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Men's Swimming & Diving
vs Colorado Mesa
The University of Utah Athletics
Friday, January 23
Salt Lake City, Utah
5:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
Wyoming
Utah Men's Swimming And Diving Team Drops Close Decision To Wyoming
1/23/2009 12:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Jan. 23, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - The Utah men's swimming and diving team put together a great first half against the Wyoming Cowboys, 175-123, Friday at Ute Natatorium. The Utah women finished strong against the Cowgirls, making up a 15-point deficit by the end of the meet to defeat Wyoming 165-135.
"The men had a great meet, but just were unable to finish," said Utah head coach Greg Winslow. "Wyoming is a great team, though, and so for the men to be in the meet like they were is telling of how far they have come this season."
The Utah men started the meet by losing a close race in the 200 medley relay. George Evans (Salt Lake City, Utah) made up time for the Utes, but finished in second with a time of 1:35.15, less than a second behind the winner. The Utes followed that up by finishing in the top two spots of the 1000 free. Eric Bonicelli (Overland Park, Kan.) got first place with a time of 9:41.12 and Adam Oliver (Colorado Springs, Colo.) followed close behind in second with his time of 9:42.35. Bonicelli also performed well in the 200 fly, coming from behind in the last lap to finish first with a time of 1:53.03.
"Eric has a huge heart," said Winslow. "If there is a chance to get his hand on the wall [for first place], he'll go all out for it. You wish you had a hundred guys like him."
Overall, the Utah men finished first in four of the first seven events, putting them at a 67-64 advantage halfway through the meet.
The Utah men lost their lead over the remainder of the meet, only finishing first in two of the last eight events. John Baque (Olympia, Wash.) finished first in the 100 breast with his time of 57.45 early in the meet. Baque was one of two Utes to get a win in the second half of the meet, finishing first in the 200 breast with a time of 2:05.62. The other first-place finisher for the Utes was George Evans in the 100 free with his time of 46.51.
The Utah women's swimming and diving team fell behind Wyoming 73-58 after the first eight events. Whitney Lopus (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Beth Gunderson (Portland, Ore.) in the 100 back kept the Utes in the meet, with Lopus finishing in first with a time of 57.79 and Gunderson placing second with her time of 58.00. Also, Natalie Edge (South Jordan, Utah) had an incredible race in the 50 free, finishing in a time of 23.94.
"Natalie had a tough race and ended up beating one of the best in the conference," said Winslow. "I think that race really was the turning point in the meet for us."
The women finished the last eight events of the meet with a vengeance, finishing first in seven of the last eight races. "We really needed a spark to be able to win, so we had to switch things around and put Whitney, Hannah [Caron] and Annie [VanLeeuwen] (West Valley City, Utah) in some different events," said Winslow. "Those women are some of the best swimmers in the conference and I think those changes made all the difference tonight."
Edge, VanLeeuwen and Kristina Evans (Salt Lake City, Utah) started the Utes off by taking the top three spots in the 100 free. Edge came in first with a time of 52.24, VanLeeuwen was second at 52.48, and Evans was in third with her time of 53.36.
Lopus was put into the 500 free, where she finished first with a time of 5:00.39, a full seven seconds ahead of second place. Caron, Gunderson, and Jen Fredsall (Kearns, Utah) also swept the top three spots in the 100 fly. Caron took first with a time of 56.93, Gunderson was second with 57.92 and Fredsall took third with her time of 58.01. The women ended the night with a first-place finish for the 400 free relay team of Fredsall, VanLeeuwen, Caron, and Edge with a time of 3:29.29.
The Utes continue their season by hosting the Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams tomorrow at the Ute Natatorium. Events start at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Freestyle/Butterfly
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Backstroke/IM
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