SAN DIEGO – After a nearly four-week hiatus, the San Diego State swimming and diving team returns to action this weekend when it travels up the coast to face Pepperdine in a dual meet on Thursday, Oct. 6, before venturing to the Central Valley for the Chick-Fil-A Invitational, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 7-8, in Fresno, California.
The Aztecs will battle the Waves at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu, California, starting at 10 a.m. PT in the first of two head-to-head encounters between the schools this season. A link to live streaming will be available on GoAztecs.com. Pepperdine will travel to "America's Finest City" for the rematch on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.
SDSU has emerged victorious in all 18 meetings with the Waves since 2001, including an 81-65 triumph in Malibu last season. The Aztecs rolled to an insurmountable 66-11 lead after four events and cruised to the victory.
SDSU is coming off a 33-24 decision over the University of San Diego in the annual pentathlon between the two squads on Sept. 9, marking the Aztecs' 37th dual-meet victory dating back to Jan. 8, 2018, a span of almost five years. In fact, the Scarlet and Black has compiled a spotless dual-meet schedule in seven of the last eight seasons, including a 13-0 ledger during the 2021-22 campaign.
Against USD last month, fifth-year senior Kristina Murphy claimed the individual crown for the second year in a row after posting a combined time of 4:51.90, as the Aztecs sported the top nine pentathlon finishers, including sophomore Meredith Smithbaker (4:57.55) and senior Riley Tapley (4:58.16), who placed second and third, respectively.
Meanwhile, San Diego State will square off against Mountain West foes Colorado State, San José State and Fresno State at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational, along with Pac-12 schools California, UCLA and Washington State.
Friday's competition at the Fresno State Aquatics Center gets underway at 11 a.m. PT, with a second session to follow at 6 p.m., while Saturday's action begins at 10 a.m. Heats will be timed finals, and links to live results and streaming video will be available on GoAztecs.com.
SDSU has finished second in all five previous appearances at the Chick-Fil-A Invite since 2016. Last year, the Aztecs totaled 679.5 points to hold off UCLA (670) for the runner-up spot behind Cal (1481.5), while Fresno State (396) was a distant third, followed by Washington State (307) and San José State (221).
Following this weekend's events, San Diego State will head to the desert for a quad meet against Grand Canyon, Loyola Marymount and Seattle U, Oct. 21-22, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Aztecs Gearing Up for Busy Weekend
