LARAMIE, Wyo. (1/5/23) – The University of Wyoming swimming and diving team is back in action for the first time in nearly two months Saturday. The Cowboys and Cowgirls host Denver for their Senior Day at Laramie High School at 4 p.m.

As stated, it has been quite a while since Wyoming last competed in mid-November at the SMU Invitational. That hiatus included a couple weeks where the student-athletes were able to return to their respective hometowns for the holidays.

The one caveat presented to the team during their time away from Laramie was to remain in peak form. And they did just that.
 
"We really put the expectation that while they had a break to go home for the holiday, they needed to maintain their fitness and their strength" head coach Dave Denniston said. "That was a priority, and we've seen that in practice, and now it's time to start racing."

Wyoming has seen Denver this season in both teams' first competition of the year – the DU Relays. The Pioneers got the better of the Pokes on both the men's and women's side.
Saturday will provide an opportunity for Wyoming to answer back in what is becoming a bit of a Front Range rivalry.

"We are building a little rivalry with DU," Denniston said. "It's tricky being in different conferences, but our guys this year are going out to beat anyone they race against, and our women have grown and matured, and I think we will see some more have some breakout swims."

Saturday represents Wyoming's final home meet of the season. That means seniors Claire Becker, Emma Mehl, Roxanna Ramirez, Daniel Cumnock-Francois, Payton Lee, David Mihalic, Robert Mitchell, Cameron Murphy, Andrew Rodriguez and Grant Sloan will be honored before the meet.

"This is a great group of leaders that have done a phenomenal job navigating stuff that the world has never navigated before," Denniston said. "To do that as a student-athlete, requires a lot, and I really admire this class. Senioritis is a very real thing for student-athletes, and what's really cool is I don't think we have that with any of these seniors. They're hungry, and they want to go out with a significant mark."

Following Saturday's meet, Wyoming is back action the following weekend. The swimmers travel to Colorado Springs for a meet against Air Force from Jan. 13-14, while the divers head to Los Angeles for the UCLA Diving Invite from Jan. 12-14.