LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Aggies are back in their home pool for the final time this season and, for five seniors, this will be the final time in their careers. On Saturday, NM State will host in-state rival New Mexico as it competes as a team for the final time before the WAC Championships.
   
THE STARTING BLOCK
• The Aggies will take to the waters for their final tune-up ahead of the WAC Championships set to take place Feb. 28 through March 2 in Pharr, Texas, at the Pharr Natatorium.
• Saturday will mark the second time this season that the Aggies and Lobos meet up this season. On Nov. 11, 2023, the two squads met in Albuquerque, N.M., where NM State defeated UNM 172-123 and collected its third straight win over the Lobos in their own pool.
• Ahead of the competition, five seniors will take part in Senior Day ceremonies which are set to begin at 11:45 a.m. MT. Lindsay Puhalski, Bella Cratsenberg, Casey Schmidt, Italia Aranzabal and Nicole Salladin will each be recognized as they conclude their careers in Crimson and White.
• This will also be just the second time this season that the Aggies host a meet at the NM State Swimming and Diving Complex and the first since the season opener on Oct. 14, 2023, when Northern Colorado visited Las Cruces and came away with a 169-131 victory.
• In total, the Aggies are 9-11-1 against New Mexico all time, however, NM State has won the most recent four meets, outscoring the Lobos by a combined 743-305 across the last four outings.
• The meet will feature a total of 16 events and will take place in the following order: 3-meter dive, 200 medley relay, 1000 free, 200 free, 100 back, 200 fly, 50 free, 1-meter dive, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 100 fly, 200 IM, 200 free relay.
• Championship scoring will be utilized this weekend with swimmers capable of scoring in six individual events and on all relays. Each team can only score two relays per event and three individuals per event.
 
DUAL MEET HISTORY | NM State vs. New Mexico
11.11.23 | Albuquerque | W, 172-123
1.28.23 | Las Cruces | W, 200-100
1.29.22 | Las Cruces | W, 174-126
10.30.21 | Albuquerque | W, 197-156
1.25.20 | Albuquerque | L, 106-194
1.19.19 | Las Cruces | L, 123.5-176.5
1.27.18 | Albuquerque | L, 108-192
1.28.17 | Las Cruces | L, 107-193
1.30.16 | Albuquerque | L, 142-153
1.30.15 | Las Cruces | L, 143-201
2.1.14 | Albuquerque | W, 132-154
2.2.13 | Las Cruces | L, 121.5-178.5
11.2.12 | Albuquerque | L, 138-195
2.4.12 | Albuquerque | T, 150-150
2.5.11 | Las Cruces | W, 144-98
11.14.09 | Albuquerque | W, 158-142
1.28.09 | Las Cruces | W, 178-105
1.31.08 | Albuquerque | W, 159-140
1.26.07 | Las Cruces | L, 127-159
1.28.06 | Las Cruces | L, 136-145
1.24.04 | Las Cruces | L, 157-126
 
LAST TIME OUT | at Grand Canyon | 1.13.24 | RECAP
• The Aggies opened the meet with a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay as Thea Masselink, Kodi Wiman, Lindsay Puhalski and Kathryn Gyde combined to post a time of 1:45.95. This marks the second fastest in the 200 medley relay by an Aggie team this season.
• The following two events belonged to the Aggies as Katie Rink recorded a time of 10:31.96 to take the top spot in the 1000 free while Naomi Slee secured a first-place finish in the 200 free with a time of 1:53.60.
• Later, Thea Masselink and Lindsay Puhalski finished one-two in the 200 back with times of 2:02.78 and 2:05.72, respectively. Kodi Wiman also found success as she managed a second-place finish in the 200 breast with a time of 2:21.73.
•  Later, Thea Masselink and Lindsay Puhalski finished one-two in the 200 back with times of 2:02.78 and 2:05.72, respectively. Kodi Wiman also found success as she managed a second-place finish in the 200 breast with a time of 2:21.73.
• Lindsay Puhalski then put together a pair of impressive swims in the 100 fly and the 200 IM as she placed second in the fly with a time of 57.78 before taking first in the individual medley (2:06.65).
• NM State dominated the boards as freshman Mira Tinani finished first overall in both the 1-meter event and 3-meter event. She logged a score of 273.68 in the 1-meter before posting a finals score of 227.55 on the 3-meter board. Casey Schmidt also joined Tinani on the podium in the 3-meter dive – registering a score of 221.85.
 
LAST TIME OUT vs. New Mexico | 11.12.23 | RECAP
• In total, the Aggies finished with 10 individual first-place finishes in just 14 individual events against the Lobos. After placing second and third in the 200-yard medley relay to open the event, the Aggies' Katie Rink turned in a dominant performance to take gold in the 1000 freestyle as she reached the wall over 10 seconds before the Lobos' top finisher who placed second.
• The following four races also belonged to the Aggies as they claimed nine of the possible 12 podium spots. This stretch began with a podium sweep in the 200 free as Lindsay Puhalski, Naomi Slee and Dreamer Kowatch finished first, second and third, respectively.
• The Aggies took control of the meet as Lindsay Puhalski's first-place finish in the 200 back kicked off a stretch of four races in which the Aggies had the top finisher. With Puhalski pacing the group of backstrokers, Thea Masselink followed closely behind to reach the wall second.
• Yet another Aggie sweep was in order in the 500 free as Katie Rink, Naomi Slee and Estel Galo placed first, second and third, respectively, in the 10-lap race.
Faye McDonagh then helped the Aggies flex their muscles as she outpaced a group of Lobos to take the top spot in the 100 butterfly.
• Later, Lindsay Puhalski earned a second gold medal as she completed the 200 IM over four seconds quicker than the next-closest competitor. In the event, the Aggies also secured a third-place finish as Riley Crespo helped the Aggies build on their lead.
 
QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH RICK PRATT
"This is always a special time of the season and our group has worked very hard to be successful in five weeks. Swimming UNM always brings out the best in us and this meet is a great opportunity to perform at a high level, and most importantly to celebrate the journey and recognize our seniors."
 
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