Cal Wins 17 of 19 Events at Chick-Fil-A Invitational in Fresno

Chick-Fil-A Invitational

• Oct. 11-12, 2019
• Fresno, California
• Cal 1301, San Diego State 813, Fresno State 420.50, New Mexico 366, Washington State 361.50, San Jose State 213
• Results

Courtesy: Cal Athletics

FRESNO, Calif.  – Cal closed out the second day of the Chick-fil-A Invitational Saturday with another strong performance in the pool as the Golden Bears earned victories in seven of the eight events. Cal touched first in both relays and saw five individuals claim wins of their own

Sophomore Isabel Ivey had a hand in five victories as Cal won 10 of 11 events overall on the first day of the Chick-fil-A Invitational Friday Fresno State.

Ivey claimed first place in a pair of events during the evening session, first with a time of 54.04 in the 100-yard butterfly and later with a time of 54.18 in the 100-yard backstroke. Both wins were by more than a second of the runner-up finisher. In addition, she swam a leg on three winning relays – 200 free relay, the 800 free relay and the 200 medley relay, which set a pool record by touching in 1:40.97.

Junior Robin Neumann posted a nearly five-second victory in the 500 free with her time of 4:51.58, while senior Abbey Weitzeil reached the wall first in her specialty, the 50 free, in 22.55. Sophomore Alicia Wilson also established a pool record with her finish of 2:00.59 in the 200 individual medley.

Other winners for the Bears were freshmen Sarah DiMeco in the 400 IM (4:24.89) and Ayla Spitz in the 200 free (1:50.26), while junior Briana Thai captured the 3-meter diving with a personal-best and pool-record score of 334.00.

“We had a lot of racing today and did a nice job of taking it one event at a time and giving our best effort,” head coach Teri McKeever said. “We got to see a lot of new people race for the first time, which is really important. I was happy with our energy and attention, and we’re looking forward to another good session in the morning.”

On Saturday, the Bears got the morning going when Ayla Spitz, Ema Rajic, Isabel Ivey and Abbey Weitzeil prevailed in the 400-yard medley relay in a pool-record 3:42.44, and the quartet of Eloise Riley, Robin Neumann, Ivey and Weitzeil wrapped up the meet with a win in the 400 free relay in 3:21.52.

A trio of freshmen paced the field in the 1650 free, as Sarah DiMeco (pool-record 17:00.36), Anna Kalandadze (17:13.46) and Rachel Klinker (17:16.61) placed 1-2-3. The Bears did one better in the 200 back with Courtney Mykkanen first in 1:59.79, followed by Alicia Wilson (2:00.02) and Spitz (2:01.65). Ivey actually posted the fastest time (1:59.06), but her swim was an exhibition.

Weitzeil led another Cal sweep in the 100 free, reaching the wall in 49.09. Neumann was second in 50.49, Riley third in 50.63 and Spitz fourth in 51.52.

Ivey picked up an official victory in the 200 fly with her time of 2:03.24, just ahead of Klinker’s 2:03.49. And diver Briana Thai added the 1-meter title to her 3-meter win from Friday with a leading score of 295.60.

“Today was much more than about the times,” McKeever said. “It was more about an attitude and intention, and I saw a lot of good things that we can continue to build on. We look forward to doing that and have a big weekend coming up with Homecoming and the opportunity to celebrate our 2009 NCAA championship. We’re excited about that.”

The six-team meet featured 20 events over the two days. Cal led the overall standings with 1,373 points, followed by San Diego State (865) and Fresno State (471.5).

The Bears will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their 2009 NCAA team championship during Homecoming and a student-athlete reunion next weekend. Cal will be  back in action with their home-opener on Thursday, Oct. 24 when they host Washington State at 2 p.m. at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

Courtesy: San Diego State Athletics

FRESNO, Calif. – The Aztec swim and dive team wrapped up the Chick-Fil-A Invitational at Fresno State in second place

The Aztecs finished with 865 points, behind Cal’s 1373 points. Fresno State came in third with 471.5 and was followed by Washington State (404.5), New Mexico (402) and San Jose State (249).Klara Thormalm set a pool record and won the 100-yard breaststroke and SDSU notched 10 other top three finishes over Friday’s two sessions.

Klara Thormalm‘s record breaking time of 1:01.58 earned SDSU 20 points. Morganne McKennan finished in second in the event with a time of 1:03.90.

McKenna Meyer and Kristina Murphy came in second and third in the 400 IM with times of 4:25.70 and 4:25.72 respectively.

Courtney Vincent earned a second-place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 55.43.

Elli Ferrin came in third in the 100-yard backstroke, hitting the wall in 55.74.

Ximenia Luchuga Gonzalez and Gillian Garcia notched top three finishes in the 3-meter diving competition. Gonzalez finished in second with a score of 3:02.85 and Garcia came in third, earning a score of 267.00.

SDSU came in second place in both the 200-medley relay and the 200-freestyle relay. The squad of Elli Ferrin, Klara Thormalm, Courtney Vincent and Alma Thormalm finished the 200-medley relay in 1:42.57.

In the 200 free relay, the Aztecs broke the previous pool record but came in second. Sammy Geyer, Alma Thormalm, Lizzie Menzmer and Klara Thormalm finished in 1:33.73.

For the second day in a row Klara Thormalm set a pool record in the breaststroke. On Saturday, she set a new record and took first place in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:14.85.

The Aztecs began the day with a second place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Elli Ferrin, Klara Thormalm, Courtney Vincent and Alma Thormalm finished in 3:45.39.

SDSU’s other top three finish came in the one-meter diving competition where Marie Yacopino placed third with a score of 249.10.

Other notable Aztec finishes include Alma Thormalm finishing fourth in the 100 freestyle (50.89) and Kristina Murphy placing fourth in the 200 breaststroke (2:18.55)

STAT OF THE MEET
Klara Thormalm set pool records in the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke.

UP NEXT
The Aztecs host their first home meet of the 2019-20 season on Friday when the host Boise State and Pepperdine for a double dual meet.

Courtesy: Fresno State Athletics

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State’s women’s swimming and diving team finished in third place in the two-day Chick-Fil-A Invitational at the Fresno State Aquatic Center.

The second day of the Bulldogs’ season-opening meet was highlighted by the 400-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay.

Through 20 events, California finished first with 1,301 points, San Diego State in second with 813, and Fresno State rounded out the top three with 420.50. New Mexico jumped to 4th place (366), followed by Washington State (361.50) and San Jose State (213).

Day 1

• Fresno State’s 400 freestyle team (Clayson, Moers, Harbert, Cutler)
• Fresno State’s 800 freestyle team (Khisiamova, Cutler, Clayson, Johnson) finished 4th out of 14 teams with a time of 7.41.62.
• Freshman Darina Khisiamova took fifth in the 400 IM with a time of 4:36.10.
• Freshman Yuliya Tikhaya finished fourth in the 3-meter with a score of 243.20.
• Fresno State, Cal, New Mexico and San Diego State were the only schools that had divers compete.

Day 2

• Fresno State’s 400 medley team (Clayson, Mendolicchio, Harbert, Cutler) finished seventh out of 21 teams with a time of 3:53.78.
• Fresno State’s 400 freestyle team (Clayson, Johnson, Harbert, Cutler) tied for fifth out of 22 teams with a time of 3:33.11.
• Freshman Athena Clayson finished fourth in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:02.85.
• Senior Kimberly Harbert placed fourth in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:04.28.

The next meet for the Fresno State’s women’s swimming and diving program will be at Nevada on October 25 at 5 p.m. PT.