New Mexico vs. TCU

Left Sidebar

FORT WORTH, Texas, January 26. FRESHMAN Maria Alvarez posted two dominating victories to help lead the TCU women's swimming and diving team past New Mexico on Saturday by a score of 137.5-107.5. The Frogs recorded four season-best times to give TCU the victory on Senior Day.

"This was a real confidence booster for the team said TCU head coach Richard Sybesma. "We needed a win, and New Mexico is a much improved team, so it was a really good victory for the program."

The Frogs jumped out to a commanding lead early in the meet, winning the first three events. The TCU 200-medley relay team of Samantha Smith, Ellie Bradley, Natalie Melenric and Nikki Pappas grabbed first place with a time of 1:49.69.

Senior Keilah Walker posted an impressive victory in the 1000-free, as the Arlington, Texas, native fought back from two seconds back mid-way through the race to win by nearly five seconds with a time of 10:34.33.

In the following event, Alvarez posted a season-best time of 1:55.00 in the 1000-free to take first place, while fellow freshman Brittney Martinez swam to a runner-up finish with a time of 1:57.09.

After getting a big lead early, the Frogs were unable to win any of the next four events, and found themselves neck and neck with the Lobos before Brittney Martinez and Cheryl Townsend broke through with a one-two finish in the 200-back. Martinez took the win with a time of 2:06.72, while Townsend followed with a clocking of 2:07.99. TCU would go on to win the last four events to seal the victory.

Alvarez, who joined the team prior to the spring season, struck again in the 500-free, posting a season-best time of 5:06.01 to take the win in over seven seconds. Walker would follow with a second-place showing.

"Maria has been a real boost to the program," Sybesma said. "She's a tough competitor, and she will only get better."

In the 200-breast, junior Katie Rosen swam to victory with a season-best time of 2:23.50, while senior Maribeth Pottenger followed up with a third-place showing (2:25.21).

The Frogs finished strong in the 200-free relay, as Mychala Lynch, Meredith Grubb, Martinez and Pappas swam to victory in a time of 1:38.53.

The divers also helped lead the Frogs on Saturday, as sophomore Jennifer Ferguson emerged for the first time this season after recovering from injury. Ferguson, a native of Beaconfield, Quebec, won the three-meter event with a season-best score of 247.13, and placed second in the one-meter with another season-best score of 258.29. Hannah Hale posted a score of 228.82 in the one-meter to place third.

The women's squad will return to action on Feb. 6, as they will host North Texas at the University Recreation Center at 6 p.m. The meet will mark the last competition before the MWC Championships begin on Feb. 27.

Special thanks to TCU for contributing this report.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x