Idaho’s swim and dive team had a tough road trip down to the south this weekend.
The Vandals (2-5) traveled to meets at Grand Canyon University and Northern Arizona to finish out a six-meet road stretch to start their season.
Idaho took on Grand Canyon in Phoenix Friday and lost the meet 162-81. The team had a difficult day all around, as only senior Maren Seljevold was able to record a victory. Seljevold won the one-meter springboard event with a 252.90 score. Junior Janelle Lucas took third in the one-meter event and placed second in the three-meter dive with a score of 277.65. Seljevold finished right behind Lucas in the event to take third with a score of 266.03.
Freshman Alexis Schmidt had a highlight performance of her own, taking second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:08.33. That time is the best by any Vandal this season, and Schmidt improved on her own previous best by more than two seconds. Freshman Emma Schlyter and junior Sarah Hall also had strong performances. Schlyter raced in the 1,000-yard freestyle for the first time and took second with a time of 10:39.68, which was the second best for any Vandal this season. Hall took second place in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:53.72. Her time was also second-best on the team for this season.
“Grand Canyon is a really good dual meet team that is even better at home,” head coach Mark Sowa said in a news release. “You may not see it in the score but we did a lot of things better today and I like where we are headed.”
Idaho had a remarkably quick turnaround. Less than 24 hours later, the Vandals were competing in Flagstaff against Northern Arizona.
Senior Cara Jernigan and junior Lauren Votava led the way for the Vandals. Jernigan had no trouble in the 100-yard breaststroke, setting a season record with a 1:05.35 time after adjusting for altitude. Votava powered through the 200-yard breaststroke in only 2:25.95 to take first place in the event, and Jernigan touched the wall almost immediately after with a 2:26.09 time to give the Vandals a one-two finish.
The Vandals’ 400-meter freestyle relay team was also successful. Juniors Aileen Pannecoucke, Emily Kliewer, Sarah Hall, and freshman Schlyter finished the event with a time of 3:33.95, firmly in first place.
Idaho will host its first home meet of the season 4 p.m. Nov. 10 against New Mexico State at the UI Swim Center.
Jonah Baker can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jonahpbaker