2018 Mountain West Women's Swimming and Diving Championships

Boise State Repeats As Mountain West Champion

Boise State claimed its second Mountain West title in as many years with a 144.5-point margin of victory over second-place San Diego State.

Feb 18, 2018 by Kolby Paxton

Boise State Repeats As Mountain West Champion

By Ben Colin

The Boise State women's swimming and diving team claimed its second Mountain West title in as many years with a 144.5-point margin of victory over second-place San Diego State on Saturday in San Antonio. The Broncos picked up four relay and four individual victories en route to the championship.

“Everyone really played their part,” BSU coach Jeremy Kipp said after a celebratory post-meet swim with his team. “I didn’t think we were going to be dominant like last year. You had to try to contribute when it was your time to shine.”

Kipp laid out a few keys to the Broncos' success this weekend.

“Winning the 400 (yard) medley on the middle night. To come from behind after replacing two All-Americans in the middle, that really steadied the ship,” Kipp said. “Also small swims helped. We had a senior win the ‘C’ final of the 100 fly in one of her last swims. Normally that could go unnoticed but it really excited the team.”

On Saturday, Boise State picked up a victory in the 200 backstroke, which at that point, was its seventh win of the weekend. Abbey Sorenson’s time of 1:54.60 was enough to edge San Jose State’s Colleen Humel by 0.33 seconds. The top two finishers, along with Colorado State’s Tonicia Thomas, all flipped at halfway within 0.13 of each other.

The defending champion, Fresno State’s Ugne Mazutaityte, finished in fifth.

The Broncos' final victory came in the 400 freestyle relay. Boise State’s team of Cody Evans, Ally Kleinsorgen, Robin Pinger, and Sorensen won by over a second with a 3:17.42. San Diego State took second and Nevada finished third.

On the boards, Nevada’s Sharae Zheng made history. Not only did she win the platform diving competition with a score of 303.72, but she also swept the diving events for the second year in a row. That final win brought her total to eight conference wins in her career.

The day four racing wasn’t as tight as day three, but multiple schools found themselves atop the podium. For the second night in a row, the individual swimming events were all won by a different team.

Colorado State’s Haley Rowley followed up her 400 IM win on Friday night by claiming the 1650 freestyle title a day later. Rowley jumped out to an early lead and never looked back winning in a 16:15.50. That win helped earn Rowley swimmer of the meet honors.

Winners earlier in the weekend, Boise State’s Emma Chard and San Diego State’s McKenna Meyer finished third and fourth, respectively.

After finishing behind two seniors a year ago, Nevada junior Rebecca Murray won the 100 freestyle in a 49.44. She trailed in third place at the midway point of the race, behind Robin Pinger and Wyoming’s Isobel Ryan.

Fresno State sophomore Manuela Mendolicchio won the 200 breaststroke. Her time of 2:11.21 gave the Bulldogs their first conference win this year. Overall, they were the seventh team to win an event.

San Diego State’s Frida Berggren picked up her second individual title of the weekend, winning the 200 butterfly with a 1:58.05. Berggren was in third place with 50 yards remaining in the race.

For the team champions, there is still a meet ahead of them. With a few swimmers on the bubble of making NCAAs, Kipp and the Broncos aren’t settling down just yet.

“We want to get as many into the big dance as possible, so we may be looking at some last-chance meets,” Kipp said. “Our goal as a team is really winning the conference title.”

Top 5 Individual Performances

Manuela Mendolicchio, Fresno State - 200 Breast (2:11.21)
Abbey Sorensen, Boise State - 200 Back (1:54.60)
Colleen Humel, San Jose State - 200 Back (1:54.93)
Haley Rowley, Colorado State - 1650 Free (16:15.50)
Rebecca Murray, Nevada - 100 Free (49.44)

Final Team Scores

Boise State - 1,250, San Diego State - 1,105.5, Nevada - 1,033.5, Wyoming - 981, Colorado State - 709, New Mexico - 673.5, Fresno State - 644, UNLV - 624.5, Air Force - 572, San Jose State - 571

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