University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
UC San Diego
Bruins Handle UCSD For Sixth Consecutive Dual Meet Win
January 03, 2020 | Swimming & Diving
LA JOLLA, Calif. โ The UCLA swim and dive team opened its 2020 calendar year with a strong 182-79ย win over UC San Diego on Friday afternoon at the Canyonview Aquatics Center.
The victory extended the Bruins' season-opening winning streak to six. Despite not having competed since late November, Friday's margin of victory was UCLA's largest of the season so far. ย
A pair of freshmen set pool records on Friday to highlight the UCLA win.
First, Stephanie Su won the 1000 free with a time of 10:11.34 to establish a new standard for Canyonview. Then a few minutes later, Sophia Kosturos broke the pool record in the 100 back with a time of 54.80.
Overall, a Bruin won 11 of 12 individual events against UCSD (1-3). A total of 10 different swimmers recorded victories for UCLA across those 11 events.
Sophomore Claire Grover was the lone swimmer to pick up multiple wins, as she claimed the crown in both the 50 free and 200 breast.
After finishing second in the 200 medley relay, Su got the Bruins back on track with her record performance in the 1000 free. UCLA finished 1-2-3 in that event, as Su was followed by freshman Lauryn Johnson (10:17.41) and sophomore Katie Sulkevich (10:20.23)
The Bruins went ahead for good after placing 1-2-3 in the following event as well, the 200 free. Senior Kenisha Liu finished first with a 1:51.51, followed by freshmen Brooke Schaffer (1:51.99) and Daniella Hawkins (1:53.85).
In the ensuing race, Kosturos logged her record time in the 100 back to give the Bruins a third consecutive event win.
Senior Amy Okada sent the Bruins into the first break of the session on a high note, claiming the 200 fly title at 2:03.65 and starting a string of eight consecutive wins for UCLA.
After the break, Grover sprinted to a first place finish in the 50 free with a 22.99, the only swimmer to break the 23-second mark. Maisie Jameson (23.94, third) also scored for the Bruins.
UCLA would go on to finish 1-2-3 in each of the next two events, the 100 free and 200 back.
Freshman Rachel Rhee was the star in the 100 free, touching first with a time of 51.06 to edge out Liu (51.31).
Sophomore Abriana Howard swam a 2:02.60 in the 200 back to pick up her first win of the afternoon. She was followed by Ella Kirschke (2:03.08) and Delaney Smith (2:03.63).
Grover avenged UCLA's second-place finish in the 100 breast by winning the 200 breast at 2:18.16. Hawkins would go on to win the 500 free at 4:58.88 to give UCLA a sweep in the distance events before freshman Gabby Dang claimed the 100 fly title at 55.60 to hand the Bruins a commanding lead heading into the final two events.
After another break, Smith gave UCLA its final win of the day with a first-place time of 4:25.09 in the 400 IM. The Bruins also had the 2-3 finishers in Jessica Epps (4:28.47) and Su (4:32.57).
UC San Diego finished the meet with first place finishes in both relay races as well as a narrow victory for Katja Pavicevic in the 100 breast, beating out Rhee by just two-hundreths of a second.
UCLA returns to action next weekend with an away dual meet at Pac-12 rival Washington State on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 11:00 a.m. The Cougars are 3-3 so far on the season.
Players Mentioned
