2023 Rodionoff Invite
- October 13-14, 2023
- Malibu, Calif.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
- Team Scores
Courtesy: Pepperdine Athletics
MALIBU, Calif. – The third annual Rodionoff Invitational came to a close on Saturday, as the Pepperdine women’s swim and dive program earned the most points among Division I opponents at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
The Waves racked up 505 points over two days, while San Diego accumulated 185 on Saturday and PCH Cup rival Loyola Marymount scored 132 on both Friday and Saturday.
MEET RECAP
Scoring for this meet was done by division and Pepperdine, LMU and San Diego were the only three Division I teams competing at the invite. Cal Lutheran, Concordia, Azusa Pacific and Westmont competed against each other in separate competition.
The women’s 1-meter diving competition began the day. Two Pepperdine divers placed in the top-four spots on the leaderboard. Sophomore Ava Langheim (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) took second with a score of 250.25, while fellow sophomore Amanda Wong (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS), continued her strong weekend with a fourth-place finish after a 245.75 showing.
In swimming, two relay teams and five individuals placed first among the Division I competition. The 200 medley relay team of Kylie Taylor (Eugene, Ore./Churchill HS), Sydney Abild (Holyoke, Mass./Northampton HS), Layla Busquets (Diablo, Calif./Monte Vista HS) and Alexandra Browne (Arlington, Va./Washington-Liberty HS) kicked off the meet with a time of 1:47.04. In the 400 IM, sophomore AJ Adams (Castle Rock, Colo./Valor Christian HS) paced the D1 field with a 4:33.36 time. Freshman Busquets swam the 100 fly in 57.18, which is good for third all-time in program history. In the 200 breast, freshman Kiana Fan (Irvine, Calif./Portola HS) crossed the line first among DI opponents in 2:23.22, putting her ninth all-time in program history. Sophomore Taylor clocked a time of 56.87 in the 100 back. Junior Browne finished the 50 free in 24.05. Finally, the foursome of Browne, Adams, Busquets and Elliot Easton (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Preparatory School) wrapped up the meet with a time of 3:34.55 in the 400 free relay. The Waves took the top three spots in the 400 free relay.
In addition, four individuals and two relay teams came in second.
QUOTABLE
Head coach Ellie Monobe said: “The Waves did a phenomenal job today, it’s tough having meets on back-to-back days. I felt like our medley relays were very strong and it’s great for us to have taken first and second place in that event this morning. Seeing the 400 IM depth was great. AJ Adams took the lead in the 400 IM and had a stellar weekend.”
“It was nice to see some of our freshman step up and get comfortable racing some of our new MPSF competitors. Layla Busquets had a phenomenal day with her 100 fly. The way she attacked that event with a ton of confidence was great to see. Busquets and Kylie Taylor had a phenomenal showing in the 100 back.”
“We’re looking forward to improving our times before we hit the La Verne Invite in the middle of November. To finish it up with the 400 free relay taking the first three spots in that event shows our depth, which I’m very happy and pleased with.”
Diving coach Monique Demaisip said: “It was good for the divers to compete in a large 1-meter field to simulate a championship environment by waiting a little bit longer in between dives. It was a good gauge to see where we’re at against San Diego who is a conference opponent. I’m excited to take this momentum into dual meets where we’ll be doing both boards back-to-back.”
NEXT UP: Pepperdine will host Illinois on Thursday, Oct. 26 at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool. Prior to this dual meet, Tay Thomas (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park HS) will compete in the MPSF Open Water Champs in Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 21.
Courtesy: San Diego Athletics
MALIBU, Calif. — Wins from Anna Vermeulen in both the the 200 and 500 Yard Freestyle led the way for San Diego swimming and diving on Saturday afternoon at the Pepperdine Invite, helping USD place fifth out of seven teams at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
Vermeulen posted times of 1:57.73 and 5:12.29 to take home the top spot in each event, respectively. As a team the Toreros totaled 185 points, just five points shy of Azusa Pacific’s 189 in the fourth-place spot.
She was closely followed in the 500 Yard Freestyle by fellow Torero Skylar Bruner, who recorded a time of 5:13.28 to finish second. Bruner was one of three San Diego swimmers who notched a second-place finish on Saturday, joining Claire Sheerin (100 Yard Butterfly) and Rose Jania (200 Yard Breaststroke).
Jania also placed third in the 400 Yard IM on Saturday afternoon, making her one of three Toreros who took home a third-place finish after Jayne Brandt (200 Yard Free and 50 Yard Free) and Skylar Horder (100 Yard Fly) also did so.
San Diego’s best relay performance of the afternoon came in the 200 Yard Medley, which saw Holly Tarantino, Elise Sullivan, Sheerin, and Brandt lead USD to a third-place finish after combining for a time of 1:49.44.
The Toreros are back in action on Saturday, October 21, when they compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s Open Water event in Long Beach, California.
Courtesy: LMU Athletics
