UCLA vs. Utah
- Oct. 11, 2019
- Los Angeles, California
- UCLA def. Utah 177-84
- Results
Courtesy: UCLA Athletics
LOS ANGELES – The No. 23-ranked UCLA swim & dive team defeated visiting Utah 177-84 on Friday afternoon at Spieker Aquatics Center. It was the first home and conference dual meet of the season for the Bruins.
UCLA (2-0, 1-0) won 13 of the 14 scheduled events on Friday, including both relays. Diving was not included in the meet program. Utah (1-1) picked up its first loss of the year.
Several Bruins had standout days in the pool. Freshman Daniella Hawkins, senior Kenisha Liu, freshman Sophia Kosturos, sophomore Claire Grover, and senior Amy Okada all recorded multiple event wins, while sophomore Ella Kirschke claimed UCLA’s final individual title of the day.
“We had a lot of excitement going into today, we just wanted to kick it off,” said UCLA head coach Jordan Wolfrum. “Everything was just swum on pride – pride for their school, teammates, program – and that’s where a lot of those gritty wins came from.”
UCLA is next in action on Oct. 25, hosting UC Santa Barbara in a non-conference dual meet.
The Bruins opened Friday afternoon by taking first and third in the 200 medley relay, with the UCLA As – Sophia Kosturos, Claire Grover, Amy Okada, and Kenisha Liu – taking the crown at 1:42.31.
Freshman Daniella Hawkins had an impressive showing in the 1000 free, taking first by a solid margin with a time of 1:09.20. Stephanie Su (fourth, 10:24.03) and Katie Sulkevich (10:29.40) also scored for the Bruins.
Kenisha Liu continued her torrid start to the 2019-20 season by placing first in the 200 free with a time of 1:50.83. Freshman Brooke Schaffer (1:52:13) finished runner-up, beating out a crowd vying for second place.
Kosturos claimed the 100 back title with a time of 54.39. Abriana Howard (57.18) and Jennifer Lathrop (57.87) managed to place 4-5.
Grover made it five straight wins out the gate for UCLA by placing first in the 100 breast (1:02.65). Freshman Rachel Rhee (1:05.30) placed top-three as well.
After playing the pre-meet National Anthem on the flute, Okada proved she still had plenty left in the tank by winning the 200 fly handily with a time of 2:01.66. Freshman Lauryn Johnson touched second at 2:03.74 and Lia Foster (2:06.54) scored by placing fourth.
Grover (23.33) and Maisie Jameson (23.64) took the Bruins into the first break on a high note by placing 1-2 in the 50 free. Freshman Gabby Dang (24.16, fifth) rounded out UCLA’s scoring contingent.
Liu opened up the latter half of the meet by taking home her second win of the day, placing first in the 100 free with a time of 51.29. Jameson was hot on her tail at 51.46 to take second.
Kosturos went two-for-two in the backstroke by winning the 200 back at 2:00.35. Delaney Smith (2:02.28) and Lucy Agnew (2:04.00) placed 3-4 to score for the Bruins.
Utah picked up its lone event win of the day in the 200 breast, but Emma Cain (2:18.24) was able to finish in second.
The Bruins got back on track in the 500 free, as Hawkins (4:57.14) picked up her second distance win of the day while Lauryn Johnson (4:59.09) gave UCLA a 1-2 freshman duo at the top of the results list.
UCLA finished 1-2-3 for the first time in the meet in the 100 fly, led by Okada’s 55.41. She was followed closely by Dang (55.97) and Schaffer (56.36).
Sophomore Ella Kirschke captured her first victory of the afternoon in the 200 IM, narrowly beating out two others at 2:02.89. Delaney Smith was the third-place finisher at 2:04.32.
The afternoon ended with a win from the UCLA As in the 400 free relay. The A Team completed the relay in 3:25.65
Courtesy: Utah Athletics
LOS ANGELES – Utah Women’s Swim and Dive dropped its first Pac-12 dual meet this afternoon at No. 23 UCLA, 177-84.
Charity Pittard picked up from where she left off in the win over Arizona, by capturing the 200 breast in 2:16.03. She also took second in 200 IM with a time of 2:03.80.
Mandy Gebhart and Layre Casarin led the Utes in a pair of events. The junior from Boulder City, Nevada was the runner-up in the 1000 free (10:17.09) and third in the 500 free (5:03.60). Casarin, a native of Italy who replaced her sister on the team this year, was third in both the 50 (23.71) and 100 (51.80) free.
Utah captured three more second-place finishes thanks to Mariah Gassaway in the 100 breast (1:04.27), Sarah Lott in the 100 back (56.08) and Audrey Reimer in the 200 back (2:02.04).
Kayla Yetter had Utah’s top swim in the 200 free (1:53.21), while Christina Pick led the pack in the 200 fly (2:06.44) and Emma Lawless paced her teammates in the 100 fly (56.95).
