LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The 2025-26 season is set to begin for NM State Swimming & Diving on Friday. The Aggies will first host Utah Tech and New Mexico across a two-day meet from the City of Crosses. Friday's action will be a relay meet in addition to the 1m dive, before the three squads round out the action on Saturday. 
 
WHAT TO KNOW
Who: New Mexico / Utah Tech at NM State
Where: NM State Swimming & Diving Complex
When: Friday, Oct. 10 (4:00 PM) / Saturday, Oct. 11 (11:30 AM)
Live Stats: Swimcloud
 
Head Coach Rick Pratt, on the meet: "This weekend will be a great challenge to start our fall meets. Utah Tech has some great swimmers and is very well-coached. New Mexico is always tough, and with an early rivalry meet, it always adds a little extra energy to the pool deck. It is an early meet for everyone, and anything can happen, so we have to take advantage of every opportunity to compete. The team has been putting in some good early season practices, and this will be a great indicator of where we are with things at this point in the fall. We're excited to compete and put maximum efforts into our swims and dives."
 
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday (starting at 4:00 PM): 400 medley relay, 300 fly relay, 300 back relay, 300 breast relay, 4x100 IM relay, 500 free relay (1m dive held at end of day)
 
Saturday (starting at 11:30 AM): 3m dive, 200 medley relay, 1000 free, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, 50 free, break, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 100 fly, break, 200 IM, 400 free relay
 
NEW CONFERENCE, SAME MISSION
The Aggies joined the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in July, bidding farewell to the WAC as NM State's final program left in the conference. The MPSF houses many familiar faces, including California Baptist, Idaho, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, UTRGV and Utah Tech. Pepperdine, Incarnate Word and Pacific and are the only three returning members of the conference, with the Waves lifting the 2024-25 trophy earlier this year. 
 
THE COACH OF A GENERATION
Rick Pratt enters his 21^st season with NM State this fall, gearing up for his first outside of the WAC. Last year, Pratt guided the program to its best year on record, finishing 8-1 with four wins in five league dual meets. The Aggies racked up five gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the WAC Championships, earning a second-place finish for the seventh time in the past 10 seasons. 
 
VETERAN EXPERIENCE
The Aggies are returning all but five members from the 2024-25 roster, adding just two freshmen in the offseason (Natalia Florian and Willow Messner). In total, nine seniors and seven juniors make up a roster with plenty of experience in the pool. 
 
Emily Dobbins, Naomi Slee and Dijana Mazumdar all return after winning WAC Swimmer of the Week awards in 2024-25. Katie Rink also headlines the returning swimmers after a junior campaign in which she set two program records and two other top-three times. Mira Tinani is set for her junior season as an Aggie diver, hoping to add on to what was a strong sophomore showing. The Canadian picked up a second-place finish in the platform dive at the WAC Championships before a trip to the NCAA Diving Zone E Championship finals in the same event. 
 
FAMILIAR FOES
NM State took down both of its weekend opponents last season in convincing fashion, with both victories coming away from home. The Aggies toppled Utah Tech in St. George on Dec. 19, by a score of 173-78. Seven weeks later, the Crimson & White trekked north to Albuquerque for a dual meet with UNM. The Aggies spoiled their rival's final home meet, crushing the Lobos by a score of 197-102. 
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies will return to action a week after the meet, heading to the west coast for the MPSF Open Water Championships. The action will be held on Saturday, Oct. 18, from Marine Stadium along the Pacific coast of Long Beach, Calif.
 
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