The Fresno State women won the Beach Cup with 817.5 points this past weekend, which included San Diego, Marymount, and Pepperdine. San Diego (589) wound up in 2nd, with Marymount (404.5) and Pepperdine (321) in 3rd and 4th respectively. Read on for full recaps from each team.
Fresno State:
Day 1-
SAN DIEGO – The Fresno State swimming and diving team’s 239 points through day one of the Beach Cup in San Diego on Friday afternoon has given the Bulldogs the lead over San Diego (184), Loyola Marymount (131) and Pepperdine (112) through six events.
“We got off to a good start today,” Fresno State head coach Jeanne Fleck said. “It’s been an important week for the team training and bonding in San Diego and I have a feeling we’ll swim even better tomorrow.”
Senior Leah Hatayama and freshman Ugne Mazutaityte both placed first in freestyle events and freshman diver Irina Nikolaeva scored the highest in the 1-meter dive to set the pace for the ‘Dogs.
Hatayama won the 50 free for the eighth time this season with a time of 23.75 seconds, .64 seconds faster than second place. Ally Short (So), Katelin Britton (So), Tarryn Rennie (Jr), Hannah Nabors (So) and Brooke Rodriguez (Sr) all scored points for the Bulldogs in the event.
“[Hatayama] has a lot of confidence this year,” Fleck said. “There’s a lot of tough competition in the Mountain West in the freestyle this season and it will be exciting to see how that motivates her as we get closer.”
Mazutaityte, most notably known for her strong backstroke performances, won the 500 free (5:05.84) by 3.81 seconds. Other ‘Dogs notching points in the event were Casey Kennemann (So), Danielle Powers (Sr), Vanessa Dugan (So) andEmma Monnich (Fr).
Fresno State’s divers grabbed the top three spots in the 1-meter event, led by Nikolaeva’s personal-best score of 286.35. Shelbie Holden (Jr) took second with 271.35 and senior Lacie Ruth rounded the Bulldogs out with a score of 258.75.
Fresno State also earned points in the 200 individual medley courtesy of Esme Gullick (Jr), Gabbie Libang (Fr) andKarissa DeRousseau (Sr).
The Bulldogs came in second and fourth in both the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay.
Fresno State will continue pursuit of its third-straight Beach Cup title on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. PT.
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Day 2-
Beach Cup Session 3
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Fresno State swimming and diving team captured its third straight Beach Cup title with 817.5 points to best San Diego (589), Loyola Marymount (404.5) and Pepperdine (321) on Saturday afternoon in San Diego as the Bulldogs placed first in 13 of 20 events.
“This was a really good meet,” Fresno State head coach Jeanne Fleck said. “We have a lot of depth this year, so even when we don’t place first, we have a lot of swimmers earning points, and that’s really important in these meets. However, we need to work on some little things and sharpen up. We need to get better and we’re excited to get back home and finish off with a bang against San Jose before the Mountain West Championships.”
Highlights of the second day of the meet for Fresno State include senior Leah Hatayama placing first in the 100 and 200 freestyle events and freshman Ugne Mazutaityte taking the top spot in the 100 and 200 backstroke events.
Hatayama slipped by San Diego’s Jackie Taylor to win the 100 free by 0.22 seconds with a time of 52.66 seconds. In the 200 free, Hatayama’s 1:54.63 was enough to take the top spot.
Mazutaityte continued her dominance in the backstroke events as she won the 100 back with a swim of 57.52 seconds and the 200 back by 8.87 seconds faster than second place with a time of 2:01.77. The Bulldogs took six of the top seven spots in the 100 back with strong supporting swims from Lindsay Ruiz (Sr), Kali Conlon (Jr), Emma Monnich (Fr),Ally Short (So) and Karissa DeRousseau (Sr).
Fresno State also placed first in the 400 IM (Esme Gullick, Jr), 1650 free (Vanessa Dugan, So), 200 butterfly (Tarryn Rennie, Jr), 200 free relay and 400 medley relay.
The Bulldog divers continued their strong performance this weekend as they took the top three spots in the 3-meter event courtesy of senior Lacie Ruth (256.85), junior Shelbie Holden (249.90) and freshman Irina Nikolaeva (244.45). The divers will now head to the UCLA Bruin Diving Invitational on Sunday to compete in the platform dives.
Fresno State’s final meet before the Mountain West Championships will be at home against San Jose State on January 30 at noon at the Fresno State Aquatics Center.
San Diego:
Day 1-
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Toreros swim and dive team completed day one of the 2016 Beach Cup on Friday at the USD Sports Center Pool. After the first session of competition Fresno State leads with 239 points followed by USD (184), Loyola Marymount (131) and Pepperdine (112).
