NAU Women Best Idaho Vandals at Home

The Northern Arizona women took on Idaho while celebrating their senior day this weekend. NAU defended their home pool, taking a 169.5-102.5 win. Read on for full recaps from each team.

Idaho:

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern Arizona University got the best of the Idaho Vandals, who were completing a two-day swing Saturday at the Lumberjacks; 7,000-foot elevation.

While Cara Jernigan (200 breaststroke) and Maryann Kok (50 free) recorded individual victories – along with the 200 free relay team, it was NAU that dominated the overall meet, 169.5-102.5.

“This is probably one of the toughest places to compete in the country and a really good team on top of that,” coach Mark Sowa said. “Our girls never backed down. We lost our share of close races but I liked how we competed.”

Jernigan, who was timed in 2:38.69 in winning the 200 breaststroke, was one of those who lost the closest of races. She was second in the 100 breaststroke but by only six one-hundredths of a second with a time of 1:12. 78.

Kok claimed the 50 free in 27.22 seconds and was on the winning relay team along with Sami Hendricks, Ailene Pannecoucke and Emily Kliewer.

“Overall a tough but really good weekend,” Sowa said. “We are ready to do something great in two weeks. Now we need rest and need to get healthy. ”

NAU:

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team ripped off five straight victories to start the day and ended it with a relay victory. All in all, the Lumberjacks sent out their seniors and the Wall Aquatic Center with an emotional Senior Day onslaught of their WAC rivals, Idaho, 169.5-102.5 on Saturday. The win came in the team’s final regular season meet and in the final meet ever in their home for the last 34 years.

“There were a lot of emotions between the seniors’ last meet and the last meet ever in the Wall Aquatic Center,” said head coach Andy Johns. “It was great to see all of our seniors swim well today. It was very much a team effort. Our last two home meets ended with not-so-great finishes, so there was an emphasis to win. We’re headed in the right direction as we get ready for the conference championships.”

NAU won 13 of 15 events on the day – although it competed in the relay as an exhibition with the meet already decided – with seniors Kendall Brown and Chelsea Jackson each collecting two event wins in their final home dual. Sophomore Alina Staffeldt also posted a pair of victories as the Lumberjacks finished their regular season with a 7-9 record.

Sophomore Claire Hammond got the Lumberjack train rolling in the day’s opening event, the 200m freestyle, posting a winning time of 2:09.78. NAU then went one-two in the 100m backstroke with junior Hayley Edmond clocking a time of 1:05.27 and junior Sara Lenhoff following right behind at 1:06.61.

The good times continued in the 100m breaststroke as junior Urte Kazakeviciute (1:02.71) just edged out Idaho’s Cara Jernigan at the wall by .07 seconds. Staffeldt then made it four-for-four with an impressive time of 1:03.50 in the 100m butterfly. An even more impressive swim came in the 800m freestyle by sophomore Kimmy Richter as she bested both of her Vandal competitors in commanding fashion with a time of 9:26.83.

After the Vandals posted their first win in the 50m free – only after NAU was disqualified for a false start in the winning spot – the NAU divers led by Jackson strutted their stuff. Just two weeks after breaking her own 1-meter pool record, Jackson did so once again with a record-breaking score of 316.50 to win the event. Senior Carlye Townsend notched a second-place finish with a score of 280.05 and junior Alexa Geiger completed the one-two-three sweep with a score of 278.78.

“Our seniors did a great job today with Carlye having one of her best meets again on both boards and Chelsea was on fire,” said diving coach Nikki Huffman. “I was happy with our seniors, and really all of them. There were some ‘wow’ moments and there were others that we could’ve done a little better. We still have room for improvement, and going into conference we’re very excited about what we can do and get done.”

At the end of the first diving break, the Lumberjacks held an 83-47 advantage and as it turned out, the divers were just getting the sweeps started. Coming out of the break, the ‘Jacks went one-two-three in the 400m individual medley and the 200m fly. In the 400m IM, three of NAU’s seniors – Brown, Monica Pruett and Eva Pold – shined the brightest with Brown leading the pack with a winning time of 5:06.77. Staffeldt then led an NAU trio which included Richter and freshman Andrea Schmidt in the top three of the 200m fly with her second victory of the day turning in a time of 2:21.02.

Freshman Roni Houck followed with a winning 100m free time of 58.84 and Lenhoff then claimed the 200m back win with a time of 2:24.63. Heading into the final break – and the senior recognition – Brown notched her second Senior Day win with a time of 4:36.18 in the 400m free. Brown was just the first of three Lumberjacks to touch the wall before any Vandal as Hammond finished second and Pold placed third. In her final dual meet event, Jackson then won the 3-meter springboard with a score of 308.33 and with it came her final appearance ever in the Wall Aquatic Center.

“This is where it all started for me when I first did a couple of months of diving when I was eight and when I came back when I was 17,” Jackson, a Flagstaff native, said. “I’m pretty emotional about this pool going down, but I’m excited about the new pool. I know it’s going to be great. We’re going to miss this pool, but we’re going to be moving on to something bigger and better.”

The Lumberjacks capped the day with Houck, Staffeldt, freshman Logan Neal and Schmidt getting to the wall first with a time of 1:46.93 in the 200m freestyle relay.

While this senior class of eight – Brooke Brittain, Brown, Trinity Frazee, Jackson, Pold, Pruett, Cassie Ronai and Townsend – was honored for their achievements and contributions, everyone soaked up the moment when the final race was completed. The Wall Aquatic Center has been the program’s original home since it opened in 1983. Starting with the upcoming NCAA Zone E Diving Championships in March, the team will now reside in the adjacent new pool.

“There are a lot of memories going through my head and what a way it was to finish off this era in this facility today,” said Johns, who is in his 20th year as the Lumberjacks’ head coach.

The team’s next stop will be Houston, Texas – the site of the Western Athletic Conference Championships – where the ‘Jacks will look to claim their third consecutive conference title.

Swimming news courtesy of Idaho and NAU Swimming & Diving.