Hawaii vs. Arizona, Denver
- Oct. 25-26, 2019
- Tucson, Arizona
- Men:Arizona 230, Denver 121; Hawai’i 203, Denver 148
- Women: Denver 209.5, Hawai’i 143.5; Arizona 204, Denver 144
- Day 1 Results / Day 2 Results
Courtesy: Arizona Athletics
Tucson, Ariz. – The Arizona Swimming and Diving team took care of business this weekend while both the men and women swept Denver and Hawaii. The men won by a score of 196-156 over Hawaii and 230-121 over Denver. The women won by a score of 211-135 over Hawaii and 204-144 over Denver.
Wildcat Wins
On Friday, junior Brooks Fail tallied the first win of the meet for the Wildcats in the 1650 yard Free, and would also go on to win the 200 yard Fly.
Aria Bernal followed up Fail with a win of her own in the Women’s 100 yard Back. While Hannah Cox picked up where she left off in Utah, taking home first place honors in the 200 yard IM.
The women’s 200 yard Free relay also belonged to Arizona with Alayna Connor, Kayla Filipek, Jade Neser, and Casslyn Tredyte placing in 1st.
On Saturday, Senior standout Hannah Cox lead the way for the first Wildcat win of the afternoon, taking 1st place in the women’s 500 yard Free and eventually winning the 400 yard IM as well. Brooks Fail then made it back-to-back wins for Arizona with a 1st place finish of his own in the men’s 500 yard Free and just like Cox for the women, won the men’s 400 yard IM.
The men dominated the 200 yard Free with the top three spots belonging to Wildcats. Jorge Iga took home 1st place honors, Noah Reid runner-up, and Aldan Johnston placing third. Iga, Reid, Fail, and Marin Ercegovic finished off the meet with a win in the men’s 400 yard Free relay.
Firsts of the Season
Alayna Connor, Marin Ercegovic, and Aldan Johnston all proved victorious in an event for the first time in this young season. Connor won the women’s 100 yard Free, Ercegovic in the men’s 100 yard Free, and Johnston in the 200 yard IM.
Fantastic Freshmen
On Friday, Ellie Jew picked up her first collegiate win in the women’s 100 yard Back while Bjorn Markentin continued to impress, placing 2nd in the men’s 1-meter dive.
Once again, the freshmen stole the show with three wins on the day. Axana Mercx won the women’s 200 yard Back while Casslyn Tredyte won the women’s 200 yard Free.
Diver Gracie Sleeman won the women’s 1-meter dive, while fellow freshman teammate Bjorn Markentin placed 1st in the 3-meter dive for the men’s side.
Upcoming
The Cats will compete next week where the women will take on UCLA Friday, November 1st at 2 p.m. MST. Both men and women will compete Saturday, November 2nd against USC at 10 a.m. MST.
Courtesy: Denver Athletics
TUCSON – The University of Denver men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs combined for eight event wins in a two day double dual on Friday and Saturday at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center.
Junior Cameron Auchinachie (Binghamton, N.Y.) earned Denver’s first NCAA B Standard of the season, and as of Saturday afternoon ranks first in the country in the 50 free after his 19.76 in the event.
Team Scores
Women
Denver 209.5, Hawai’i 143.5
Arizona 204, Denver 144
Men
Arizona 230, Denver 121
Hawai’i 203, Denver 148
Friday Recap
Denver’s relays highlighted Friday afternoon for the Pioneers. Denver opened the meet with a win in the women’s 400 medley relay as the quartet of Natalie Arky (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Brandi Vu (Longmont, Colo.), Kylie Cronin (Marblehead, Mass.) and Josie Valette (Boulder, Colo.) combined for a time of 3:44.63. Denver’s women are undefeated in medley relays this season.
The Pioneers closed out the first day of the meet with a second place finish in the women’s 200 free relay, swam by Valette, Aysia Leckie (Georgetown, Ontario), Sarah Lingen (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Livi Schmid (Fairfax Station, Va.) in 1:34.66, and a win in the men’s 200 free relay swam Auchinachie, Hugo Sykes (Weston, Conn.), Jackson Gainer (San Jose, Calif.) and Neil Wachtler (Waco, Texas), swam in 1:20.44.
For the Denver men, Colin Gilbert (Kamloops, B.C.) and Riley Babson (Vail, Ariz.) were the first individuals to earn podium finishes, taking second (15:57.27) and third (16:06.36) respectively in the men’s mile race. Gilbert climbed back into a podium position later on Friday afternoon, taking third in the 200 fly with a time of 1:52.50.
Auchinachie had a busy Friday, taking second in the 100 back (49.89) and second in the 100 free (44.19) before helping lead the Pioneers to the 200 free relay victory.
Vu turned in another podium swim a few events later with a third place finish in the 100 breast on Friday, reaching the wall in 1:03.60.
Cronin continued her impressive start to the season as the two-time Summit League Women’s Swimmer of the Week finished first in the 200 fly for her second event win of the opening day of the double dual, out-swimming the field by nearly a second with her 2:02.53.
Melissa Funes (Seattle, Wash.) turned in another fast swim in her freshman season, clocking in at 52.25 to take third in the 100 free.
