LARAMIE, Wyo. – Cowgirl swimming and diving won a thrilling dual over the Denver Pioneers, 150.5-149.5, while the Cowboys fell short against DU, 163-138, on Saturday at Laramie High School.

The Cowgirls won seven of the 16 events on the day. UW diving got the action started with crucial points in the women's 3-meter event and the men's 1-meter. Sophomore Karla Contreras placed first with a score of 301.05, while junior CeeJay Harris placed second with a 251.55 and junior Peyton GrandPre recorded a fourth-place score of 227.10. On the men's side, junior Ryan Russi earned the top spot with a score of 222.00, just ahead of freshman Elijah Chan who placed second with a mark of 221.18.

The UW women earned back-to-back wins in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Senior Kelly Sheldon won the freestyle with a time of 1:54.43 while junior Samantha Burke clocked a 57.68 in the backstroke event. Burke followed up her performance with a victory in the 50 freestyle, touching the wall in 24.17. Contreras also earned her second win of the day on the 3-meter, scoring a 307.88. Harris and GrandPre completed the sweep with marks of 257.78 and 251.10, respectively.

Senior Maria Harutjunjan placed first in the 200 breaststroke, Wyoming's last individual race victory of the day, clocking a time of 2:23.46. The final race would be the deciding factor, as the Cowgirls came out on top in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:28.50. Senior Rachel McKivigan, junior Isobel Ryan, Sheldon, and freshman Hannah McLean-Leonard comprised the team. DU placed second and third, but the five-point swing gave UW the narrow victory.  

"I thought our women's team as a whole came out and fought really hard," UW head coach Dave Denniston said. "This team competed with DU much more than last year so it's encouraging to see the improvement. On our men's side, our upperclassmen had a lot of great races. Wade Nelson, Kyle White, a newcomer Phil Musser. I'd like to see more energy from our team and attack our races better. Our divers winning all four events was really significant, especially Elijah Chan winning the 3-meter as a freshman."

The Cowboys also recorded seven victories on Saturday, including Russi's win in the 1-meter. Chan took the top spot in the 3-meter with a mark of 243.60 as the only Cowboy in the event. Junior Wade Nelson placed first in the 200 butterfly and 200 IM with times of 1:53.62 and 1:54.00. Senior Kyle White won the 100 breaststroke, touching the wall in 56.66, a second faster than senior Liam Holt who placed second with a time of 57.80. Holt would go on to win the 200 breaststroke, clocking a 2:06.68. Junior Jack Herron earned the top time in the 100 butterfly with a 50.19. DU's depth proved to be the difference, finishing with a 163-138 advantage over the UW men.

The Wyoming women will be back in action with a pair of duals next weekend, starting with New Mexico State on Friday. Action will begin in Las Cruces, N.M., at 4 p.m. MT. The following day, the Cowgirls will return to the pool in a clash with conference foe New Mexico starting at 12 p.m.