Cougars Swim to Victory Over Air Force

COLORADO SPRINGS -- The BYU men's and women's swimming and diving teams swam to easy victories over the Air Force Academy Thursday night at Colorado Springs. The women defeated the Falcons 140-96, while the men won 142-101.

Coach Stan Crump said he thought his team swam really well, although they were a little bit timid to start strong at the beginning of the meet because of the high altitude.

"I thought we swam well, all things considered," Crump said. "We had good starts and we swam smart."

The Cougars set the tone of the meet early by placing first and second in the first race of the day, the 400 medley relay, and didn't look back.

Crump said he was pleased with the performances of Natasha Schlup and Shannon Bloom, who were both recovering from illnesses.

Schlup placed first in the 200 back, finishing in 2:10.56, while Bloom finished right behind teammate Brittany Davis in the 200 free. Besides winning the 200 free, Davis placed first in the 500 free and swam on the 400 medley relay.

BYU went one, two, three in both of the diving events with Aubrey Low placing first in the 1- and 3-meter competitions. The Cougars also swept the top-three places in the 200 IM and 100 free.

On the men's side, the Cougars placed first in five swimming events and both diving events. Winning for the Cougars were Mark Chay (100 and 200 free), Kurt Mullen (50 free), Diogo Yabe (200 IM), Justin Beardall (1-meter) and Scott Randall (3-meter). The men also won both the 400 medley and 400 free relays.

With the victory, the men improve their record to 2-0 in conference and 5-2 overall, while the women improve to 3-2 in conference and 8-6 overall.