The Air Force Falcons women’s swimming and diving team competed in a double dual meet on Saturday at the Richards Building Pool in Provo, Utah. The Falcons defeated Colorado Mesa with a score of 207.50-145.50 but lost to BYU 207-146.
Head coach Colleen Murphy commented on the team’s performance, saying, “The team had a good weekend and BYU was on fire at their home opener, but our team rose to the challenge and swam well.”
Air Force divers took the top four spots in the 1-meter event. Freshman Lulu Semakula won her third 1-meter event of the season with a score of 258.75. Chloe Perkins finished second (254.20), Cayla Jaffe third (253.50), and Lexi Gregory fourth (253.25). Kacey Hu placed fifth with a score of 237.45.
Head diving coach Kyle Van Valkenburg stated, “The women were dominant in their performances and I was pleased with their event sweeps. They cam into the weekend eager to compete and they showed good consistency throughout the meet.”
In swimming events, Naomi Furman secured first place in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:02.00, while team captain Maeve Linscott finished fifth at 1:03.77.
Murphy noted progress within the squad: “We have been working extremely hard in the pool and we are swimming fast tired. This team is special and we are going to have lifetime bests in-season; we have leveled up this semester.”
Jena Nowoswiat won the 200 butterfly at 2:03.82, while Natalie Doig took third place at 2:04.94.
The Falcons’ relay teams also achieved podium finishes, including third place in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:45.38.
Elizabeth Sistrunk led Air Force in the 200 backstroke by finishing second at 2:00.80, followed by Addy Forbes who placed fourth at 2:01.91.
In distance races, Abby Miller earned second place in the 1650 freestyle (17:16.84) and Katie Andrist finished fourth (17:20.96).
Sadie Hartig collected bronze in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:05.58; Hanani Dona (2:06.73) and Furman (2:07.23) completed top-five finishes for Air Force.
Sophomore Lily Larson took third place in the 200 freestyle at 1:48.84, while Hartig added another top-five result by placing fifth at 1:51.52.
Ryan Mills recorded Air Force’s fastest time in the sprint events by finishing fifth in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.73.
Looking ahead to next week’s competitions, Murphy said, “We are looking forward to the meet next weekend and focusing on racing the sprints,” while Van Valkenburg added, “We look to improve going into our invitational next week where we will face the same teams and tough competition.”
The Falcons will host the Air Force Diving Invitational from January 29 through January 31 and participate in both that event as well as compete at home during Senior Day for swimmers during Colorado Sprint Championship on January 31.
