MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho swim and dive team continues its homestand as they host the WAC defending champion Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in a meet on Friday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m.
Friday's meet will be live-streamed on the Idaho Vandals Facebook page here. Following the competition against NAU, student-athletes and coaches welcome fans poolside for a poster signing.
LAST TIME OUT
The Vandals posted a 3-1 record after two days of competition against Simon Fraser and Grand Canyon in front of a home crowd. Idaho recorded two dominant wins over the Red Leafs and picked a 146-135 victory over the Lopes to cap off a successful home opening weekend.
After sweeping day one, the Vandals moved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2009-10 season and earned its first win over the Lopes since 2019. It was freshman
Ginger Kiefer and Issabelle Borke leading the way to combine for three wins, while the 400 free relay team of
Sydney Heasman,
Madelynn Butler,
Rylie Jones and
Ella Haskins wrapped up the meet with a victory.
Kiefer added two more victories on day two of competition, finishing first in the 400 IM and 500 free.
Sydney Heasman and
Ella Haskins followed with top finishes in the 200 free and 50 free, respectively. The swimming events ended similar to how day one completed, as the Vandals brought home a first-place finish in the 200 free relay.
The Idaho divers led by senior
Emily Mack helped add crucial points to the Vandals team score with first-place finishes in the 1-meter and 3-meter events.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA
The reigning 2022-23 WAC Champions compete in their first dual meet of 2023 after earning their 10th consecutive conference title a season ago. The Lumberjacks set a program record for points scored at a WAC Championship meet with 835 points, earning seven gold, three silver and four bronze medals.
Last year's conference championship saw the Jacks place six out of eight divers in the finals of both the 1-meter and 3-meter events, while also scoring the most points in WAC Championship history. NAU's conference success qualified eight divers for the Zone Diving Championships last season in Seattle.
MACK ATTACK
Senior
Emily Mack received her first career WAC Diver of the Week honor last week after recording two individual wins against GCU and Simon Fraser.
Mack posted a first-place finish in the 3-meter dive with a score of 288.60 and achieved a career-best 282.45 in the one-meter dive to lead the Vandal divers.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Ginger Kiefer has a bright future ahead of her on this Idaho team after already recording six wins in five duals to start her freshman campaign. The Bend, Oregon native posted two wins in the 200 and 500 freestyle at College of Idaho to begin the season and followed it up by rattling off four top finishes in the 200 back, 400 IM, 500 free and 1000 free against Grand Canyon and Simon Fraser.
The freshman is already etching her name in Idaho's top 10, recording the third-fastest mark in program history at 10:19.57. Kiefer has also been quick to place her name atop the conference times with No. 1 marks in the 200 backstroke (2:02.61), 400 IM (4:26.06) and 100 free.
VANDALS IN THE RANKINGS
The Vandals feature 24 swimmers and divers in the top 10 of the WAC rankings after the first week of conference play. Idaho showcases nine student-athletes in the top three spots in their respective events.
Junior
Ella Haskins ranks first in the 50 free with a time of (23.44). Freshman
Ginger Kiefer ranks No. 1 in three events, including the 1000 free, 200 backstroke, and 400 IM.
Senior
Zoe Froh continues to impress in the 400 IM, ranking third. Sophomore
Grace Ruble is ranked No. 2 in three different events - 50 fly, 100 fly, and 200 IM. Sophomore
Madelynn Butler ranks third in the 50 fly
The freshman class also features three other swimmers that rank in the top 3.
Sydney Heasman takes the second spot in the 100 free and third in the 200 free, while freshman teammate
Isabelle Borke posts the second-fastest time in the 200 free.
Natalie Charles finishes in the third spot in the 200 breaststroke.
--
