SAN DIEGO STATE VS PEPPERDINE VS CAL STATE EAST BAY (WOMEN)
- Monday, January 5, 2026
- San Diego, Calif.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: SDSU Athletics
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State swim and dive program kept its unblemished record intact this season after sweeping Pepperdine (162-128) and Cal State East Bay (183-91) in a double dual meet Monday at Aztec Aquaplex.
SDSU posted the fastest times in 13 of 14 swimming events and were awarded first-place points in 11 of those races while capturing a diving crown. With their success, the Aztecs raise their record to 9-0 for the 2025-26 campaign.
Alli Mann, Sierra Tallman and Elisa Branca were double winners for the day, while Grace Mering, Melanie Quinto, Isabella Gomez, Kaydence Bispo and Abby Storm also emerged triumphant in individual events, helping the Scarlet and Black extend its winning streak to 84 consecutive dual meets, a span of eight years.
Mann etched her name on the Aztec Aquaplex top 10 list after winning the 100 and 200 butterfly. In the 100 fly, the SDSU sophomore touched the wall at 54.11, which ranks third in pool history, while her collegiate-fast clocking of 2:02.23 in the 200 fly is slotted sixth.
Tallman also set a pair of Aztec career-best times after winning the 200 and 500 freestyle. The SDSU freshman recorded a victorious time of 1:51.53 in the 200 free, followed by a swim of 5:04.66 in the 500 free, her first appearance in the event as a collegian.
Meanwhile, Branca took home the gold in the 100 breast after completing the race at 1:04.30. The Aztec sophomore also logged the fastest time in the 400 individual medley at 4:28.55. With the Scarlet and Black comfortably ahead on the team scoreboard, however, the result was scored as an exhibition.
Not to be outdone, Mering turned in a career-best performance in the 1,000 freestyle with a triumphant time of 10:46.84.
Monday’s winners for SDSU also included Quinto, who registered a personal-best sprint of 23.65 in the 50 freestyle, while Bispo topped the field in the 100 freestyle after touching the wall at 51.69.
Quinto also swam anchor on the Aztecs’ victorious 200 medley relay team, joining forces with Storm, Roni Black and Liv Peebles for a winning time of 1:45.68.
SDSU also boasted the top 400 freestyle relay team, as the foursome of Mann, Bispo, Storm and Alyssa Schiller combined for a victorious effort of 3:30.14.
Earlier, Storm logged the fastest time in the 200 backstroke with a clocking of 2:02.32; however, her result was deemed an exhibition.
Over in the diving well, Gomez claimed her third event crown of the season after winning the 1-meter springboard with a score of 265.73, which eclipsed an NCAA zone qualifying standard, while Meja Palmer (247.65) placed second.
Gomez (254.70) also took third on the 3-meter board, finishing behind teammate Alina Skrocki (265.13) for the second spot.
San Diego State divers will be back in action this weekend when they travel up the freeway for the UCLA Bruin Diving Invitational, Jan. 9-11, at Spieker Aquatics Center in Westwood, California.
Courtesy: Pepperdine Athletics
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Pepperdine Swim & Dive traveled down the 405 to take on San Diego State and Cal State East Bay in a tri-meet Monday morning. They picked up a dominant win against the Pioneers (212.5 to 79.5) and took on the Aztecs in a rematch of early season, falling 162 to 128.
“Very proud of this team,” said interim head coach Dan Marella following his first meet at the helm. “There has been a lot of change over the last few weeks, and they have been handling it all like pros. From our seniors to our rookies, everyone took care of business today. We will continue to keep our nose to the grindstone for the next few weeks and keep the ball rolling before championships.”
On the day the Waves collected five victories—four in the pool and one on the boards.
Jackie Johnson captured the 3-meter dive title with a score of 281.63. Her mark bested second place by over 15 points. It is yet another notch in what has proved to be a very impressive season for the freshman from Omaha, Neb.
Delainey Pisaruk was the top finisher for the blue and orange in the 1-meter event, finishing fourth (235.65).
Another freshman picking up where she left off before the midseason stoppage was Sophia Blietz. Already a program record holder, she bested ten other swimmers to claim victory in the 200 back (2:06.30). Behind her was fellow Wave, Sophie Ware (2:07.85).
Kylie Taylor earned the school another first-place result in the 100-backstroke. She claimed the win with a time of 57.18.
Ava Taylor did it all in the 400 IM to take gold (4:38.79). She was joined on the podium by Paige Easton (4:41.81) and Ansley Halbach (4:41.82) to give the Waves a healthy representation in the event.
Four Pepperdine swimmers occupied the top of the standings in the 200 breast. Chief among them was Kiana Fan. Her time of 2:23.33 was joined by Charli Sunahara’s 2:24.55, Nora Rabe’s 2:27.47, and Mollie Cho’s 2:28.71.
Team Results
- Pepperdine (212.50) – Cal State East Bay (79.50)
- Pepperdine (128) – San Diego State (162)
- Cal State East Bay (91) – San Diego State (183)
The full results of the double dual can be accessed here.
NEXT UP
Later this week the Waves return home to face the Fresno State Bulldogs. Competition is set for 4:00 p.m. on Friday and 12:00 p.m. the following day.
Courtesy: Cal State East Bay Athletics
SAN DIEGO – The 2025-26 season resumed on Tuesday with the first meet of the calendar year for the No. 15 Cal State East Bay women’s swimming team. The Pioneers competed in a double dual meet with Division I opponents San Diego State and Pepperdine at Aztec Aquaplex. East Bay lost to each team for team scoring, but had some highlights in the pool to start 2026.
To open the meet, a third place finish in the 200 yard medley relay was achieved by Lily Caraway, Rae Ann Dressel, Tehani Kong and Amaya Rocheleau in 1:46.92.
Dressel also placed third as an individual swimmer in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.96.
With a pair of second place finishes was sophomore Alexia Fajardo. In the 200 yard butterfly, she clocked a second place time of 2:05.71 and in the 100 yard butterfly, finished in 57.08 seconds.
Placing third in the 200 yard backstroke was Taylor Kolsch in 2:09.14.
Cal State East Bay head coach Shane Pelton reflected on the team’s challenges on Monday. “It was great to get out there and start competing again. The first meet back after winter break and the first meet back of the second semester is always a little tough and challenging, but definitely something that we can continue to build off of.”
The Pioneers return to action this coming Friday for Senior Day, representing the final home meet of the 2025-26 regular season. Prior to the meet, the Senior Day ceremony will take place on the deck of Pioneer Pool honoring Kylie Beaudet and Miya French before their final home meet. The start time for the meet is scheduled for noon on Friday in a dual meet with San Jose State.
If only state wasn’t afraid of swimming meets they could lose
Who did they duck??
They haven’t raced UCSD in 3-4 years I think
HM! And you think that’s because they’re ducking them? I don’t know enough about the lore. Seems like SDSU tends to swim mostly teams with women-only programs.
Swimulator based on season bests has the two as a very close meet. SDSU winning by 2. That becomes a coin toss in real competition (which seems like it would be fun to see).
Problem being that UCSD doesn’t have diving, so that 32-point advantage probably gives SDSU the win – to which I assume the UCSD faithful would write off to ‘no diving.’
It would be very close. State has some long winning streak that they intend to keep. I don’t think they have raced UCLA in a long time either.
I guess undefeated records look good when talking to ADs