Both the Utah men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams lost to BYU last Friday night at the Ute Natatorium.
The women’s team was only beaten 124-117 and actually won seven of the 13 swimming events, but BYU was able to pull away from the Utes on the diving board.
Neringa Statkeviciute of Lithuania led the Ute women by finishing first in two individual events. She won the 50-meter freestyle race with a time of 23.58 seconds. She won the 100-meter freestyle as well, with a time of 51.26. Statkeviciute is now fourth on the Utah top-10 performance list in the 50-meter freestyle, and second on the Utah top-10 100-meter performance list.
“[We]?beat BYU in the pool,” said U coach Mike Litzinger, “[but BYU’s] diving depth was superior, and that’s what made the difference.”
The men, despite fighting hard, didn’t fare as well, and were downed 152-91 by the Cougars.
Evan Castro, of Redlands, Calif., led the Utes last Friday. He won the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes, 7.65 seconds. He finished second in the 200 meter freestyle with a time of 1:44.00.
Freshman Cody Rempfer finished first in the 200-meter fly with a time of 1:53.88.
“The men stepped up and competed in a fashion we haven’t had for a while,” Litzinger said.
Litzinger was pleased with his team’s performance last weekend, and spoke of the future after the meet.
“I am extremely proud of how our teams competed, and we will be a team to be reckoned with at the Mountain West Conference Championships,” he said.
Both the men’s and women’s teams continue their home schedule with another conference meet with UNLV on Nov. 10, a meet scheduled for 2 p.m. It will be followed by a meet with Pacific on Nov. 16.