Air Force shakes off rust in dual with Northern Colorado

GREELEY- In its first run of action since December 19, Air Force fell 167.00-133.00 to Northern Colorado, though the Falcons picked up steam as the night progressed.

"We started this meet very slowly after a long bus ride and we needed to be warmed up and ready to go," said head swimming coach Colleen Murphy. "Unfortunately were very flat at the beginning and got out-touched in every close race.

As Coach Murphy noted, Air Force saw the early swims go against the Falcons. The four-woman team of Kai-Min Tsuei, Naomi Furman, Allana Clarke, and Abby Turner opened the meet with the 200 Medley Relay, placing second in the race after clocking in at 1:46.27. The Bears relay team finished .30 seconds ahead of the Falcons.

Katie Andrist provided the Falcons a strong showing in the 1000 Freestyle, as the sophomore also placed second with a time of 10:46.39. Andrist added a second place conclusion in the 500 Freestyle (5:16.55) as well.

Audrey Laganelli also provided a second-place standing in the 200 Freestyle, seeing a Northern Colorado swimmer clock in just over a second ahead of the freshman.

Tsuei and Clarke finished 2-3 in the 100 Backstroke, recording times of 58.33 and 59.30, respectively.

Furman returned to the pool in the 100 Breaststroke, notching yet another second-place finish after a time of 1:05.99.

As the evening moved along, so did Air Force. Kinzie Etzelmiller claimed victory in the 3-Meter dive after posting a score of 255.45. The senior was also awarded an identical score in the 1-Meter dive to place third.

"After the first break, the team showed their resiliency and came out ready to compete," said Murphy.

Following Etzelmiller was Turner, who edged out a winning swim in the 100 Freestyle (53.73).

With momentum on their side, Tsuei, Ella Martin, and Corrine Yorkman managed a 1-2-3 sweep of the 200 Backstroke. Tsuei notched a time of 2:08.13, while Martin (2:09.32) and Yorkman (2:09.74) followed close behind.

Martin also added a win in the 200 IM, claiming victory in the swim after touching out at 2:09.47.

"The second half of the meet, they rose to the challenge and learned a lot about their grit and determination. I am very proud of how they rebounded after a rough start," said Murphy.

Next, Air Force will return home to host Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, January 13. The dual meet is schedule to begin at 11:00 am MT.

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