TUCSON, Ariz. – The New Mexico State swimming and diving team fell 201.00-86.00 to Arizona and 172.00-125.00 to Northern Arizona in Tucson on Saturday.
 
"This was a great experience and the scores do not reflect how competitive we were today," said head coach Rick Pratt. "We were pretty rocky and timid with our races at the start of the meet, but as things progressed, we relaxed and were able to have some great swims.  This meet will help us with our preparations for WAC in three weeks and highlighted some things we need to focus on.  Aimee Burton stood out today with her swims and had some un-suited personal-bests which was key for her events.  The freshmen had great energy and where impressive and we're in a great place despite all the challenges we've had this year.  It was a lot of fun to watch them support each other on deck and was a great feeling to get on the road and have a chance to compete."
 
Neza Kocijan posted a third-place finish in the 200 Free with a 1:54.33 before Aimee Burton just missed winning the 50 Free with a time of 23.80. Burton then finished just outside the top-three in the 100 Free posting a 52.42.
 
Then, a number of freshmen stepped up for the Aggies. Lucille Matheson placed fourth with a 2:07.86 in the 200 Back with, Sheigh Gaudette, finishing third in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:26.13. Nicole Salladin also impressed in her Aggie debut,, a third-place finish in the 500 Free (5:11.02), before Lindsay Puhalski came in second with a 4:34.34 in the 400 IM.
 
On the diving side, sophomore Italia Aranzabal advanced to the finals for both the 1m and 3m. Aranzabal finished fifth on the 1m with a score of 226.70 and seventh on the 3m with a 202.25.
 
"Overall, Italia did really well today," said diving coach Miranda King. "We are working on getting her 3 meter list back together this upcoming week. I am thrilled with where she is at physically and having a meet this weekend put her in a great place mentally for conference in a few weeks."
 
The Aggies now prepare for WAC Championships in St. George, Utah, from Feb. 17-20.  WAC Diving Championships will take place Feb. 25-27 in Flagstaff, Ariz.