PHARR–The UTRGV Women’s Swimming and Diving team lost its first official meet in program history 193-94 against the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals Saturday at the City of Pharr-PSJA Natatorium.
Betsy Graham, head coach of UTRGV Women’s Swimming and Diving, said the team “survived” its first meet, picking up five event wins despite going in with a lot of unknowns.
“I think everybody didn’t know what to expect in a lot of different ways,” Graham said. “We came out in pretty good shape. We had five wins. And if you think about it, everybody was the first person to finish, whether it was first [or] third. That’s the standard, that’s the school record. We have something to go for now.”
The Vaqueros had a couple of standout performers during Saturday’s meet. In the lanes, freshman Annaleagh Stahl won all three of her events: the 100-yard backstroke (57:54), 200 backstroke (2:04.37) and 200 individual medley (2:11.73).
With her efforts, Stahl became the first swimmer in program history to record a win and the first to collect a hat trick of wins.
She told The Rider she “enjoyed” the meet, saying she is glad to get to follow in her siblings’ footsteps in college swimming.
“[I said] that’s gonna be me one day, and today was that day,” Stahl said. “I’m so excited about everything. I just got to create the history. … I’m actually ecstatic. I’m about to go call my mom [and tell her] about it all.”
In the diving events, the Vaqueros secured first- and second-place finishes in both the 1- and 3-meter springboard. Junior Delaney Murphy finished second (247.95 1-meter, 230.93 3-meter) in both.
Freshman Manou Meulebeek collected wins in both events (299.33 1-meter, 286.43 3-meter), qualifying for the NCAA Zone “D” diving competition. Meulebeek is the first diver in program history to win and sweep her events.
She told The Rider she was “really happy” with how the meet went after qualifying on her first Division I dives.
“I really enjoyed when I was there on the board,” Meulebeek said. “I really enjoyed [it] with my teammates. Looking at my coach, I was actually so proud of how it went. It was a really fun day.”
The Cardinals had a strong showing in the meet, picking up wins in 27 of 32 events that it ran, including 82 top-three finishes. UIW’s Men’s Swimming Team ran events against each other in between womens’ events, as UTRGV does not have a Men’s Swimming and Diving program.
The UTRGV Women’s Swimming and Diving Team will go to Houston for its next meet, taking on the University of St. Thomas Celts Oct. 25-26.
