Jan. 2, 2016
LA JOLLA, Calif. - The San Diego swimming and diving team picked up three dual meet victories during a triple dual competition at the Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla, Calif., Saturday afternoon. The Aztecs recorded wins over UNLV (167-126), Grand Canyon (188-105) and host UC San Diego (179-114) as they improved to 8-1 on the season.
Swimmer and divers from Boise State also participated, but SDSU did not compete or score the meet against the Broncos.
San Diego State got the afternoon started by capturing the opening event, the 200 medley relay. The quartet of Kate Santilena, Cecilia Zaccarelli, Summer Harrison and Taylor Johnson turned in a time of 1:14.18 to edge the Boise State foursome by .29 second.
The relay win was the beginning of an excellent day for Johnson, who later won the 50 freestyle in 23.02 and in the process tied the Canyonview Aquatic Center pool record. The senior from Fountain Valley, Calif., would also take second place in the 100 freestyle in 51.61.
The Aztecs had two other winners in the individual swimming races along with a first place in the diving competition.
Senior Natilee Ruiz took first in the 200 individual medley with a mark of 2:06.79. Teammate Racheal Kelch added team points with a third-place finish in that event in 2:07.15.
Kelch, a freshman from Metamora, Ill., was the Aztecs' other individual race winner as she captured top spot in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:03.13. She later added a third-place finish in the 200 backstroke in 2:03.71.
SDSU had three other top-three finishes as Harrison placed second in the 100 butterfly (55.48) with Samantha Guttmacher third in the same race (57.01). In addition, Santilena took third in the 100 back in 57.73.
On the diving side, sophomore Alexandra Caplan took top honors on the 1-meter springboard with a score of 303.05 in an event that featured 22 competitors. Teammate Payton Gabris placed fifth with 241.75 points.
Caplan also captured second on the 3-meter board with a mark of 277.10, just 1.10 points behind the eventual winner. SDSU's Nicole Dutton was fourth with a score of 249.95.
The San Diego State swimmer and divers will return to the Canyonview Aquatic Center on Sunday (Jan. 3) for a double dual meet against Mountain West foe San Jose State and Incarnate Word. The opening event is scheduled to get underway at 11:00 a.m. (PT).