Bri Jurries earned the Toreros only individual victory of the day when she beat LMU’s Hannah Calton by just over half a second with a 2:07.41 in the 200 IM. Jurries also contributed to USD’s first place finish in the 200 medley relay. In total USD won three of the five races on Friday.
“It’s exciting to win three events.” Said Head Coach Mike Keeler. “It’s a good start to the meet but there’s a lot of swimming left to go.”
Sisters Danielle and Jackie Taylor were big contributors to both relay victories – 200 Medley and 800 Freestyle – and added second and third place finishes in the 50 free. Danielle set a personal best during the first 200 meters of the 800 free relay finishing with a 1:51.90.
In the 500 free, two Toreros finished in the top-five. Liza Kuznetsova (5:09.65) took second while Gwen Walter (5:13.46) earned 10 points with her fifth place finish.
The teams will be back in the pool tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. for the second session of the Beach Cup. The third and final session of the event will take 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.
Day 2-
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The 2016 Beach Cup concluded on Saturday at the University of San Diego Sports Center Pool. USD (589) placed second in this year’s event with seven wins in 18 races. Fresno State won the meet with 817.5 points. Loyola Marymount placed third with 404.5 points and Pepperdine finished fourth with 321 points.
The Toreros started Saturday’s action with the team of Jackie Taylor, Bri Jurries, Danielle Deiparine and Danielle Taylor taking second place with a 1:38.46 in the 200 free relay.
Jurries led the Toreros with outstanding performances in the 100 breast (1:05.52) and the 200 breast (2:22.37), winning both events and earning 32 points. The junior from Phoenix, Ariz. also contributed to a USD victory in the 400 free relay (3:31.81).
D. Taylor continued her excellent freshman season with a 56.96 and a first place finish in the 100 fly. In the 200 fly Taylor posted a 2:05.23 while placing third.
J. Taylor earned two second place finishes on Saturday while anchoring three relays. In the 200 free she finished 1:55.49, less than a second off of first and in the 100 free she swam a 52.88.
USD also received strong contributions in the backstroke events from senior Sarah Reierson. Reierson placed second in the 200 back with a 2:10.64 just in front of USD teammate MK Clancy (2:12.05). In the 100 back Reierson earned a third place finish with a 1:00.91. She also contributed to the 400 medley relay team with Jurries and the Taylor sisters that came in second with a 3:55.05.
In the 400 IM Morgan Scarth (4:39.14) and Liza Kuznetsova (4:39.28) earned second and third respectively. Kuznetsova (17:44.67) and teammate Gwen Walter (17:50.04) added second and third place finishes in the 1650 free as well.
Sammi Cohn placed fourth in the 100 breast with a 1:08.74. Overall the Toreros recorded 25 top-five finishes over the tree sessions. Freshman divers Lexi Held and Elizabeth Petty added 24 points over the two days of competition.
Marymount:
Day 1-
The LMU swim team sits third overall after one day of competition at the 2015 Beach Cup. Fresno State (239 points) leads the pack of four teams, followed by San Diego (184), LMU (131) and Pepperdine (112). The two-day competition is being held in San Diego, Calif., and is hosted by USD.
Junior Hannah Calton has turned in the top swim for LMU, placing a close second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:07.98. The native of Granite Bay, Calif. was narrowly edged by USD’s Bri Jurries at 2:07.41, but held off Pepperdine’s Jessica Mosbaugh at 2:08.00.
The Lions also had a pair of top-five finishes in the 50 freestyle, with Kristen Brennand taking fourth in 24.98. She was followed shortly thereafter by Kristen Clarno at 25.07.
On the relay front, LMU’s A relay in the 200 medley and 800 freestyle took third place. Kailee Mora, Mary Kate Reid, Calton and Brennand combined for a time of 1:49.38 in the 200 medley, while Stephanie Horwitz, Clarno, Isabel Willisand Calton finished the 800 relay in 7:50.13.
Individually, Horwitz (5:14.37) found herself just outside the top-five in the 500 freestyle, earning sixth place overall in the race. The same was true for Mora in the 200 IM, as the junior placed seventh in 2:11.98 to earn seven points for the Lions.
Day 2-
The LMU swim team finished third overall at the two-day 2016 Beach Cup, swimming against Fresno State, San Diego and Pepperdine in San Diego, Calif. The Bulldogs won the team competition with 817.5 points, followed by the Toreros (589), Lions (404.5) and Waves (321).
Hannah Calton once again turned in a pair of second-place finishes on Saturday, placing second in the 100 butterfly (57.25) and 200 butterfly (2:04.93). The Lions showed well in the 100 fly, with Kailee Mora taking fourth overall in 58.89.
