Idaho vs Northern Arizona & Seattle
Saturday, Nov. 3 | 10:30 a.m.
Moscow, Idaho | U of I Swim Center
FREE ADMISSION
Idaho women's swimming and diving hosts a tri-dual Saturday, with Western Athletic Conference rivals Northern Arizona and Seattle. The majority of the meet is set to begin at 10:30 a.m., however the three-meter diving competition will take place at approximately 9 a.m., before the pool is set for swimming.
It is the first conference meet for Idaho and NAU, while Seattle is coming off a loss at Grand Canyon. The meet will see all three teams compete together and their times are compared against each other to come up with three different head-to-head scores.
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ABOUT THE VANDALS: Idaho is led by 10 seniors, including defending Western Athletic Conference champions
Leah Fisk (200 freestyle) and
Janelle Lucas (platform diving). In all, the Vandals return 20 from last year's team that finished third at the WAC Championships. It was Idaho's third top-three conference finish since the program was reinstated in 2004, all of which have come in the last five seasons under the direction of eighth-year head coach
Mark Sowa.
ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA: The five-time defending WAC Champion Lumberjacks (0-1) suffered a season-opening loss last week at New Mexico. Northern Arizona will visit Washington State Friday afternoon, before the meet against Idaho. NAU won its fifth consecutive WAC title last season with strong performances on the diving boards and distance events.
ABOUT SEATTLE: The Redhawks (2-3) have had a busy start to the season. Their latest outing saw them suffer two losses in a tri-dual against Loyola Marymount and Grand Canyon. Saturday is the first of three times the Vandals will meet Seattle in the pool this year. The teams will face off at the Husky Invitational at the end of the month and again at the WAC Championships in February.
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FAMILIAR FOES: Idaho met Northern Arizona and Seattle last year during the regular season. The Vandals came away with a 182-78 victory at Seattle (Oct. 14) and fell 173-122 at Northern Arizona (Nov. 4). The teams saw similar results at the 2018 WAC Championships. NAU won its fifth consecutive crown, while Idaho took third and Seattle finished seventh.
DIVING COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE: Northern Arizona and Idaho separated themselves early from the rest of the field at the 2018 WAC Championships thanks in part to strong springboard diving performances. The Lumberjacks and Vandals combined for 13 of the 16 spots in the championship finals of one- and three-meter diving. NAU had the advantage, finishing 1-2-3 on one-meter and 1-2-4 on three-meter. Seattle, meanwhile, does not sponsor diving. The three-meter competition Saturday, will take place early, beginning at roughly 9 a.m.
STACKING UP: Idaho freshman
Natalie Crocker owns the second-fastest 50-yard freestyle time in the WAC entering this week. Crocker posted a 24.04 to win the event last time out against Washington State. Crocker also ranks 10th in the 100-yard freestyle. Idaho has at least one swimmer in the top 10 of each event it has competed so far this season.
Emily Kliewer ranks second in the 100-yard butterfly, while
Alexis Schmidt is third in the 200-yard butterfly.
LOOKING AHEAD: Idaho will wrap up its season-opening home stand next weekend. The Vandals host Wyoming Saturday, Nov. 10, at the U of I Swim Center as part of a busy Dads' Weekend on campus. The swim meet precedes a volleyball match at noon and a football game at 3:30 p.m.
