. I’m very happy and they were focused performers.”
Freshman freestyle swimmer Sarah Hall competed in three events and won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:52.94.
Hall said she felt Saturday’s meet was her best performance this season.
“I was happy with my time and how today went,” Hall said. “After La Cruses, the mood was a bit down and coming to a home meet lifted our spirit and attitude, so it was lot more fun.”
Before the meet, Sowa and the entire team recognized seniors Sami Hendricks, Allison Hodgin and Emily Renzini for their hard work and contributions in the swim and dive program.
“Their legacy is their leadership,” Sowa said. “They wanted to leave their mark on this place and that’s what a Vandal is. A Vandal goes some place and changes it for the better.”
Sowa said the seniors will be remembered for their valiant team chemistry with the underclassmen.
“Their maturity as leaders this year was extraordinary because we have such a young team and having those three seniors really take on that leadership role is so impressive,” Sowa said.
Hall said her takeaway from the senior class was their teamwork.
“They were some of the best teammates I could ever ask for,” Hall said. “Being team captains this year will be hard to fulfill next year and (we are) going to miss them a lot.”
Renzini said although she was sad her final home meet had concluded but was happy to see what’s in store for the Vandals.
“I’m really happy that we ended the meet with a win,” Renzini said. “I’m proud of my team and we have a really young team, so it’s going to be exciting to watch for the next couple of years.”
Hendricks said it was enjoyable to see the team’s attitude transform with the positive experience Saturday.
“(The seniors) had a big impact in our team,” Hendricks said. “When you watch them coming to practice, they’re always ready to go. They bring enthusiasm in everything that they do and it’s really fun to watch them.”
Hendricks along with Cara Jernigan, Maryann Kok and Allie Magrino won the 200-yard medley relay (1:45.89). Hendricks was also part of the winning team in the 200-yard freestyle relay featuring Kok, Aileen Pannecoucke and Emily Kliewer.
Vandal freshman Vivian Crow won the 200-yard butterfly event.
Sophomore Nikki Imanaka won both diving events for Idaho while Jerningan took the number one spot in both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke.
Erica King (200-yard backstroke), Kok (50-yard freestyle) and Kliewer (100-yard freestyle and butterfly) were other victorious Vandals Saturday.
The Idaho  divers will head to the Air Force Academy Jan. 29-30 to compete in the Air Force Academy Diving Invite.
Idaho’s next dual meet will be Feb. 5 when the team faces Grand Canyon at Phoenix, Arizona.
Sowa said that it was great to get a win against a Pac-12 opponent, but that he’s focused on finishing the final stretch of the season on a positive note.
“They need to continue to improve on their starts, turns, breakouts and finishes,” Sowa said. “Then try to give them a ton of rest and see if we can get some giddy up toward the end of the year.”
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @TheLTFiles