Even though the team finished in sixth place this past weekend in the women’s MWC swim and dive championships in Oklahoma City, the Lobos brought back two of the conference’s best.
Senior diver Ashlee Erickson and diving coach Abel Sanchez were named the best diver and diving coach, respectively, in the conference.
Erickson won both of the diving events in the competition, the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.
“It feels awesome. I am very honored,” Erickson said.
She won the 1-meter dive with a score of 311.85 and the 3-meter dive with a score of 326.35. Earlier this year, she won MWC diver of the week for three weeks in a row. Her scores qualify her for the NCAA zones meet this coming weekend.
Sanchez said he wasn’t surprised that Erickson won both events and that expected her to do well all season.
“All year long I have thought this year she has been the strongest 1-meter diver,” he said. “She has been undefeated all year except for one meet. It’s definitely a testament to how good she is.”
Erickson said Sanchez made her focus on a different part of diving this year, which helped her improve.
“We really focused on the mental side of competing and practicing and how that works,” she said. “Knowing how to stay relaxed and focused and go all out on every single dive.”
Sanchez’s coach of the year award is his second in a row, but he said it’s his divers that made the award possible.
“It’s good, however, all of the recognition should go to the divers — they are the ones who did all of the work,” he said.
Sophomore diver Megan Harper and freshman diver Michole Timm will accompany Erickson to the NCAA zones. All three were named the all-MWC team for the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.
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The NCAA zones is a qualifying meet with the best divers from around the country, where the top eight finishers compete in the national diving competition.
Sanchez said he hopes at least one of his divers will make the national competition.
“I think all three of them have a great chance of qualifying to the next level,” he said. “It would be a great feat for New Mexico to get one diver in, if we get two it’s short of a miracle, if we get three it is miracle.”
For the swim team, the sixth place finish all but ends its season. UNM did, however, break seven school records in the MWC meet, even though it failed to win any race in the meet.
Swimmers broke records held for the 200-yard medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard freestyle relay, 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard backstroke.
Head swim coach Tracy Ljone said the fact that the Lobos broke school records and still didn’t win a race is a testament to how tough the competition was.
“The Mountain West has gotten to be a really fast conference,” she said. “We didn’t win any, but the conference is very competitive.”
