Idaho at College of Idaho
Friday, Oct. 6 | 4:30 p.m. MT/3:30 p.m. PT
Caldwell, Idaho

Idaho at Boise State
Saturday, Oct. 7 | 11 a.m. MT/10 a.m. PT
Boise, Idaho

Idaho women's swimming and diving opens the 2017-18 season this weekend with dual meets at College of Idaho (Friday) and Boise State (Saturday). The Vandals return 22 swimmers and seven divers from last season's team that finished third at the Western Athletic Conference Championships. 

"I know this team really well," said head coach Mark Sowa. "With the exception of our three newcomers, everyone was here last year and everyone who was here was contributing to our finish at the WAC Championships. This is a team that is going to continue to get better and knows what it needs to get better at."

LUCAS BACK FOR MORE: Diver Janelle Lucas enters her junior year already one of the most decorated student-athletes in program history. Lucas is the two-time defending WAC champion on platform. She set the school record in the event as a freshman with a 284.20 on her way to earning the top spot. Last season Lucas shook off -by her standards- a slow start in prelims to bounce back with a 260.70 in finals and run away with her second straight gold medal. Lucas added a fourth-place finish on one-meter. Over the summer, Lucas wrote about her journey to becoming one of the top divers in the WAC for The Vandals Tribune. Read her entry here.

STRENGTH IN THE MIDDLE: Idaho swimming has recently boasted strengths in the middle distances. This season expects to be no different. The Vandals set a school record in the 800-yard freestyle relay last season, clocking a 7:21.49 at the WAC Championships to finish third. All four members of the relay team (Aileen Pannecoucke, Erica King, Sarah Hall and Leah Fisk) return this year. Individually, Fisk was the silver medalist in the 200 freestyle last season. The Vandals scored in each of the 200-yard distances at the WAC meet. Cassie Dallas, Brianna Lucien, Lauren Votava and Ana Walters are all back in the 400 individual medley after breaking 4:30 in the event at last year's conference meet.

COACH SOWA ON STARTING THE SEASON: "A lot of our ladies haven't raced since August or July. We need to get the cobwebs out and refocus on practicing the details of competition. There's no substitute for swimming against somebody. It's different. It's a different mindset. In Boise State we're going up against a team that's probably top 30 in the country. I think that's good, because that's where we want to measure ourselves and where we want to be. Even though I know this team, every year brings a different personality and these early-season competitions are part of the discovery process of figuring out exactly who we are and where we want to get to."

ABOUT COLLEGE OF IDAHO: The Yotes took seventh at the NAIA National Championships last season, their second consecutive seventh-place finish at the national meet. College of Idaho is led by junior Maddy Kelly in the sprint freestyles. Kelly earned All-America distinction last season with a third-place finish at nationals.

ABOUT BOISE STATE: The Broncos are the defending Mountain West champions, including sweeping all five relays at the last season's conference championships.