FRESNO, Calif. – The San Diego State swimming and diving team finds itself in second place among five schools competing at the Fresno State Invitational, finishing the first two sessions of the meet on Friday with 484 points at Fresno State Aquatics Center.
After 13 events, the Aztecs trail first-place UCLA (710 pts), while Washington State (447 pts) is slotted third, followed by the host Bulldogs (299 pts) and San José State (257 pts).
SDSU claimed individual titles in three different swimming races and added another crown in the 3-meter diving competition to highlight the first day of action in the Central Valley.
Meredith Smithbaker was the Aztecs' first winner of the meet, capturing the 50 freestyle with a time of 23:06, while teammate Avery Turney touched the wall at 23.54 to place fifth.
In addition, Valentina Lopez Arevalo continued her impressive start to the season by finishing atop the standings in the 3-meter springboard event, logging another NCAA Zone qualifying score of 312.80 points. With her performance, the SDSU junior has four event titles to her credit already this fall.
In the evening session, Moa Bergdahl emerged triumphant in the 100 breaststroke with a clocking of 1:02.15, while teammate Christiana Williams was a close third at 1:02.20, as the top four swimmers finished within 0.20 seconds of another in a thrilling final heat.
In the 100 backstroke shortly thereafter, San Diego State grabbed the top three spots, as Alex Roberts completed the race at 55.29 to edge Abby Storm (55.82) and Riley Tapley (55.87) for the crown. Not to be outdone, the Aztecs received a pair of additional top-10 placements in the event after Trine Fross (56.52) finished in the seventh position, while Evonne Stehr (56.95) took 10th.
Earlier, Stehr led off the Aztecs' "B" entry in the 200 medley relay, joining forces with Williams, Forss and Turney for a second-place finish at 1:43.42, while the combo of Roberts, Bergdahl, Tapley and Smithbaker placed fifth with a clocking of 1:44.02.
In the second race of the day, SDSU had three swimmers finish among the top 10 in the 500 freestyle, where Summer West completed the event in seventh with a time of 5:05.49, followed in close succession by Wilma Johansson (5:05.54) and Paige Mitchell (5:06.19).
Bergdahl was the Aztecs' top competitor in the 200 individual medley, placing eighth after a swim of 2:06.66. The native Swede also anchored SDSU's "B" entry in the 200 freestyle relay that tied for fifth with a time of 1:35.65, featuring Schiller, Stehr and Mai McKenna as well.
Meanwhile, SDSU's "A" relay team of Smithbaker, Forss, Rachel Hubka and Turney finished second thanks to a combined effort of 1:35.59.
Along with Lopez Arevalo's title on the 3-meter springboard, the Aztecs had two other top-seven divers in the event, as Summer Westmoreland (227.80 pts) and Jules Harrison (225.40) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
In the afternoon session, reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week Reka Nyiradi was the Scarlet and Black's top swimmer in the 400 IM, placing sixth with a time of 4:28.37, after Roberts finished 12th in the 100 butterfly at 56.67.
Moments later, Turney registered a 10th-place swim of 1:52.99 in the 200 freestyle, while Johansson (1:54.52) finished in the 12th position.
Rounding out the swimming competition on Friday was the 800 freestyle relay, where the team of Nyiradi, West, Turney and Johansson took fourth with a time of 7:34.05, while the quartet of Schiller, Mitchell, Emily Allen and Hubka placed 10th at 7:47.00.
San Diego State concludes its visit to the Central Valley on Saturday with the final session of the Fresno State Invitational, which gets underway at 10 a.m. PT with the 400 medley relay. A total of seven swimming events along with the 1-meter diving competition will be contested to wrap up the meet.
Aztecs Complete Day One at Fresno State Invite
