As they had anticipated heading into the meet, the Utes were too much for Colorado Mesa State and Boise State last Friday. The Utah men took down the Mavericks while the women bested the Broncos.
“Overall, it was a full team effort that helped us,” Utes head coach Joe Dykstra said.
The men had no problems to speak of as they took on Colorado Mesa State. Winning almost every race, they topped the Mavericks 187-107. Utah won convincing victories in the 200-meter medley relay, the 1,000-meter freestyle and the 200-meter freestyle. The only event the Utes were not able to take was the 100-meter backstroke, but a clean sweep of first, second and third places in the 200-meter butterfly made up for the lost points.
The Utah women had the challenge of taking on Boise State. Coming off a hard loss to Arizona, the Utes had to rebound against the Broncos.
“We overheard that Boise thought we were going to be an easy win,” senior Traycie Swartz said.
Utah used that idea for motivation and went on to beat the Broncos 188-112. Swartz started the Utes off strong by leading her relay team to victory in the 200-meter freestyle.
“Overall, we are really excited with the win,” Swartz said. “Boise is a really competitive team. It is a big confidence booster.”
Swartz also claimed victories in the 100-meter backstroke and the 100-meter freestyle. Senior co-captain Samantha Zuch placed first in the 500 and 1,000-meter freestyle races, and she took third in the 200-meter freestyle. Freshman Stina Colleou also contributed to Utah’s point total, as she topped the field in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke. Sophomore Petra Soininen took home wins in the 100 and 200-meter butterfly events.
A few days before the meet, the College Swim Coaches Association of America ranked the Ute men No. 20 in the nation. The ranking came on the heels of the team’s win over Arizona in its previous meet. Dykstra said he appreciated the acknowledgement, but wants to keep his team focused.
“We have a long season,” he said. “It’s nice to be recognized, but we are going to be more concerned with where we stand at the end of our season [in March].”
Utah has about a week and a half to prepare for its next meet. The Utes will take on UNLV at home on Nov. 8. The Rebels have been a tough opponent for Utah in recent memory, as the Ute men have lost to UNLV in two consecutive years. Utah certainly doesn’t want to continue that trend.
“It’s going to take a level head in order to beat UNLV,” Swartz said. “We can’t let [this] win go to our heads.”
Even though he’s in his first year as the Utes’ head coach, Dykstra understands the intensity that the UNLV meet always brings. He is starting his team on some new training methods  in hopes that they will help Utah compete at its best.
“It’s time to get the job done,” he said. “We need to turn the corner and take on the challenge.”