UCLA
UC Davis
UCLA Sweeps Pink Meet in Home Opener
October 28, 2017 | Swimming & Diving
LOS ANGELES – With its entire team intact for the first time this season, UCLA swept its third annual Pink Meet with wins over Arkansas (162.50-131.50), UC Davis (207-87) and Washington State (152-104). The Bruins tallied 10 wins in the meet's 14 events. The meet also marked the Bruins' home opener.
Katie Grover, Kenisha Liu, Emma Schanz and Sandra Soe tallied two individual victories apiece for the Bruins.
The quartet of Schanz, Sarah Kaunitz, Grover and Liu teamed up to give the Bruins' their first win of the day, completing the 200 Medley Relay in a time of 1:42.56. The "B" team of Jennifer Lathrop, Isabella Goldsmith, Amy Okada and Carly Reid finished third with a time of 1:44.66.
In the first distance event of the day, Soe's time of 9:59.86 was 7.10 seconds faster than the Razorbacks' Peyton Palsha. That would mark the first of five straight individual wins for the Bruins, as Liu would follow suit next, winning the 200 Free with a time of 1:49.13.
Schanz would narrowly edge Emily Cook of Washington State by two hundredths of a second, checking in at 55.39. Lathrop's third-place time of 56.30 was good for third
Bruins went 1-2 in the 100 Breast, as Sarah Kaunitz finished in a time of 1:03.47, just over a second ahead of freshman Emma Cain (1:04.76). The 200 Fly was another close one, with Grover (1:58.92) barely holding off Arkansas' Jessie Garrison (1:59.06).
Washington State's Hannah Bruggman recorded the first non-Bruin win of the day with a time of 23.64 in the 50 Free. UCLA's Goldsmith finished a close second at 23.73. Liu (50.51) would later best Bruggman (50.90) by less than one half second in the 100 Free.
In diving, Arkansas' Brooke Schultz had a big day, setting one pool record and narrowly claiming another. In the 1-Meter competition, the freshman totaled a score of 323.50. Bruin Eloise Belanger finished second at 303.20, while Ciara Monahan and Alice Yanovsky finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Schultz returned later in the day to set the Dirks Pool-best score of 345.20 in the 3-Meter event. Monahan, Yanovsky and Belanger finished 3-4-5.
Arkansas tallied victories in back-to-back swimming events down the stretch, with Chloe Hannam (1:58.48) taking the 200 Back by less than a second ahead of Lathrop, and Sydney Angell (2:16.97) defeating Schanz (2:17.15) by a narrow margin.
Soe and Palsha again finished 1-2—this time in the 500 Free—when the Bruin junior clocked in at 4:53.40, just over a second ahead of the Razorback freshman.
A tight 100 Fly marked Grover's second win of the day, as the Atlanta native's 54.72 beat Olivia Weekley (54.99) and Jessie Garrison of Arkansas (55.11). Schanz wrapped up the individual competitions by winning the 200 IM with a time of 2:03.17, less than a second ahead of Garrison (2:03.94).
The Bruin "A" team's time of 3:24.11 was good enough to capture the 400 Free Relay, but when it was counted as an exhibition swim, the Cougar "A" team was declared the winner with a time of 3:27.07.
UCLA's Pink Meet, which annually donates contributes to women's health in the name of breast cancer awareness, began in 2015. The $5 admission charged to fans goes directly to the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women's Health Center.
Players Mentioned
