LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State swimming and diving came out victorious in its season-opening meet on Saturday with a 171-127 win over Northern Colorado.
 
The team of Eliana Beaudry, Hanna McGowan, Reagan Nentwich and Johanna Pettersson won the 200-yard medley relay for NM State with a time of 1:47.32. Lanie McAlpin, Ashley Reynolds, Katherine Harston and Aimee Hatfield finished with a time of 1:49.48, which was good for third.
 
"Today was a fun meet with many tough performances from both teams," head coach Rick Pratt said. "This was a different UNC team than we faced last year and they really challenged us in many areas. I'm really proud of the energy and focus that our team had today. Our divers also looked great and I'm excited about that element as well. We still have a lot of work to do and our distance swimmers need to recover better, but in general, this was a great meet to start the season with."
 
In the 1000-yard freestyle, Lilly Araujo finished third with a time of 10:55.86 while Grace Laporte came in fourth with a time of 10:56.95. Melissa Rogers rounded out the group in sixth-place for a time of 11:37.63.
 
Senior Picabo Bender won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:54.49. Sina Wegel finished fourth with a time of 1:58.98 while Alix Knagg finished fifth with a time of 1:59.12.
 
In the 100-yard backstroke event, Beaudry came in second-place for the Aggies with a time of 58.18. Gabrielle Sanchez finished with a time of 59.28, which was good for fourth-place. McAlpin posted a time of 59.58 for a sixth-place finish.
 
NM State swept the top-three spots in the 100-yard breaststroke. McGowan held on for the victory with a time of 1:05.03. Lauren Wood posted a time of 1:06.23 to finish second, while Reynolds finished third with a time of 1:07.30.
 
Harston concluded the 200-yard butterfly event in second-place for the Aggies with a time of 2:07.51. Nentwich posted a time of 2:08.99 while Rachel Langone clocked a time of 2:16.74 to finish third and fifth, respectively.
 
In the 50-yard freestyle event, Hatfield finished a close second after posting a time 24.96. Ruby Rodriquez swam a time of 25.00 to finish third while Makena Sutherland finished fifth with a time of 25.21.
 
The Aggies captured the top-three spots in the three-meter diving event. Junior Raina Brommer took the top spot with a final score of 291.70 with MacKinna Hauff coming in second-place with a score of 277.80. Alexis Tupponce earned a score of 248.55 to finish third.
 
Bender won the 100-yard freestyle for New Mexico State with a time of 53.03. Wegel swam a time of 54.82 to finish third while Hatfield finished in seventh-place with a time of 55.49.
 
In the 200-yard backstroke event, Beaudry came in second-place with a time of 2:07.84 with Knagg finishing a close third with a time of 2:07.92. Sanchez would finish in fourth-place with a time of 2:08.07.
 
In the 200-yard breaststroke category, Wood held on for the win, clocking in a time 2:22.34. McGowan came in third with a posted time of 2:23.33. Barbora Krizanova finished in sixth with a time of 2:29.73.
 
New Mexico State's Bender would finish the 500-yard freestyle event in third with a time of 5:12.59. Harston was not too far behind with a time of 5:17.38, which was good for fourth-place. Laporte clocked a time of 5:18.92 to finish fifth.
 
Nentwich brought home the win for the Aggies in the 100-yard butterfly event with a time of 58.73. Langone came in fourth-place with a time of 1:00.29 while Sutherland swam a time of 1:01.80 to finish sixth.  
 
The Aggies captured the top-three positions in the one-meter diving event. Hauff finished first with a score of 251.65 with Sheridan Decker finishing a close second with a score of 251.25. Brommer concluded the event with a score of 250.45 to finish third.
 
In the 200-yard IM category, McAlpin swam a time of 2:12.36 for a second place finish. Wood came in third with a time of 2:12.40, while Knagg came in fourth-place with a time of 2:12.68.
 
In the final event, the team of Bender, Wegel, Laporte and Pettersson won the 400-yard freestyle relay for the Aggies with a time of 3:33.83. McGowan, Araujo, Sutherland and Harston swam a time of 3:42.31 to finish fourth.
 
New Mexico State will be back in action at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20, as they host Wyoming.