The men's and women's swimming and diving teams defeated Wyoming, Saturday. The women won nine of 13 events to pull out a close one, 131-112. The women are on a four-meet winning streak and improve to 7-3. The men won nine of 13 events to win decisively, 161-82 to beat a Cowboy team that was unbeaten at home and improve to 6-1 on the season.
All-American Cortnee Adams was the hero of the meet on Saturday. After racing to an easy win in the 100 free with a time of 51.90, she competed in an unfamiliar event of the 100 breast, one of the Cougars strengths. With the Cougars ahead by only one point with just two events left, Adams won the event with a time of 1:05.74, just ahead of teammate Amanda Grant who swam 1:05.90. The Cougars still needed a victory in the 200 free relay to secure the victory, Adams, only minutes after the 100 breast win, anchored the relay to first place by just a half-second margin of victory, 1:38.10.
"It was a incredibly close meet," said women's head swim coach Stan Crump. "Our hats off to Wyoming, they came to compete today. Our swimmers responded well to the challenge and can enjoy a nice flight home."
Other winners included junior Heidi Leitz who swam to victory in the 50 free and 100 fly posting times of 24.55 and 59.85, respectively. Freshman Nichole Burrows won the 100 back with a 59.55. Monica Ferrell swam victorious in the 1000 free with a time of 11:05.36.
Kelli Einfeldt won both the 1-meter and 3-meter events with scored of 249.4 and 262.3, respectively. Senior Tessa Clark dove to a second place finish in the 3-meter, just seven points behind her teammate.
For the men, All-American Aaron Russell won both the 1-meter and 3-meter events with scores of 343.5 and 318.15. Teammate Justin Wilcock, a junior, came in second place in both events. Freshman Andy Bradley came in third place in both events ahead of two-time MWC Diver of the Week Oscar Delgado, who placed fifth and fourth.
Both the 200 medley and 200 free relay squads won convincingly for the Cougars. The 200 free relay squad, ranked 10th in the nation, swam a pool-record time of 1:23.18.
Junior Billy Betz won two events in the 50 and 100 free with times of 20.96 and 46.45. Christopher Johnson also won two events in the 100 back and 200 free posting times of 51.44 and 1:42.79. Gary Tan of Singapore won the 100 fly with a time of 51.13.
"I thought that we swam well on our two road meets this week," said men's head swim coach Tim Powers.
Up next for the Cougars will be in-state rival Utah on February 8th at 2 p.m. in the Richards Building Pool. The meet was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. but was changed because of the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake.
The BYU men's and women's swimming and diving teams will travel to Air Force to face the Falcons this Thursday night at 6:00 p.m.. They will then compete at conference foe Wyoming on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. The men's team is currently 4-1 in dual meet action after not competing last week. The women are 5-3 after two conference wins last weekend.
Last season the men defeat Air Force 140-99 at home. The men also defeated the Cowboys 139-98 at home. Traveling on the road should make for tougher competition.
"We have two very tough meets this weekend," said men's head swim coach Tim Powers. "Not only will the with higher altitude affect us, but Air Force coach Rob Clayton was my assistant for six years and a victory would mean so much to him."
The women's swim team defeated the Falcons 139-102 last season at home. They also defeated Wyoming 141-86 at home.
"Swimming at 7,000 feet will make a difference because both competitors showcase nice swimmers," said women's head swim coach Stan Crump. "We will have to swim real well with no lapses or otherwise we'll get beat."
The next home meet for the Cougars will be February 8 against in-state rival Utah. The time of the meet was changed from 6 p.m. to 2 p.m. due to the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics in Salt Lake City.