Kristen Clarno, who led the Lions in the 200 freestyle with a fourth-place finish (1:55.97), helped LMU to a pair of top-five finishes in the 100 freestyle, claiming third in 54.15. She was followed shortly thereafter by Kristen Brennand, who matched Fresno State’s Hannah Nabors for a tie of fourth with a time of 54.53.
Stacy Maier contributed a fourth-place finish for the Lions in the 200 backstroke, earning 11 points in the team score after touching the wall in 2:13.69.
Stephanie Horwitz took to the water in the meet’s longest event, the 1650 freestyle, placing fifth overall with a mark of 18:04.92. Mary Kate Reid also managed a top-five finish, with her fifth-place finish coming in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.83), before Mora returned to the water after her fourth-place finish in the 100 butterfly to take fifth in the 200 breaststroke (2:28.24).
LMU’s relay teams finished in the top-three in all three relays on Saturday, including taking second in the 400 freestyle. Clarno, Brennand, Isabel Willis and Calton combined in the 400 free relay, turning in a time of 3:34.03. The Lions finished less than a second out of first in the 200 freestyle relay, finishing third behind Fresno State (1:38.40) and USD (1:38.46) with a time of 1:39.23.
The Lions will return home for their next meet, hosting Pacific on January 23 at 1 pm. The meet will be the final home meet of the year, and the last event before the annual PCSC Championships, and will serve as LMU’s Senior Day.
Pepperdine:
Day 1-
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Pepperdine women’s swimming and diving team completed competition on day one of the Beach Cup hosted by San Diego, finishing with 112 points.
The Waves grabbed five top five finishes on the day. Fresno State currently leads the event with 239 points. Pepperdine is just 19 points behind Loyola Marymount for third place.
Jessica Mosbaugh (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) had the Waves highest finish on the day, placing third in the 200 IM with a 2:08.00.
The Pepperdine divers snagged two top five finishes in the one-meter competition. Sydney Newman (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS) placed fourth in the event while Lauren Stigers (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay HS) finished fifth.
Allison Naasz (Lodi, Calif./Tokay HS) finished fifth in the 200 IM as well and Julia Sneden(Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) was just behind her in sixth, giving the Waves three of the top six spots in the race.
The Pepperdine 200 medley relay team also finished fifth, swimming a 1:51.28.
The Beach Cup concludes tomorrow. It is the Waves final event of the regular season before they host the PCSC time trials on January 30.
Day 2-
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The final day of competition at the Beach Cup took place on Saturday and the Waves finished strong at the meet after just 10 days of training after the mid-season break.
The Pepperdine diving team led the way with two top five finishes on the day. Sydney Newman (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS) grabbed fourth with a 217.80 andSamantha Newman (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge HS) finished fifth with a score of 203.10. The Waves also grabbed sixth with Ali North (Boulder, Colo./Fairview HS) and eight with Lauren Stigers (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay HS).
Pepperdine’s relay in the 200 free took sixth place with a time of 1:41.53 and the second team took eighth with a 1:43.40. The Waves 400 medley relay team also grabbed fifth with a 4:05.41.
The Waves had two top 10 finishes in both the 100 fly and 400 IM. Rachel Wong (La Canada, Calif./La Canada HS) finished sixth in the 400 IM with a 4:47.22 and Kelly Presper (Irmo, S.C./Hammond School) finished eighth with a 4:54.35. In the 100 fly Julia Sneden (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) finished seventh with a 1:00.25 and Nicolette Barreiro (Valencia, Calif./Hart HS) finished ninth with a 1:00.97.
Allison Naasz (Lodi, Calif./Tokay HS) paced the Waves in the 200 free, swimming a 1:59.09 to finish seventh. Julianna Chan (Davis, Calif./Da Vinci Charter Academy) finished sixth in the in the 100 breast with a 1:09.16 and Megan Henley(Reno, Nev./Galena HS) finished eighth with a 1:10.27.
Sabrina Altman (Kula, Hawaii/Seabury Hall) scored a ninth place finish in the 200 backstroke and Naasz finished seventh in the 100 free.
The Waves scored well in the 200 breaststroke with a Lauren Allard (Arlington, Va./Yorktown HS) finishing seventh with a 2:31.77. Chan Finished eighth and Henley finished ninth.
Pepperdine finished the day with the 400 free relay, finishing sixth.
The Waves will be back in action on January 30 when they host the PCSC Time Trials.
Swimming news courtesy of Fresno State, San Diego, Marymount, and Pepperdine Swimming & Diving.