Press releases courtesy of UC-San Diego:
LA JOLLA, Calif. – The No. 1/2 University of California San Diego women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams swept Cal State East Bay, CSU Bakersfield, and Loyola Marymount on a drizzly afternoon in La Jolla. The men defeated the Roadrunners (169-131), while the women came out on top against the Pioneers (150-114), Roadrunners (171-126), and Lions (154-106).
The women set the tone early, capturing a win in the first event of the meet, the 200 medley relay. Olivia Parks, Grace Murphy, Amanda Rios, and Cody Hargadon combined for a time of 1:48.30 in the race, coming in just ahead of the Roadrunner A relay squad.
Starting with the fifth event of the day, the Tritons put together a streak of individual victories. Ciara Franke led things off with a win in the 200 freestyle, notching a time of 1:53.69. Ivan Kurakin followed up with a victory in the same event for the men, with a mark of 1:41.94 that bested the Roadrunner second-place finisher by one-hundredth of a second.
The 100 backstroke was another strong point for the Tritons. Jordan Phillips (59.33) captured first on the women’s side, while freshman classmate Olivia Parks took second (59.69). Tyler James was the men’s winner, turning in a mark of 50.60.
In events nine and 10, the 100 breaststroke, the women again took the top two slots. Grace Murphy placed first with a time of 1:06.52, while Lily Maxfield claimed second with a 1:08.40 mark. Edgar Chin was the victor of the men’s event, clocking a time of 56.20.
Tina Reuter was the seventh-consecutive Triton winner, coming in first in the 200 butterfly with a season-best time of 2:05.29.
Reuter was one of five UC San Diego swimmers to record wins in multiple individual events, with her other victory coming in the 200 back (2:05.39). Spencer Daily notched a trio of individual wins, in the 50 free (20.58), 100 free (45.91, a season-best), and 100 fly (48.58). Franke, Kurakin, and Garrett Tse captured two individual first-place finishes apiece.
On the diving boards, the women were dominant. The Tritons claimed all top three spots in both events. Brooke Abrantes led the pack with a score of 234.22 in the 1-meter dive. She was followed by Jasmyn Cheng, who turned in a score of 217.34. Delainey Carlin was close behind, racking up 211.57 points.
Abrantes again had the highest score in the 3-meter competition, with 248.69 points. This time, Carlin and Cheng swapped slots, with Carlin earning second (244.58) and Cheng earning third (222.45).
On the men’s side, Owen Hunt secured third in the 3-meter dive with a score of 216.90. Teammate Finlay Thomson earned fifth in the event with 175.80 points.
In the 1-meter event, Hunt took fourth with 216.67 points, while Thomson took fifth with 166.95 points.
The meet concluded with two strong first-place efforts in the 400 free relay from the Triton relay teams. In the women’s event, Franke, Hargadon, Reagan Eickert, and Reuter turned in a time of 3:30.12 to finish almost five seconds faster than the Roadrunners. The men dominated as well, with James, Sawyer Farmer, Daily, and Marc Caron finishing in 3:04.83 to set a new Canyonview Aquatic Center record.
Next, the Tritons hit the road. They will first face UCLA and UC Santa Barbara in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, making up their canceled meet from earlier this season. Then, they will compete in a dual meet with MPSF foe Cal Poly.