FORT COLLINS, Colo. – After putting the 2021-22 season in the books – figuratively and the record variety – Colorado State’s women’s swimming and diving program is geared up for a tantalizing follow-up campaign, releasing the season schedule on Monday.
The Rams were 14-0 in duals a season ago, a single-season record and the first unblemished campaign in more than two decades. There are 13 duals on the schedule, including one quadrangular and three double duals.
“Coming off our first perfect dual season in 21 years, we’re energized to keep the success flowing,” head coach Christopher Woodard said. “We decided to shake up our schedule this year and compete against some different teams. We have a tremendous challenge right out of the gates against a strong field at the Chik-Fil-A Invitational, and the close of the first half allows us to honor our seniors against our most bitter rivals, then face a pair of Mountain West foes. The second half gives us some additional new challenges, but more importantly, the springboard to build toward our ultimate goal of performing our best at Mountain West Championships.”
The Rams will warmup for the season with a pair of unofficial competitions, the Horsetooth Open Water and a Green And Gold Instrasquad meet in September, then open up the season for real against a tough field at the Chik-Fil-A Invitational in Fresno, Calif., Oct 7-8. This represents a departure from previous years, where Woodard had his team head to a big invite before heading home for the holiday break.
CSU will compete in the Centennial State six times this season, but just once at Moby Pool when the Rams host Border War rival Wyoming on Nov. 5, which also stands as Senior Day. The Rams toppled the Cowgirls last season for the first time in 13 years in a down-to-the-wire decision in Laramie.
The team will take short trips along the Front Range to compete against New Mexico State and Colorado School of Mines (Oct. 15), Denver (Oct. 28), Air Force, Colorado Mesa, BYU and Seattle (Jan. 20-21), Northern Colorado (Jan. 27) and the Air Force Diving Invitational (Feb. 2-4) throughout the season.
The regular season closes with the Denver First Chance Invite Feb. 10-11 in preparation for the Mountain West Championships Feb. 15-18 in Houston, Texas.
The 14-0 mark a season ago is the third-longest run in program history, just one behind the second-best. The school record is a streak of 24 dual victories from 1977-81.
The roster features the return of four All-Mountain West performers in Emily Chorpening, Anika Johnson, Lucy Matheson and Maya White and a trio of swimmers who helped set two school relay records last season. Overall, the team posted 29 new entries into the program’s top-10 event marks and remained stalwart in the classroom by earning CSCAA Scholar All-American team distinction for both the fall and spring semesters.
2022-23 Colorado State Women’s Swimming and Diving Schedule
Sept. 11 7 AM Horsetooth Open Water Fort Collins, CO
Sept. 23 7 AM Green & Gold Intrasquad Meet Fort Collins, CO
October 7-8 All Day Chik-Fil-A Invite Fresno, CA
Oct. 15 11 AM NMSU/Mines Golden, CO
Oct. 28 4:30 PM Denver Denver, CO
Nov. 5 12 PM Wyoming (Senior Recognition) Fort Collins, CO
December 2-3 4 PM/11 AM New Mexico/Air Force Albuquerque, NM
Jan. 7 3 PM Northern Arizona/North Texas Flagstaff, AZ
Jan. 20-21 5 PM/11 AM Air Force/Mesa/BYU/Seattle Colorado Springs, CO
Jan. 27 5 PM Northern Colorado Greeley, CO
Feb. 2-4 All Day Air Force Invite (diving only) Colorado Springs, CO
Feb. 10-11 TBD Denver First Chance Invite Denver, CO
Feb. 15-18 All Day Mountain West Championships Houston, TX
March 6-8 All Day NCAA Zone E Diving Championships TBD
March 9-11 All Day National Invitational Championship Elkhart, IN
March 15-18 All Day NCAA Championships Minneapolis, MN