Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
San Diego State (Make-up Dual)
Undefeated swimmers roll past San Diego St.
1/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Jan. 9, 2008
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Fort Collins products Maddie Gamble, Michelle Price and Nora Kennedy each captured two events to lead unblemished Colorado State past San Diego State, 185-110, Wednesday. Carmen Gisella Cianci also notched a pair of wins in CSU's team triumph.
"It was a very good start to the second half of the season," said Head Coach John Mattos, whose team won every race until declaring its swimmers as exhibition competitors in the final two events.
The meet, part of a double-dual that also included an SDSU-Boise State matchup, was held at the University of San Diego's swim complex. The final score reflected a diving competition that took place Tuesday on San Diego State's campus, where Rams senior Elyse Hall took both events.
CSU improved its record in duals to 7-0, and preserved its hold on first place in the Mountain West with a 4-0 conference mark. The Rams' victory sets the stage for a showdown among the conference's top two teams in CSU's next dual meet, at BYU Jan. 17. The Cougars entered the week 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the MWC.
The Rams picked up momentum for that meet by rebounding in strong fashion Wednesday, their first competition since finishing second at the Husker Invite, Nov. 15-18. Mattos was concerned about the long layoff entering the day.
"I was worried that we'd be rusty," said Mattos, whose Rams haven't lost a dual meet since their 2006-07 regular-season finale, Feb. 2, 2007, at Wyoming. "To be honest, I expected us to come out flat."
The Rams were anything but flat, and Gamble got them started in the day's first individual race. The freshman from Poudre High School in Fort Collins swam the 1,000 Freestyle in 10:23.30, a lifetime best and one of the top times in program history. It was more than 10 seconds better than her season's previous best, and she wasn't done.
Gamble also captured the 500 Free in 5:07.43, shortly after finishing second to Price in the 200 Backstroke.
Price, also a freshman from Poudre High School, won that event in 2:05.80. Earlier in the meet, Price also edged the field in the 100 Back, finishing in 59.33.
Along with another local product, Kennedy from Fort Collins High School, those three have stood out, according to their head coach.
"Our Fort Collins kids, Gamble, Kennedy and Price, have trained extremely well," Mattos said. "They did a heck of a job today, and I really think it made a huge difference in the outcome. And it hasn't just been today. They've been on fire every meet this year, and the rest of our kids see that, they respect it, and they work to try to keep up with them, raising the level of performance for the entire team."
Kennedy's performance Wednesday included victories in both the 100 and 200 Butterfly, with respective times of 57.14 and 2:08.00.
Cianci, a sophomore from Plantation, Fla., won both the 100 and 200 Freestyle. Annsley Lujan established CSU's fastest season time in winning the 200 Breastroke, 2:23.95, while Nicole Lynch (100 Breaststroke) and Emily Molzahn (50 Free) also won events. The Rams' 200 Medley relay team of Price, Lynch, Kennedy and Cianci won the day's first event in 1:49.45.
Hall, one of the conference's most consistent divers, took both the 1- and 3-meter diving competitions on Tuesday at SDSU's brand new swimming complex.
What made the victory even more impressive was that the Rams were swimming without two of their best athletes. Senior co-captain Tara Staley was sent home after becoming sick, and sophomore distance specialist Val Maldonado is out indefinitely with a broken wrist.
"The team said, `We have to step up,' and that's what they did," Mattos said.
Wednesday's meet was rescheduled after wildfires assaulted the San Diego area last fall. The meet originally was part of an Oct. 27 quadruple dual that also included Air Force and New Mexico. With many of SDSU's athletes having left campus to escape the fires, the Aztecs didn't participate when Air Force offered to host the four schools the same weekend. So, in what became a triple dual, Colorado State battled both the Falcons and Lobos Oct. 27, then competed in the rescheduled dual with SDSU Wednesday.
The Rams now are 8-1 all-time in duals against San Diego State, notching an eighth straight win Wednesday. Colorado State hasn't lost in a dual to the Aztecs since the schools' first meeting, in the 1981-82 season.
CSU also has tied for the best start in program history. Only the 1986-87 squad and the 2000-01 team, both coached by Mattos, also began their seasons 7-0 in dual meets. Each of those teams went on to finish the regular season undefeated. The 1986-87 Rams captured their conference title, while the 2000-01 group finished second at the MWC championships.
The Rams will remain in San Diego for the next four days, continuing their winter training. They begin a critical two-meet road trip Jan. 17 at BYU, followed by a Jan. 19 date at Utah.
"Hopefully, today will carry over into next week," Mattos said. "We have a lot of respect for those two programs. Against BYU, the perennial conference champions, it's going to be really tough to go into their home and get a victory, but our team continues to surprise me. They did today."
