The Colorado State swimming & diving squad will host rival Wyoming on Saturday for the Rams’ Senior Meet. Nine CSU seniors will be recognized pre-meet poolside.
The meet will begin at 12 p.m., with Senior Meet festivities occurring at 11:45 a.m. The 3-meter dive will take place at 11 a.m.Admission is free, and students in attendance will have free pizza provided for lunch.
The nine athletes being recognized are: Jenna Beaury, Teagan Griffith, Allie Jacobs, Meg Lloyd, Gabby Morley, Liz Prasse, Karin Roh, Emily Williams and Bailey Williamson.
Three Rams (Prasse, Williams and Katie Kicklighter) helped lead the Rams to a highly successful fall semester in the classroom, posting 4.0 GPAs and boosting the team’s GPA to a 3.241.
CSU is 41-11 all-time against the Cowgirls, but have not beaten their rivals from Laramie since Feb. 6, 2009. Wyoming hosted the dual meet last year and was victorious by a score of 196-104.
WOODY’s WORDS
(On the team’s mentality entering an important dual meet)
“They’ve been through some tough meets this season, on the winning and losing side. I think they’ve got a good handle on what’s expected of them and how aggressive we need them to be. We discuss every year that our focus is the end of the season, but we certainly don’t overlook dual meets, and especially one that will be this hotly contested. I expect they’ll come out blazing.”
(On the importance of hosting rival Wyoming)
“I knew nothing other than beating Wyoming when I was an assistant coach here, but (Wyoming head coach Tom Johnson) has done a great job recruiting and teaching his kids and making this a rivalry. Unfortunately, it’s been a little more lopsided in their favor lately. For us to make this a rivalry again would be huge for our program.”
(On the class of nine seniors that will be honored during the meet’s festivities)
“Division I college swimming can be a grind, even for the most motivated athletes. These nine seniors are have really formed a bond with each other and the coaches and have performed really above the level that they were at in high school before coming here. To see that growth and maturity and setting standards for the classes after them has been so important. We owe them a debt of gratitude and I hope when they finish that they have smiles on their faces and that they remember this fondly.”
(On the significance of having a large, active crowd on Saturday)
“It’s huge, because Wyoming will certainly bring some fans and they like to make it a hostile environment wherever they go. For our fans to show up and be loud and aggressive is important, and I know our girls will feed off of that. It will be a huge asset for us.”
HOW RAMS RANK IN MW
Eight different Rams rank in the top 10 in the Mountain West in various individual events. Haley Rowley ranks in the top 10 in four events, including third in the 1000 free, 1650 free and the 400 IM. Jenna Beaury is second in the 200 breast and fifth in the 100 breast, and is one of three MW swimmers to sit in the top five in both disciplines. Rowan Hauber is also in the top five in a pair of events – 100 and 200 back. Tonicia Thomas is fifth in the 200 back, making CSU the only school with two athletes in the top five of the event. Allie Jacobs also holds a top-five time with the league’s No. 5 time in the 400 IM.
2016 RAMS RECAP
The first half of the 2016-17 season for the Rams featured a pair of home dual meet victories, multiple school records and numerous NCAA ‘B’ cut qualifying times. CSU topped both Omaha and Idaho at Moby Pool in the fall, going 2-0 at home dual meets. Sophomore Haley Rowley, in her first semester as a competitor at CSU, set four school records (500/1000/1650 freestyle events and the 400 IM), all in one weekend at the Phill Hansel Invite. Rowley earned a pair of NCAA ‘B’ cut times (400 IM, 1650 free), joining teammate Rowan Hauber (100 & 200 back) as Rams with two qualifying marks. Tonicia Thomas (200 back) and Jenna Beaury (200 breast) also hit ‘B’ cut times. Emily Williams starred on the decks for CSU, and won her first MW Diver of the Week honor on Oct. 25.
LAST TIME OUT – USD SHOOTOUT
CSU went west to open the New Year, finishing third out of four teams competing at the USD Shootout hosted by the University of San Diego. The foursome of Rowan Hauber, Jenna Beaury, Tonicia Thomas and Katie Kicklighter gave the Rams 11 points in the first event (400 medley relay), winning by just over a 0.5 seconds over the top relay group from Kansas. The win was the only one of the day for the Rams. The meet featured many short-distance events and only allowed for one individual to score from each team in every individual event, creating a unique format for the Rams.
ALL-CONFERENCE RETURNEES
The Rams 2016-17 roster will feature three athletes who earned all-conference recognition at the 2016 Mountain West Championships. Senior Jenna Beaury will have high expectations entering 2016-17 as she earned an NCAA B Cut time in the 200 breast last season, and earned All-MW honors in both the 100 and 200 breast. Two sophomores on the roster earned All-MW honors as freshmen a year ago – Mackenzie Halligan (400 IM) and Ida Donohue (1,650 free).
NUMEROUS RAMS RECEIVE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE RECOGNITION
Nine members of the 2015-16 CSU swimming & diving squad received Scholar-Athlete recognition from the Mountain West over the summer.
Cristina Bassani, Katie Kicklighter, Kelsey Lawton, Megan Lloyd, Carmen Mand, Elizabeth Prasse, Gianna Salanitro, Nina Stitt and Emily Williams all received the honor. The nine student-athletes represented seven different majors. Swimming & diving had the most athletes honored aside from the track & field and cross country programs.
News courtesy of Colorado State Athletics.