The UNM swim and dive team opened its season with a victory against the Air Force Academy on Saturday.
UNM, which only has a women’s swim and dive team, defeated the Falcons with an overall score of 167-133.
Head swimming coach Tracy Ljone said she was impressed with her team’s performance in its first meet of the season.
“The first meet was great, it was actually a week earlier than normal so we really had to get the girls ready fast,” she said.
“They got on the blocks, and honestly our times were extremely fast for Oct. 8.”
Monica Dudley won first place in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:48.67, and her sister, Maria Dudley, finished in second place with a time of 11:05.33.
Ljone said she was not surprised with Monica Dudley’s strong finish.
“She is always one of our best distance swimmers,” she said.
Sophomore Jorgi Hobson took first place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.59.
Hobson said she and her teammates were fast for this early in the season, but that there was room for improvement.
“I have never gone that fast this early in the season,” she said. “We did pretty well overall but we could have done better.”
The Lobos also took the 200-yard medley event. Junior Hayley Martin, sophomores Stelicia Flores, Hobson and freshmen Anna Lillistrom took the team to the top spot with a time of 1:46.80.
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Freshman Samantha Moss took the 200-yard butterfly, with a time of 2:09.35.
The diving team dominated both of its events, the one- and three-meter diving on Saturday, and Senior Ashlee Erickson won them both.
The diving team, which only has six divers on the roster, was without sophomore Melissa Bollig and Megan Harper, sophomore due to injury.
Head dive coach Abel Sanchez said the team did well despite missing two of its divers.
“We had two girls that were injured that we were looking forward to having dive today, but we had a great start,” he said.
Erickson’s scores, 355.20 in the one-meter and 310.50 in the three-meter, placed her automatically in the NCAA Zones meets at the end of the season.
“We felt the pressure,” she said. “Two of our big supporters were such a team to have two girls injured it changed it up it was a hurdle we had to overcome. I really think we did a great job today.”
Freshman Michole Timm placed third in the one-meter, and fifth in the three- meter diving events.
Sanchez said he was impressed with how Timm performed in her first meet.
“She is strong as an ox, and she is only going to get better,” he said.
