MOSCOW, Idaho (October 2, 2021) – Washington State Swimming opened its season with a 166-128 win over Idaho Saturday morning.
 
The Cougars won 11 of the 16 events that saw Idaho claim 32 points on both diving events (WSU does not have diving). Senior Taylor McCoy led the way with three individual wins while freshman Angela Di Palo from Italy won her first two collegiate races in the 200 free and 100 free.
 
"The beginning of our family's journey today had its ups and downs but we finished the meet off strong to start the season with a win. We were a little hesitant and rusty coming out of the gate. One of our goals as we embark on this journey is to have more energy at the beginning of our meets so we can start off strong and finish strong," fourth-year head coach Matt Leach said. "We had some great performances and it was nice to see a few people win multiple individual events including Taylor McCoy and Angela Di Palo. We were happy to see our single event winners swim well including Lauren Burckel, Ilaria Moro, Mackenzie Duarte, Keiana Fountaine and a pretty cool moment was Paige Gardner getting her first career win after an impressive swim in the 50 free. As we move forward we are going to work hard to deliver more energy earlier in meets and be more aggressive in training. Go Cougs!"
 
Senior Lauren Burckel recorded an early win in the 100 breast and freshman Ilaria Moro from Italy won the 200 fly. WSU began to make their move by sweeping the top-3 spots in the 50 free as senior Paige Gardner earned her first career win, sophomore Hailey Grotte finished second and junior Mikaela Kirton touched third. Seniors Mackenzie Duarte (200 breast) and Keiana Fountaine (500 free) each added wins before the Cougars closed the meet with a win in the 200 free relay.
 
Washington State will head to Fresno, Calif. next weekend for the Chick-Fil-A Invite.