THE STARTING BLOCK
• Following the Crimson and White exhibition meet, the Aggies will return to the lanes on Saturday morning for their first official meet as they welcome fellow WAC foe Northern Colorado.
• The dual meet features will feature the following events: 1-meter dive, 200-yard medley relay, 1000 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 3-meter dive, 100 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 500 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 200 individual medley and 400 freestyle relay. The events will be completed in the order listed and will follow a 9-4-3-2-1 scoring format for individual events and a 11-4-2 scoring format for relays. Despite the Bears' recent success, NM State has won five of the last 10 as they were winners of five of six meets from 2011-17.
• Against the Bears, the Aggies boast a 10-6 all-time record, however Northern Colorado has been the victor in the previous four meetings between the two squads.
 
DUAL MEET HISTORY (Last 10) | NM State vs. Northern Colorado
10.14.22 | L, 166-77 (Las Cruces)
10.09.21 | L, 167-131 (Las Cruces)
10.5.19 | L, 162-136 (Las Cruces)
10.13.18 | L, 187.5-112.5 (Greeley, Colo.)
10.14.17 | W, 171-127 (Las Cruces)
10.29.16 | W, 153-88 (Greeley, Colo.)
10.29.15 | W, 175.5-116.5 (Las Cruces)
11.7.14 | L, 126-117 (Greeley, Colo.)
10.29.11 | W, 174-110 (Las Cruces)
1.21.11 | W, 132-108 (Greeley, Colo.)

LAST TIME OUT | Crimson and White Meet | 09.27.23 | RECAP
• Strong performances from senior Lindsay Puhalski, Katie Rink, Riley Crespo and Taylor Craft helped the Crimson team earn a 55-49 victory.
• Italia Aranzabal kicked off the meet with a win in the 1-meter diving event before the team of Emily Dobbins, Foteini Charitou, Faye McDonagh and Kira Brownell combined to take the top spot in the 200 medley relay.
• Following a season in which she was named WAC Freshman of the Year, Naomi Slee secured the first individual win of the meet as she swam away from the Aggie competition to earn the top spot in the 500 freestyle.
• Emily Dobbins then tallied the first of two first-place finishes on the day as she reached the wall first in the 100 freestyle. Dobbins would later earn the top spot in the 100 backstroke.
• Later, Riley Crespo notched the Crimson team's fifth victory of the meet as she took first in the 200 IM.
• With just one point separating the two teams entering the final race, the quartet of Katie Rink, Dreamer Kowatch, Callie Ceshker and Elizabeth Cervantes-Vanderlugt joined forces to earn the win for the Crimson side as they were the fastest team in the 200 free relay.
 
LAST TIME OUT vs. Northern Colorado | NM State 77, vs. Northern Colorado 166 | Oct. 14, 2022 | RECAP
• Last time the Aggies and Bears met in the pool, it was a pair of freshman who shined for Rick Pratt's squad as Thea Masselink and Naomi Slee landed first-place finishes in the 200 back and 500 free, respectively. Both Masselink and Slee return for the 2023 campaign and will look to help guide the Aggies past the Bears this season.
• Diver Italia Aranzabal was also one of the Aggies top performers the last time NM State and UNC squared off as she won the 3-meter dive event and took second in the 1-meter.
• Senior sprinter Aimee Burton placed second in the 50 free, while Lindsay Puhalski came away with a second-place finish in the 100 free and a third-place finish in the 200 free.
• Despite the loss, the Aggies ended the meet on a positive note as Aimee Burton, Kira Brownell, Elizabeth Cervantes-Vanderlugt and Naomi Slee posted a time of 1:38.78 to finish second in the 200 free relay.

SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO | ROSTER | SCHEDULE
• Unlike the Aggies, Saturday's dual meet will not be the first time that Northern Colorado competes this season as it began its year in Denver at the Denver Relays.
• While in the Centennial State, the Bears placed seven teams on the podium in ten events, including wins in the 200 medley relay, 3x100 butterfly relay and 3x100 breaststroke relay.
• The Bears will bring a very experienced team to Las Cruces this weekend as they are led by eight seniors and a pair of graduate students.
• Last year, Head Coach Lisa Ebeling led Northern Colorado to a third-place finish at the 2023 WAC Championships.
 
QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH RICK PRATT
"UNC is a really solid team with some talented swimmers, especially in the sprints. Their relays will be good and for us to be successful, it'll have to be a total team effort. With so many un-tested freshmen in our line-up it is going to be very interesting, and fun to watch how they have adapted to the training so far. 
 
"We've been technique focused and getting into pace and speed gradually so it will be a very good test this early in the process of our season. We're excited to perform!"
 
COMING UP NEXT
NM State will be back in its home pool next Saturday as the Aggies take part in the annual Alumni Meet. Following the intrasquad meet, NM State will travel to Texas for a pair of dual meets on consecutive days as they take on TCU on Friday, Nov. 3, and then follow that with a matchup against North Texas in Denton, Texas.