San Diego State vs Pepperdine vs Loyola Marymount (Women)
- January 19, 2024
- San Diego, Calif.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: SDSU Athletics
SAN DIEGO – The juggernaut that is the San Diego State swim and dive team continued to roll Friday with a pair of victories over Pepperdine (109-98) and Loyola Marymount (111-87) in a double dual meet at Aztec Aquaplex.
With their results, the Aztecs keep their perfect record intact, improving to 14-0 on the season, including a 9-0 ledger at home.
SDSU posted the fastest times or marks in 11 of 12 events, winning both relays and a pair of diving titles to extend its victory streak to 64 consecutive dual meets dating back to Jan. 8, 2018.
The Aztecs opened the festivities with a dominating performance, grabbing the top three spots in the 200 medley relay, led by the foursome of Evonne Stehr, Christiana Williams, Mai McKenna and Rachel Hubka, who combined for a winning time of 1:43.49, which ranks ninth in Aztec Aquaplex history.
In addition, the team of Alex Roberts, Moa Bergdahl, Riley Tapley and Meredith Smithbaker finished second at 1:44:57, while the combo of Abby Storm, Liberty Edwards, Emily Tenczar and Alyssa Schiller took third, with their clocking of 1:48.40 scored as an exhibition.
SDSU spread the wealth in the individual swimming races, as seven different Aztecs posted the fastest time in their respective events.
Turney was victorious in the 200 freestyle, touching the wall at 1:53.20, while Summer West posted a second-place time of 1:55.61, followed by Paige Mitchell (1:57.65), who placed fourth.
The Scarlet and Black duplicated that sequence in the 50 freestyle, where Rachel Hubka (23.90) was triumphant over Stehr (24.24), while Emily Allen (24.55) followed in fourth.
The Aztecs boasted the top three finishers in the 100 individual medley, as Roberts (58.68) edged Williams (58.90) for the crown, while Bergdahl (59.49) was a close third.
Shortly thereafter, the 100 butterfly witnessed an identical order, as McKenna completed the race with a winning time of 55.47, while Reka Nyiradi was second after touching the wall at 56.52, followed by Tapley’s third-place swim of 57.74.
With the host school comfortably ahead of the Waves and Lions on the team scoreboard, the Aztecs’ results in the five swimming events were deemed exhibitions.
Nevertheless, SDSU once again logged the three fastest times in the 100 freestyle, where Smithbaker clocked in at 50.94, finishing ahead of teammates Turney (51.36) and Schiller (51.82).
The Aztecs’ victory string was snapped in the 100 backstroke, as Stehr placed second with a time of 58.63, while Bergdahl (1:00.10), Charlotte Sevin (1:00.12) and Tenczar (1:00.53) followed in fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
Moments later, Summer West (5:07.62) edged Mitchell (5:08.40) for the top spot in the 500 freestyle, while Williams replicated that feat in the 100 breaststroke, emerging triumphant with a time of 1:02.05, which ranks third in pool history. Following Williams in that latter event were Smithbaker (1:03.42) and McKenna (1:06.19).
The swimming portion of Friday’s meet concluded with the 200 freestyle relay, where Schiller, Hubka, Nyiradi and Turney combined for a winning time of 1:34.16, which ranks fifth in Aztec Aquaplex history. In addition, West, Storm, Roberts and Tapley joined forces for a second-place performance of 1:38.24.
Not to be outdone, diver Valentina Lopez Arevalo captured both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard competition, giving her 11 event titles on the season.
On the 1-meter board, Lopez Arevalo posted an NCAA Zone qualifying standard of 278.03 points, while Summer Westmoreland logged the second-best total with 262.73 points, which was scored as an exhibition.
Later in the meet, Lopez Arevalo eclipsed another NCAA Zone qualifying mark in 3-meter action with a winning mark of 303.60 points, followed by Olivia Zamudio (254.93) and Westmoreland (253.13).
San Diego State closes out its regular-season dual-meet schedule next week when it plays host to the University of San Diego at Aztec Aquaplex on Friday, Jan. 26, starting at noon PT. Prior to their engagement with the Toreros, the Aztecs will conduct a special Senior Day ceremony recognizing the accomplishments of their 2024 graduating class.
Courtesy: Pepperdine Athletics
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Pepperdine swimming and diving program split its double dual meet against San Diego and Loyola Marymount at the WCC Cup this weekend.
MEET RECAP
SWIMMING
The Waves wrapped up the WCC Cup with a 426-397 loss to San Diego and a 533-230 win against PCH Cup rival Loyola Marymount.
Pepperdine found success in individual events as six Waves earned a first-place finish today. Layla Busquets (Diablo, Calif./Monte Vista HS) swam the 100 fly in 58.24. In the 400 IM, AJ Adams (Castle Rock, Colo./Valor Christian HS) clocked a time of 4:34.06. Adams also took first in the 200 back as she earned a time of 2:07.39 in the event. Sydney Abild (Holyoke, Mass./Northampton HS) finished the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.52. In the 100 back, Kylie Taylor (Eugene, Ore./Churchill HS) notched a time of 57.23. Charli Sunahara (Chino, Calif./Ruben S. Ayala HS) finished the 200 back with a time of 2:21.65.
The Waves also took first in the 400 medley relay as the foursome of Taylor, Abild, Busquets and Alexandra Browne (Arlington, Va./Washington-Liberty HS) swam the event in 3:57.01.
DIVING
On Friday, Amanda Wong (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) was the highlight of the day for the Waves as she took second place in the 3-meter competition with a score of 234.60. Lexie Martin (Keller, Texas/Keller HS) also performed well in the 3-meter where she posted a score of 217.13 and earned a third-place finish.
On Saturday in the 1-meter competition, Wong took first as she tallied 233.10 points on the day. Martin also helped Pepperdine earn the top two spots in the event as she notched a score of 230.48, good for second place in the event.
QUOTABLES
“The Waves had a very impressive and strong finish to our final travel competition of the regular season,” head coach Ellie Monobe said. “With a full slate of events, I was thoroughly impressed with the commitment these athletes have shown. Throughout the season our emphasis on details is paying off and the results are showing.
Also, our consistency with diving on 1-meter today has proven to our new conference opponents that we are a threat to be reckoned with on the boards.”
“I’m very proud of our Waves in terms of how we showed up on the pool deck today,” diving coach Monique Demaisip said. “Specifically on the dive side of things, the 1-meter competition was our most consistent performance for all three of our divers who were able to participate today. We’ve been working on this all season, so it was great to see a first, third, and sixth finish with sixth place only being maybe seven points away from third.”
NEXT UP
Pepperdine will host Azusa Pacific on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. in the last home dual meet of the year. Saturday will also be senior day where the Waves will honor their three seniors.
