Cougars Defeated the Mavericks During Their First Home Meet of the Season

PROVO, Utah – The BYU men and women swim and dive teams defeated Colorado Mesa Friday afternoon at the Richards Building Pool.

“The women were outstanding, and even with a few men out and injured, the men stepped up and swam very well,” BYU head coach John Brooks said. “It’s tough to swim in the middle of the day, especially after lifting this morning, but they all handled it well. I’m proud of both teams. Now it’s time to get ready for another day and another race.”

The BYU men’s team topped the Mavericks, 155-142, while the Cougar women came out ahead, 222-76.

The Cougars took a quick lead with both the men's and women’s teams winning the 200-yard medley relay events. For the women, a team of Brynn Sproul, Lily Plaudis, Katie Smith and Gwen Gustafson finished with a time of 1:42.69. For the men, Jake Walters, Levi Jensen, Javier Matta and Connor Stirling earned the winning touch at 1:31.54.

BYU continued to dominate as the men and women put up the top-three places in the 50-yard freestyle. On the women’s side, Smith took first at 23.87, Kali Brown followed at 24.10 and Leah Gale secured the third spot with a 24.71 time. For the men, Roger Woods took the 20.80 win, Jared Shaw touched after at 21.16 and Jensen followed with at 21.29.

Stirling showcased his talent for the men throughout the meet, taking first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 45.80 and first in the 100-yard backstroke at 52.43. Plaudis represented the BYU women, touching first in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:02.74 and winning the 200-yard breaststroke at 2:20.17. Freshman Jessica LeSueur took the lead in the distance events, securing first in the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle with times of 5:12.04 and 10:42.66, respectively.

In the 100-yard breaststroke events, Josue Dominguez and Plaudis shined in the pool, both taking first in their individual races. Dominguez swam a time of 55.87 and Plaudis earned a personal best of 1:02.74, setting a new pool record. Tiare Coker and Matta added their own wins, both finishing first in the 200-yard butterfly with times of 2:11.85 and 1:53.35, respectively.

The Cougars closed out the meet, taking first in both the men's and women’s 400-yard freestyle relays.

For the divers, freshman Summer Westover placed first in the 3-meter event with a score of 299.15 and Kennedy Cribbs took the win in the 1-meter with a 270.60. On the men’s side, Morgan Cooper placed second in the 3-meter event, scoring a 325.20.

The Cougars will remain at home to next battle UNLV on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. MDT.