2025 San Diego Invitational
- January 11, 2025
- San Diego, Calif.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: SDSU Athletics
SAN DIEGO – Bolstered by nine overall event titles, the San Diego State swim and dive program captured the three-team University of San Diego Invitational on Saturday at USD Sports Center Pool.
The Aztecs totaled 921.50 points across 16 events for the meet, topping Mountain West rival Colorado State (892 pts) and the host Toreros (669.50 pts). The Scarlet and Black’s winning tally also included this weekend’s results from the preliminaries of the 1- and 3-meter springboard at the Lancer Diving Invitational, which featured competitors from SDSU, USD and CSU.
Back in San Diego, Moa Bergdahl was a double winner for the Aztecs, taking home crowns in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, while Meredith Smithbaker (50 free), Kaydence Bispo (100 free), Alli Mann (100 fly) and Reka Nyiradi (200 fly) were victorious in their respective races.
Not to be outdone, the SDSU foursome of Mann, Bispo, Wilma Johansson and Avery Turney emerged triumphant in the 400 freestyle relay.
Additionally, divers Valentina Lopez Arevalo (1-meter) and Taylor Konopacke (3-meter) were credited with wins from Riverside.
Elsewhere, the Aztecs received a series of second-place finishes from Mann (50 free, 200 free), Smithbaker (100 free) and Emily Tenczar (200 fly), along with the team of Liv Peebles, Bergdahl, Tenczar and Bispo in the 200 medley relay.
The aforementioned combo completed that opening race with a time of 1:44.87, while the foursome of Abby Storm, Christiana Williams, Alex Roberts and Smithbaker clocked in at 1:45.09 to finish fourth.
Moments later, the 1,000 freestyle featured a pair of SDSU competitors, as Summer West logged a fifth-place swim of 10:58.08, while Elsa Fullerton (11:01.89) followed in sixth.
In the 200 freestyle, Mann touched the wall at 1:51.60, edging Bispo (1:51.86) for second place, while Johansson (1:53.11) took fifth.
As the day progressed, Roberts placed third in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.60, while Storm was a close fourth at 56.69, followed by Peebles (57.46) in the sixth spot.
Bergdahl soon took center stage in 100 breaststroke with the first of her two wins, completing the race at 1:02.89, while Williams (1:05.33) and Elisa Branca (1:05.87) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Shortly thereafter, the Aztecs crafted a series of strong performances in the 200 butterfly, where Nyiradi recorded a winning time of 2:02.71, while Tenczar touched the wall in second at 2:05.09, followed Charlotte Sevin (2:07.03) and Grace Mering (2:09.98), who took fifth and sixth, respectively.
In the 50 freestyle, Smithbaker emerged victorious with a sprint of 23.47, while Mann followed in second at 23.89, finishing ahead of Turney (24.41), who placed sixth.
Following a brief intermission, SDSU continued its winning ways in the 100 freestyle, where Bispo topped the field with a time of 51.71, while Smithbaker completed the race in second at 52.67, before Turney completed the race in 52.97 to finish fourth.
In her first start of the season in the 200 backstroke, Roberts recorded a fifth-place swim of 2:07.13, while Storm followed in seventh at 2:08.15.
Moments later, Bergdahl earned her second title of the afternoon after logging a winning time of 2:18.17 in the 200 breaststroke, while Branca (2:21.81) took fourth, followed by Williams’ (2:22.12) sixth-place finish.
Johansson was the Aztecs’ top competitor in the 500 freestyle, where she completed a fourth-place swim of 5:08.03, while Eva Allan (5:16.64) was slotted seventh.
Mann soon triumphed in the 100 butterfly, touching the wall at 55.29, while Tenczar clocked in at 57.21 to finish third.
Shortly thereafter, Branca placed fourth in the 200 individual medley, where she completed a swim of 2:08.33, while Mering was seventh at 2:10.28.
The swimming events concluded with the 400 freestyle relay as Johansson, Mann, Turney and Bispo joined forces for a victorious time of 3:27.49, while the team of Allan, Nyiradi, Sevin and Tenczar took fourth at 3:34.04.
The Aztecs’ final tally also included top scores from the preliminary rounds at the CBU Lancer Diving Invitational by Lopez Arevalo (1-meter, 268.45) and Konopacke (3-meter, 249.65). Summer Westmoreland (261.20) also finished second in the 1-meter preliminaries, while Lopez Arevalo (246.15) was the preliminary runner-up on the 3-meter board.
San Diego State will once again face USD in a pair of dual meets on consecutive days, Jan. 24-25. The Aztecs will engage the Toreros in swim-only events at USD’s pool, before returning to The Mesa with a full squad the next day when the Scarlet and Black conducts Senior Day festivities at Aztec Aquaplex.
