Arizona State NCAA Qualifier Ieva Maluka Transferring to Georgia

Ieva Maluka has announced her transfer to Georgia after spending her freshman and sophomore seasons at Arizona State. She entered the transfer portal at the beginning of April.

As a freshman, Maluka finished her season at Pac-12s as she did not make NCAAs. There she was highlighted by a 6th place finish in the 200 IM as she swam a personal best 1:57.37.

Maluka showed great improvement during her sophomore season dropping in all three of her primary events. She swam a personal best time in the 200 IM at Pac-12s with a 1:54.43. She was just off of that time with a 1:55.67 at NCAAs to finish 18th. Her time from Pac-12s would have made the NCAA ‘B’ final in the event. Maluka also swam in prelims of the 200 free finishing 28th and the 100 free finishing 52nd at NCAAs.

She also helped the Sun Devils at the relay level, leading the team’s 800 free relay off with a 1:44.39 split as the team went on to finish 12th. She also swam a 48.44 flying start on the 400 free relay.

TIME PROGRESSION:

Maluka is a huge pick up for the Bulldogs who graduate their top 200 IMer Zoie Hartman as she just finished her fifth year. Hartman was the only swimmer in the 200 IM at NCAAs as she finished 12th in a 1:54.50. The team’s next fastest 200 IMer was Olivia Della Torre who swam a 1:59.79 at SECs.

Maluka also has the potential to boost the sprint freestyle group. Her 200 free best time would have been 3rd on the roster this past season while her 100 free would have been 4th. The team’s 800 free relay finished 6th at 2024 NCAAs with all four women splitting sub-1:44. Hartman was also on that relay instantly meaning there is a spot open for another swimmer such as Maluka. The Georgia women finished 13th as a team at NCAAs with 116 points.