UW swimming sweeps Air Force

COLORADO SPRINGS, colo. -- The Wyoming swimming and diving team completed its regular season with a sweep over Air Force on Saturday afternoon. The Cowgirls beat the Falcons 179-109, while the Cowboys defeated Air Force 167-133.

With the victories, the Cowgirls own a record of 12-4 overall, 4-4 in the Mountain West Conference and are currently sixth in the MWC. The Cowboys advance to 12-1 overall, 4-1 in conference, and currently own second place in the MWC.

"We had some good times today and a number of people swam well," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "There were a few races that I thought we weren’t as sharp in, but we still had some impressive times and our divers were awesome."

On the diving boards, Tyler Miller won the one-meter board (315.97 points), and Kyle Bogner won the three-meter event. Stephanie Ortiz won both the one-meter (286.50), and three-meter (307.50), while Emily Huth placed second behind Ortiz on three-meter with a score of 305.78.

"On the men’s side, I felt Kyle (Bogner) did really well on three-meter and it was nice to see him win that event," said UW diving coach Ben Herdt. "For the women, Stephanie (Ortiz) did great, but Emily Huth did really well with a personal best score on three-meter."

In the victory, the Cowboys won a total of 11 events. Leading the way was Tommy Gregory, who won the 50 freestyle in 21.36 seconds, and 100 freestyle in 46.60. Another multiple event winner was Matt Urich, who won the 100 butterfly with a time of 50.09, and 200 butterfly in 1:52.32.

Other first-place finishes for the Pokes came from Kyle Wemhoff (1,000 freestyle in 9:50.80), Eli Bell (200 freestyle in 1:41.01), Marshall Dilworth (100 backstroke in 50.79), Kyle Bogner (328.95 in three-meter diving) and Alex Larkin (200 breaststroke in 2:05.79). The Cowboys closed out the meet by winning the 400 freestyle relay.

On the women’s side, the Cowgirls won 10 events on the day. Individually, Carol Jones led the way by winning the 1,000 freestyle in 10:49.95 and 500 freestyle in 5:19.32.

The other first-place finishes were from Aimee Stinson (200 freestyle in 1:54.85), Molly Janak (100 backstroke in 59.91), Cassie Stelow (50 freestyle in 24.19), Kelsey Conci (200 backstroke in 2:10.95), and Kaella Hartigan (200 breaststroke in 2:30.80). The Cowgirls also won the 200 medley relay to begin the meet.

"The men didn’t look as sharp as they have before, but I thought Kyle (Wemhoff), Eli (Bell), and Tommy (Gregory) had impressive times," Johnson said. "For the women, Carol (Jones) swam very well, and Aimee (Stinson) and Lesley (Young) had good days. I am glad we have time to rest up and prepare for conference."

The UW swimming and diving team now has two and a half weeks to prepare for the 2009 MWC Championships, which begin Feb. 25 and run through Feb. 28 in Oklahoma City, Okla.