Courtesy: Colorado State Athletics
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The break obviously didn’t hurt.
Facing San Diego and San Diego State at the University of San Diego on Saturday, Colorado State’s women’s swimming and diving team picked up seven victories in the 16-event competition, finishing second to the Aztecs on the scoreboard, scoring invitational style.
The two-time defending Mountain West champions finished with 921.5 points, with the Rams coming in at 892; the hosts finished at 669.5. Colorado State wanted to take advantage of the rarity of swimming outdoors by wearing tech suits, which the other two declined to do as both have outdoor facilities.
The results were encouraging, but even still, CSU coach Christopher Woodard had to give his team a bit of a push to get them in the right frame of mind to compete, replacing woe-is-me with let’s get after this.
“I think it was, but I did have to give them a bit of a kick. I got pretty heated with them all,” Woodard said. “We’re coming into this meet and all we were hearing was we’re suiting up and they’re not, I’m not feeling well, this person is next to me. The theme of the meet is you’re sick, so what? Your arch nemesis is in the lane next to you, so what? You’re suited and they’re not. So what?
“It doesn’t matter. We have to stop paying attention to all the reasons why we’re not in the best place and instead enjoy the opportunity. We don’t get to race outdoors at sea level very often. For some of them, it may be their only time in their four years here. I think by the end of the meet they got the message.”
Erin Dawson won three of the races for the Rams, and in two instances, led a 1-2-3 finish for CSU.
The redshirt junior won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:50.37, then came back with wins in the 500 free and the 200 individual medley. In the 500 free, teammates Maya White and Mia Axelman followed; in the 200 IM, it was Maisy Barbosa touching second and Lindsey Blake third.
“I think most impressive for her is she was lighter in the water, riding higher and kicking more aggressively and early in her events. That’s really encouraging,” Woodard said. “She came out every time and said that felt good, I feel like I can do more. That’s not a bad sign, especially coming off training at home and we know we beat them up this week. I wasn’t expecting lights out, and she was lights out.”
The 200 backstroke was an even better showing for the team – a 1-4 finish – led by Tess Whineray. Sophia Hemingway was second, Barbosa third and Blake fourth. Whineray additionally won the 100 back, with Barbosa touching second.
White posted the other individual win in the 1,000 freestyle, her time just off her altitude-adjusted season best from earlier in the season. Colorado State opened the day with a win in the 200 medley relay with the grouping of Whineray, Katie Flynn, Dawson, and Lexie Trietley.
Additionally, the Rams were picking up some depth points which had been eluding them, a very promising sign for what it may mean come conference.
“Lindsey, Sophia and Mia, they all had some really standout races. Like seasonal bests, in season not rested,” Woodard said. “I think some of those middle-of-the-pack kids are starting to come around and show we can be players and can be contributors.”
Meanwhile in Riverside, the divers were completing the Lancer Diving Invitational, with Riley Lee qualifying for the finals once again. The 1-meter springboard was the first day all four CSU divers competed, with Maggie Di Scipio also qualifying for the finals, but electing to sit out the next round as she deals with shoulder soreness. Lee placed 11th overall, posting a 240.95 in the prelims for her top score of the day. Di Scipio scored a 234.10. Noelle Tobin, a Pacific Palisades native, competed for the first time and scored well.
“Once again Riley Lee was steady and consistent with her six dives. The wind was definitely a factor today and the temperatures were a bit chilly for diving outside,” CSU diving coach Chris Bergere said. Riley’s experience diving outdoors under less than favorable condition’s with regard to temperature and wind helped as she really held it together and did some fine dives.”
Colorado State will remain in Southern California to train before returning home in time to prepare for a quad meet at Air Force on Jan. 17-18.
Courtesy: San Diego Athletics
RIVERSIDE/SAN DIEGO — Kicking off the second half of their season, the San Diego women’s swimming and diving team was in action this weekend in a pair of split team meets. USD’s divers competed across three days of action at the Lancer Diving Invite, while the Toreros also hosted a dual meet against both Colorado State and San Diego State at the USD Sports Center Pool on Saturday afternoon.
San Diego received a standout performance from Anna Vermulen in her first home meet of the season as she earned a second place finish in the 1,000 yard freestyle, and finished fifth in the 500 yard freestyle.
On the diving side, the Toreros earned a sixth place finish from Morgan Divita with a score of 216.70 in the three meter dive.
For the full results for the dual meet with Colorado State and San Diego State, please click here. To see the full three day results from the Lancer Diving Invite in Riverside, please click here.
San Diego will now be back in action in less than a week as they will face Pepperdine in a dual meet on Friday, January 17 at 10:00 a.m. from the USD Sports Center Pool. There’s no charge for admission to any home USD swim meets.
