Bears Open 2026 With Robust Displaying at Air Force Twin

GREELEY, Colo. — The University of Northern Colorado girls’s swimming & diving staff opened the 2026 calendar Friday night with a aggressive twin on the U.S. Air Force Academy Natatorium, ending second with 121 factors in opposition to Air Force’s 175 within the first twin meet of the brand new 12 months.

Northern Colorado turned in a number of occasion wins and podium finishes all through the evening, led by standout distance performances from Kyra Rabess. Rabess opened the meet by dominating the 1000 freestyle, touching first in 10:37.61, earlier than later including one other victory within the 500 free with a time of 5:11.44. She additionally anchored the Bears’ second-place 200 free relay to shut the meet, serving to UNC end simply .14 seconds behind the Falcons’ prime quartet.

The Bears earned an early enhance within the opening relay, because the 400 medley relay staff of Ariane Bernier, Maria Erokhina, Avi Tromp, and Alexis Mishler completed fourth general to get UNC on the board. Erokhina adopted robust, successful each the 100 breast (1:03.04) and the 200 breast (2:18.27), whereas additionally putting within the 100 fly later within the meet.

UNC picked up further particular person wins from Hlaa Diab, who captured first place within the 400 IM with 4:37.50, and added a runner-up end earlier within the 200 fly. Agathi Manoli joined Diab atop the rostrum as nicely, ending second in a number of butterfly and IM occasions whereas contributing key factors within the staff standings.

In the dash occasions, the Bears confirmed depth and consistency. Alexis Mishler and Vitoria Simioni completed second and third, respectively, within the 50 free, with Simioni including a runner-up end within the 100 free. Linnea Haan posted a pair of top-three finishes within the backstroke races, putting third within the 100 again and second within the 200 again.

Northern Colorado closed the evening robust within the 200 free relay, with Mishler, Simioni, Tromp, and Rabess combining for a 1:36.15 to safe second place and cap a robust opening twin to the 2026 season.

 

UP NEXT: The Bears will return to Butler-Hancock Pool on Friday, January 23 in opposition to Washington State. The twin will start at 4 p.m. MST.

 

FOLLOW THE BEARS: For full protection of UNC Athletics, take a look at the official homepage at uncbears.com. Follow the ladies’s swim and dive staff on X (previously Twitter) (@UNC_BearsSwim), Instagram (@UNC_BearsSwim_Dive), and Facebook (/UNCOBearsswimdive).