On Saturday, Oct. 31, the University of Idaho swimming and diving team traveled to Flagstaff, Arizona, for the MPSF Dual Meet against Northern Arizona following its strong showing at the MPSF Open Water Championships.
The matchup followed a victory over Northern Arizona last season, when the Vandals won 160.5-139.5. In that victory, Idaho’s Marie Mason broke a school record in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:09.11, along with winning the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:25.45. Additionally, Isabella Borke placed first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:51.38, and Holly Lenarz placed first in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:00.31.
Starting off the 16-event matchup was the women’s 200-yard medley relay, where the Vandals’ Katy Foley, Courtney Crawford, Adelaide McRoberts and Sydney Heasman placed third with a time of 1:43.43.
Following that was the women’s 1,000-yard freestyle, where Holly Lenarz placed second with a time of 10:32.12, and Marie Mason finished third with a time of 10:35.89.
The third event showed more promise for the Vandals as they earned first and third place in the women’s 200-yard freestyle. Bella Liao placed first with a time of 1:51.27, and Isabella Borke finished third with a time of 1:53.32.
Another promising event followed with the women’s 100-yard backstroke, where Katy Foley finished first with a time of 56.43. Grace Benson placed third with a time of 57.37, just 0.03 seconds behind second-place finisher Allie M. Hayes, who finished with a time of 57.34.
Courtney Crawford finished second in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.39. Then, in the women’s 200-yard butterfly, Italia Ingle finished third with a time of 2:09.98. In the seventh event, Isabella Borke finished third with a time of 24.09 in the women’s 50-yard freestyle.
The focus then shifted to the diving team, as the eighth event was the women’s 1-meter diving competition, where Amelia Ward finished second with a score of 280.58.
The ninth event was the women’s 100-yard freestyle, where Isabella Borke returned with a second-place finish and a time of 52.33. In the 200-yard backstroke, Katy Foley also reappeared with a second-place finish and a time of 2:03.98.
In the 11th event, the Vandals’ Natalie Charles finished third with a time of 2:20.09 in the women’s 200-yard breaststroke. Marie Mason finished fifth in the women’s 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:12.89. In the women’s 100-yard butterfly, Adelaide McRoberts finished third with a time of 56.88.
Switching back to diving, Amelia Ward returned in the women’s 3-meter diving competition with a third-place finish and a score of 257.70.
Returning to swimming, the 15th event was the women’s 200-yard individual medley, where Natalie Charles finished second with a time of 2:07.53.
Rounding out the matchup was the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay, where the Vandals’ team of Katy Foley, Sadie Schaffer, Isabella Borke and Sydney Heasman finished second with a time of 3:29.02.
In the end, the Vandals faced a tough defeat against Northern Arizona, falling by a score of 206.5-92.5. Despite the final score, the Vandals put in a strong effort, with several individual performances highlighting the team’s competitiveness throughout the matchup.
The next event for the University of Idaho women’s swimming and diving team will be at home, where it will host Fresno State on Saturday, Nov. 7.