Saturday Recap
The Pioneers opened the second day of competition against Hawai’i and Arizona with a victory in the women’s 200 medley relay. Arky, Vu, Cronin and Valette won their second medley race of the weekend, combining for a 1:42.14.
Gilbert followed the medley races up with another second place finish in a distance race, finishing the 500 free in 4:32.53. Babson finished third for the second-consecutive afternoon with a 4:37.76.
Cronin capped off a weekend sweep of the women’s butterfly races with her 54.85 in the 100 on Saturday. Valette finished in a tie for second in the race with a 54.97.
Charlotte Simon (Saint Remy, France) earned her first win of the weekend, taking the 200 breast title with a 2:18.12. Adriel Sanes (Rosharon, Texas) got Denver’s men back in the podium places in the 200 breast, finishing second with a 2:01.70.
Nosack and Arky took second and third in the women’s 200 back to earn points for the Crimson and Gold with times of 2:01.48 and 2:02.63, respectively. Patrick Groters (Santa Cruz, Aruba) represented the men’s program in the 200 back, taking second with a 1:50.37.
Simon earned another podium spot in the 400 IM on Saturday, taking third with a 4:29.27. Mihalic reached the wall in second on the men’s side with a 4:00.54.
Valette won the women’s 50 free in 23.35 before Auchinachie earned the first NCAA B Standard of the season with his 19.76 on the men’s side.
Sammy Walker (Los Gatos, Calif.) dove for third on the women’s 1-meter board, tallying a 236.80.
This Weekend’s Event Wins
Women’s 400 Medley Relay – Natalie Arky, Brandi Vu, Kylie Cronin, Josie Valette – 3:44.63
Women’s 200 Fly – Kylie Cronin – 2:02.53
Men’s 200 Free Relay – Cameron Auchinachie, Hugo Sykes, Jackson Gainer, Neil Wachtler – 1:20.44
Women’s 200 Medley Relay – Natalie Arky, Brandi Vu, Kylie Cronin, Josie Valette – 1:42.14
Women’s 100 Fly – Kylie Cronin – 54.85
Women’s 200 Breast – Charlotte Simon – 2:18.12
Women’s 50 Free – Josie Valette – 23.35
Men’s 50 Free – Cameron Auchinachie – 19.76 – NCAA B Standard
UP NEXT: Denver will not compete again as a team until heading to the Princeton Invite in December for a three-day event from the sixth to the eighth.
Courtesy: Hawaii Athletics
Tucson, Ariz. —The University of Hawai’i swimming and diving teams turned in another solid day by concluding the tri-match with the University of Arizona and the University of Denver with five first-place finishes.
UH totaled 11 first-place finishes between Friday and Saturday events. The ‘Bows will return to the island of O’ahu for the Sunshine Diving Invitational and the Hawai’i Senior Meet scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9th. The next road trip is a month away with the three-day Art Adamson Invitational at Texas A&M in late November.
Swimming
The swimming portion of the UH team took first place in four of the six top finishes. The men’s side claimed three while senior Phoebe Hines claimed a first-place finish for the women’s team.
Hines finished at No. 1 in the 1650 free with a time of 16:42.13; her early season time ranks second in the country for the fastest time in the event.
A point of emphasis for head coach Elliot Ptasnik was the relay events, and the men’s 400 medley relay did not disappoint. Junior ‘aukai Liluikis teamed up with a trio of seniors in Mateusz Chaba, Kāne Follows, and Olli Kokko to finish with a time of 3:15.56. Ranking No. 2 in the nation thus far in the event.
The other two first-place spots went to Follows and Kokko. Follows touched the wall at 49.43 in the 100 backstroke, while Kokko finished at 54.64 in the 100 breaststroke. In the same event with Kokko, finishing at No. 2 and No. 3 was senior David Springhetti and junior Micah Masei.
For the second consecutive day, a men’s relay team shined as UH claimed victory in the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:28.68. The team consisted of three of the four student-athletes from yesterday’s 400-medley relay with Kokko and Chaba, along with Follows. Joining the trio was junior Adam Franz.
Franz and Chaba teamed up with Masei and Lileikis in the 200 free relay finishing at No. 2 but currently sit at No. 8 nationally in the event with a time 1:21.15.
Kokko, Follows, and Lileikis each added solo wins on the day. Kokko in the 200 breaststroke, Follows in the 200 backstroke, and Likeikis in the 100 butterfly.
On the women’s side, senior Phoebe Hines turned in the best day overall, narrowly missing a first-place finish in three events. Hines finished at No. 2 in both the 500 free and the 200 free. She was also a part of the second-place 400 free relay squad with a trio of juniors in Karolina Hajkova, Lucia Lassman, and Anna Kotonen.
Diving
A familiar scenario for UH was the placement of the diving standings as head coach Mike Brown and assistant head coach Anita Rossing saw their divers take first place in both events of the day.
Junior Ivy Davis registered a final score of 276.50 in three-meter, while fellow junior Victoria Moretti came in at No. 3 in the event with a final tally of 253. 55.
On the men’s side, sophomore Max Burman finished with a score of 321.05 in the one-meter.
Burman picked up where he left off on Friday, collecting his second first-place finish of the event, this time in the three-meter dive. Martin registered a second-place finish in the one-meter, after winning the three-meter the day before.
