BYU falls to Utah in Deseret First Duel meet

SALT LAKE CITY – BYU men’s (170-126) and women’s (205-93) swim and dive lost in the Deseret First Duel against the University of Utah Saturday afternoon at the Ute Natatorium in Salt Lake City.

“Utah has such a good all-around program with its men and women,” BYU head coach John Brooks said. “I'm proud of how our swimmers battled and I think this was a good step towards getting ready for the conference championships.”

Orem junior Ali Tippetts finished second in the women’s 3-meter diving, earning a score of 279.53. BYU sophomore Kevin Dreesen also picked up a second-place finish in the men’s 1-meter, with a 326.70, he was followed by senior Nicholas Suder who finished third with a 322.43 score.

In the men’s 3-meter, Cougar freshman Nathan Gonzales placed second with a score of 319.80 and Dreesen finished third, earning a 315.30.

The BYU women swept the top three spots in the 200-yard individual medley. Nibley sophomore Ashlee Spindler finished first with a time of 2:10.54, followed by fellow sophomores Hanna Skaggs (2:12.42) and Kerra Bispo (2:12.96). The Cougar men took the two top spots in the same event with junior Jake Taylor finishing first in 1:52.83 and junior Stephen Richards coming in behind him at 1:53.83.

South Jordan senior Ciera Marsh Keller, senior Andrea Grant Richards, sophomore Lauren Shaw Taylor and freshman Alora Foliaki combined to win the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:34.75.

Freshmen Evan Berger and Levi Jensen along with senior Hayden Palmer and American Fork junior McKay King teamed up to pick up a win for the BYU men in the 400-yard free relay, recording a time of 3:08.03.

Singapore sophomore Rainer Ng, American Fork senior Michael King, McKay King and Taylor finished second in the men’s 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:31.32.

In the women’s 1,000-yard freestyle, freshman Vanessa Moffatt finished second in 10:35.67. Moffatt also finished second in the 500-yard freestyle with at time of 5:10.75

Lauren Shaw Taylor earned a third-place finish in the women’s 200-yard freestyle touching the wall in 1:54.71. For the men, Jake Taylor finished second in the same event; he recorded a time of 1:40.16.

Ng won the men’s 100-yard backstroke in 49.54 and his teammate McKay King finished third with a time of 52.20. Keller recorded a third-place finish in the women’s 100-yard, finishing in 57.83.

Stephen Richards finished first (56.75) and Michael King came in third (58.10) in the men’s 100-yard breaststroke.

McKay King came up just short and finished second in the men’s 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.88.

Jake Taylor won the 200-yard backstroke for the men with a time of 1:48.32.

Stephen Richards won his second event against Utah when he finished first in the 200-yard breaststroke touching the wall in 2:04.04.

Up next for the Cougars is the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation swimming and diving conference championships. The swimmers will be in Pasadena, California, at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center and the divers will head to Monterey Park, California, Feb. 18-21.