The Idaho swim and dive team returned to the pool Saturday in Moscow against in-state rival Boise State.
It was the first time since the 2014-15 season that the Vandals opened the competitive season at home in the UI Swim Center, and the Broncos held on throughout the day to take a 171-118 victory in the meet. Boise State has now won the yearly matchup five years in a row.
Idaho showed remarkable improvements over last year’s opening meet, especially from the top end of the roster. 11 out of 14 top finishers from this year recorded faster times than their debuts in the 2017-18 season.
Sophomore Alexis Schmidt secured a victory for the Vandals in the 200-yard fly with a time of 2:09.31. Junior Aimee Iwamoto won the 200-yard individual medley with a 2:12.41 time. The squad’s 400-yard freestyle relay team also took home gold with a 3:35.91 time in the final. The team performed especially well in breaststroke events. Iwamoto took third in the 100-yard breaststroke with a 1:05.56, and senior Lauren Votava placed second in the 200-yard breaststroke and third in the 100-yard.
Another remarkable improvement came in the 200-yard medley relay in which the team recorded a time of 1:46.64. Last year’s relay team did not match such a speed until the 8th meet of the 2017-18 season.
On the other end of the pool, the diving contingent of the team showed out strongly against the Broncos. Redshirt senior Nikki Imanaka and senior Janelle Lucas finished second and third, respec- tively, in both of the diving events.
Idaho will continue the homestand with a meet against Washington State on Oct. 20 at 10:30 against Washington State.
Jonah Baker can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jonahpbaker