Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams earned a win in this weekend’s meets.
The men got their win against Arizona State on Friday night, beating head coach Greg Winslow’s former team 187-113.
The men’s team finished first in 12 of its 16 events, led by senior John Baque, who placed first in four events: the 100 and 200 breast, the 200 individual medley and the 400 medley relay.
The underclassmen shined for the men’s team, as it was a freshman or sophomore who took first place in seven of the Utes’ first-place finishes.
“I am really impressed with our men’s team,” Winslow said. “We’ve been right on the edge, waiting for things to click for them and I think it’s finally clicked.”
The women weren’t as successful against Arizona State, losing the meet 194-102 and earning three first-place finishes.
“ASU is a good team, and they showed it here tonight,” Winslow said. “Ultimately, it comes down to a lack of leadership. Our women’s team is still looking for someone to stand up and take the lead.”
The women got their win in an upset of conference foe UNLV, which was picked to finish first in the conference.
The women’s team took the meet against UNLV down to the final event, where a first-place finish gave the Utes the 149.5-148.5 victory.
The Utah women took first place in nine of the 16 events to edge out the Rebels. Sophomore Hannah Caron led the Utes with first-place finishes in the 100 and 200 fly, the 200 individual medley and the 200 medley relay.
Other first-place finishes came from juniors Natalie Edge and Maiya Otsuka, as well as freshman Kayla Buck.
“We had some people step up and do unbelievable things for us,” Winslow said. “We saw some resiliency out of our women’s team, which is what we want and need to be successful this season.”
The men weren’t able to keep their momentum from the day before, falling to UNLV 170-124, after only placing first in three events.
“UNLV is a well-coached team with a lot of experience, and we are still a young team,” Winslow said. “A lot of our younger athletes have never done back-to-back meets like we had this weekend, let alone compete against such high-caliber opponents. That’s why we set up our schedule like this, to teach them and help make them tougher by the end of the season.”
The women’s team will host New Mexico, Boise State and Seattle University at the Ute Natatorium on Saturday at 1 p.m. The men will also host Seattle University.