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Aggies wrap up 2024 with a convincing dual meet victory in Utah.
Source: NMSU Athletics
By Matthew Knope
Photo: Courtesy
ST. GEORGE, Utah – The NM State swimmers returned to the pool on Thursday, taking down WAC foe Utah Tech. In the two sides’ first-ever dual meet in program history, the Aggies prevailed by a score of 173-78.
The Crimson & White took the crown in 12 of 14 events on the day, landing on 29 of the 42 possible podium spots. Katie Rink, Emily Dobbins and Dijana Mazumdar each touched the wall first in multiple races, pushing their squad to its second-largest margin of victory this season.
The day began with an Aggie victory in the 200 medley relay, as the quartet of Kira Brownell, Faye McDonagh, Emily Dobbins and Dijana Mazumdar combined for a time of 1:45.98, finishing more than two seconds ahead of second place.
Katie Rink opened up her impressive day with a first-place finish in the 1000 free, clocking a time of 10:21.32, coming in more than five and a half seconds ahead of the competition.
Immediately after, the 200 free proved to be one of the Aggies’ strongest events of the day. Naomi Slee, Lina Khiyara and Dreamer Kowatch swept the podium at Human Performance Natatorium. Slee (1:55.26), Khiyara (1:57.34) and Kowatch (1:57.60) were separated by less than two and a half seconds en route to their top-three finishes.
In just the fourth event of the afternoon, Dobbins picked up her second of three victories on Thursday. The Newcastle, Australia, native posted a time of 57.58 in the 100 back, finishing more than a second ahead of the rest of the pack. Thea Masselink was less than two tenths of a second out of second place, ranking third in the event (58.96).
In one of just two events the Aggies did not come in first, they still covered each of the other two spots on the podium. Foteini Charitou (1:06.68) and Faye McDonagh (1:06.91), each came within three tenths of a second of first in the 100 breast.
Event six was the 200 fly, and the entire podium turned back to Crimson & White. Ellen Osthelder (2:08.21), Riley Crespo (2:16.48) and Emma Bacon (2:19.27) went 1-2-3 for NM State.
Dijana Mazumdar was the only swimmer to dip below 24 seconds in the 50 free, posting a time of 23.91. In the very next event, she reached the wall first in the 100 free, tallying a 52.65 mark. The Sydney, Australia native continued an impressive true freshman campaign that has already included a WAC Swimmer of the Week award pair of the league’s top-five times in the 50 free and 100 free.
Naomi Slee, Thea Masselink and Jamie Puhalski rounded out the Aggies third podium sweep of the day, with Slee’s 2:05.96 200 back leading the way.
Katie Rink and Estel Galo posted the two best times in the 500 free, led by Rink’s dominant mark of 5:05.32 that put her more than 12 seconds ahead of the competition.
Ellen Osthelder and Emma Bacon took their own place atop the leaderboard in the 100 fly, led by the former’s first-place pace of 58.29.
The Aggies’ fourth and final sweep of the day came from Faye McDonagh, Estel Galo and Arleen Rumbaum. The trio was led by McDonagh’s 2:10.72 pace, while Rumbaum (2:15.07) finished a hundredth of a second ahead of Utah Tech’s best swimmer.
The final event of the day began with Emily Dobbins, Dijana Mazumdar, Naomi Slee and Katie Rink entering the water one last time. The quartet clinched the 400 free relay title with a time of 3:29.69, coming in nearly five seconds ahead of the Trailblazers.
With an individual time of 52.44 on NM State’s second leg of the 400 free relay, Mazumdar concluded a Thursday showing that included four victories in as many races, accounting for 40 points.
The Aggies won by a final score of 173-78, finishing 95 points ahead of Utah Tech in what was the first-ever dual meet between the two programs.
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QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH RICK PRATT
“Today was a great experience. While nothing came easy, we had some solid swims and learned some important lessons. It took a while to get going and many of their legs were very tired. Despite that, we finished the meet with positivity and energy, so I was very impressed with our resilience.”
UP NEXT
NM State will not return to action until Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025; 23 days from now. Pratt will lead the Aggies into a home clash with WAC foe Grand Canyon. The action against the Antelopes is slated to begin at 11:30 a.m. MT from the NM State Swimming and Diving Complex.
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