USC Swim & Dive Set for Desert Road Trip to Arizona, Arizona State

This weekend, USC’s diving team will make their 2021-22 season debut on the road against the Wildcats (Nov. 5) and the Sun Devils (Nov. 6).

The Trojans kicked off the season at the two-day, three-session USC Swim Invitational that saw the No. 17 Women of Troy sweep all 17 events. The No. 23 ranked men also captured 12 events as numerous Trojans secured their first batch of NCAA A and B cut times.

USC then picked up their first dual meet wins of the season on Friday, Oct. 29, as the Trojans defeated UC Santa Barbara (men) and Pac-12 rival Washington State (women) at home.

The men’s and women’s squads enter this weekend 1-0 in dual meet action, while both Arizona and Arizona State enter the meet with a clean slate, having yet to face any opponents head to head this season. Similar to the Trojans, Arizona State saw both teams in the CSCAA’s Top-25 preseason rankings, as the men checked in at No. 13 and the women at No. 22.

MEET DETAILS
11/5, 1 PM PT – at Arizona // Hillenbrand Aquatic Center
11/6, 11 AM PT – at Arizona State // Mona Plummer Aquatic Center

Live results will be available on Meet Mobile.

Saturday’s meet (Nov. 6) will be streamed online at Pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university.

TOP TIMES
The No. 17 Women of Troy secured their first batch of A and B cut times during the season-opening invitational. Sophomore Kaitlyn Dobler led the way for the Trojans with the first individual A cut of the 2021-22 season, posting a 57.95 in the 100y breast for an A cut. She also picked up B cuts in the 50y free (22.45) and 200y breast (2:11.63). The Trojan quartet of Calypso Sheridan, Dobler, Anicka Delgado and Laticia Transom combined for three NCAA A cuts, as they took the 200y free (1:28.00), 200y medley (1:35.18) and 400y medley relays (3:29.74). Sheridan secured four individual NCAA B cuts (200y IM 1:55.76, 400y IM 4:07.52, 200y fly 1:56.65, 100y back 51.79), Transom secured three (50y free 22.43, 100y free 48.41, 1:43.98) and Delgado secured two (100y fly 53.09, 50y free 22.48) during the home opener.  Against Washington State (Oct. 29), Delgado earned a B cut in the 200y free (1:46.86) as she took the event for USC.

Additional B cut times included those from seniors Isabelle Odgers (100y breast 1:01.39, 200y breast 2:09.27, 400y IM 4:13.78) and Makenna Turner(100y fly 53.75), junior Nicole Pavlopoulou (200y IM 1:59.88, 200y breast 2:13.24) and freshmen Marlene Kahler (500 free 4:43.94, 1650y free 16:22.30) and Jade Hannah (100y back 52.66, 200y back 1:56.29).

The No. 23 USC men’s swim team also secured their first batch of B cut times during the home opener. B cuts came from redshirt senior Nikola Miljenic (50y free 19.74, 100y fly 46.75), seniors Alexei Sancov (200y free 1:34.97, 200y fly 1:44.13), Victor Johansson (500y free 4:19.38, 1650y free 15:06.90) and Jackson Odgers (200y fly 1:47.19), junior Harry Homans (400y IM, 3:50.79, 200y fly 1:44.27), sophomore Vaggelis Makrygiannis (100y back 46.87) and freshmen Artem Selin (50y free 19.89) and Daniel Matheson(500y free 4:22.06, 1650y free 15:18.99).

DIVING
USC’s diving contingent promises to be one of the strongest in the conference. Among the returning divers are junior Nike Agunbiade, the 2021 Pac-12 3-meter champion, and All-American’s Savannah Stocker and George Korovin.  This year, the Trojans welcome several accomplished divers as Sean Wang, Maddie Huitt, Grace Lee and Ky Duong join 23rd-year Head Coach Hongping Li’s small but mighty squad.

During the 2021 condensed season, Li coached three divers to NCAA qualifications with sophomore’s Nike Agunbiade and George Korovin qualifying on all three boards. Stocker punched her ticket to NCAA’s after an impressive performance at the Zone E Diving Championships.

Li also Coached USC to an additional 10 championship final appearances at the Pac-12 Diving Championships. To wrap up the season, Trojan newcomer Farah Volpintesta earned Pac-12 Women’s Freshman Diver of the Year, while Li was recognized for his work, earning the 2021 Pac-12 Women’s Diving Coach of the Year award, his 12th such honor.

OVERVIEW – SWIM
Captains for this year’s Trojans are seniors Makenna Turner, Isabelle Odgers, Victor Johansson and junior David Mertz.

The No. 17 Women of Troy return all but three Trojans from their 2020-21 roster this season, including the defending two-time Pac-12 breaststroke champion Dobler.  The No. 23 USC men’s squad returns multiple All-American swimmers this season, having retained every Trojan from last year’s roster, while also welcoming nine newcomers.

After missing last season due to injury, Laticia Transom is primed for a stellar senior year comeback campaign. The 2020 Pac-12 100y and 200y free champion looks to take back her crowns this season and will likely be a force at the NCAA Championships.

Other noteworthy returners for the Trojans include Pac-12 finalists and NCAA qualifiers Hallie Kinsey, Isabelle Odgers, Marta Ciesla and Aela Janvier.  On the men’s side, top returners include redshirt senior Mario Koenigsperger, senior Billy Cruz Zuniga, and juniors Max Saunders and Harry Homans. Both Cruz Zuniga and Saunders scored three times at last year’s Pac-12’s.

Troy’s 2021-22 squad features six Tokyo 2020 Olympians as Alexei Sancov (Moldova), Nikola Miljenic (Croatia), Victor Johansson (Sweden),  Vaggelis Makrygiannis (Greece), Anicka Delgado (Ecuador) and Marlene Kahler (Austria) will contribute their talents this season.