SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State swim and dive program continues its busy stretch early this week when it plays host to a pair of meets at Aztec Aquaplex, Jan. 8-9.
The Aztecs will battle Alaska Fairbanks, Fresno State and Loyola Marymount in a quad meet on Monday before facing the same UAF squad in another dual meet on Tuesday. Both competitions are slated for a 10 a.m. PT start, and admission is free.
A total of 14 swimming events will be contested during Monday's quad meet, commencing with the 200 medley relay to be followed by the 1,000 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 500 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 200 individual medley and 400 freestyle relay.
In addition, San Diego State and Fresno State will square off in two diving events on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard.
The Aztecs collected a pair of wins in a double dual meet at home on Jan. 5, knocking off Cal State East Bay, 132-118, while upending Concordia University Irvine by a count of 136.50 to 113.50.
Last Friday, the Scarlet and Black posted the fastest times in all 14 races and were awarded victories in nine to raise its record to 8-0 in dual-meet competition this season and extend its winning streak to 58 consecutive victories. SDSU has not dropped a dual meet since falling to Colorado State, 153-147, on Jan. 8, 2018, a span of six years.
The Aztecs were led by Avery Turney and Reka Nyiradi, who claimed two individual event titles that counted towards the team's aggregate score, while Raya Embury-Brown, Meredith Smithbaker, Rachel Hubka, Christiana Williams, Riley Tapley, Paige Mitchell and Mai McKenna also emerged triumphant to spotlight SDSU's exceptional balance.
As of Jan. 7, the Aztecs boast five of the best individual times in the Mountain West thus far, along with three of the top relays (200 free relay, 400 free relay and 400 medley relay).
Reigning MW Swimmer of the Year Alex Roberts maintains the top spot in the 50 fly (24.80) and the 200 back (1:53.45), the latter of which ranks 15th nationally entering the week.
Not to be outdone, Smithbaker is tied for 30th in the country in the 50 free (22.24) to go with a league-best performance in the 100 free (49.48), while Williams is slotted 34th nationally in the 200 breaststroke (2:10.79).
Earlier this season, Smithbaker collected a pair of Mountain West Swimmer of the Week awards, earning her second honor after leading the Aztecs with 45 individual points at the Art Adamson Invitational, held Nov. 15-17 in College Station, Texas.
Not to be outdone, Reka Nyiradi and Valentina Lopez Arevalo have garnered three conference weekly accolades this season. Nyiradi has collected a trio of MW Freshman of the Week honors, while Lopez Arevalo has been tabbed the league's top diver on three occasions.
Most recently, Nyiradi took home her third certificate of the year on Dec. 20 after recording three season-best swims in the Aztecs' dual-meet triumph over Air Force. The Budapest, Hungary, native won the 200 freestyle (1:49.66) and the 100 butterfly (55.81) while missing another title by just 0.60 seconds with a second-place finish in the 100 free (51.47).
Meanwhile, Lopez Arevalo received MW Diver of the Week recognition for the second time this year after capturing all three event titles in the 1-meter (297.90), 3-meter (294.80) and platform competition (299.95) at the Riverside Collegiate Invitational, held Dec. 1-2, in Riverside, California. With her effort, the Aztec junior eclipsed NCAA Zone qualifying standards in all three events.
The Aztecs won both previous encounters against Alaska Fairbanks, defeating the Nanooks two straight days on the road by scores of 113-54 and 117-114, Sept. 29-30, 2019.
An affiliate of the Pacific Coast Swim Conference, UAF has been idle since Dec. 3, when it posted third-place finish at the Puget Sound Logger Invitational in Tacoma, Washington. The Nanooks are 0-4 in dual meets so far this season after dropping a pair of decisions at home to Cal State East Bay on Oct. 27-28, 134-69 and 146-59, respectively.
After falling short in a neutral-site clash vs. Fresno State in Irvine, California, on Jan. 13, 2001, San Diego State has won eight straight against the Bulldogs, including a narrow triumph, 143.5 to 139.5, in its last meeting at the Aztec Aquaplex on Jan. 11, 2019.
The two sides have already faced one another this season, with the Scarlet and Black posting a second-place finish at the Fresno State Invitational, Oct. 6-7, after netting 857 points. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs compiled 635 points to place fourth at their home meet.
Fresno State last competed at the Almost Heaven Long Course Invitational, Dec. 17-19, in Morgantown, West Virginia, where the Bulldogs faced the host Mountaineers, Duquesne, Florida Tech, James Madison, Kenyon, Savannah College of A & D, Stanford, Tulane, Alabama, Findlay, Indianapolis, Xavier and Yale.
In 2022-23, Fresno State finished fifth at the Mountain West Championships with 866 points, trailing the front-running Aztecs, who set a conference record with 1638 points en route to the title.
San Diego State boasts an unblemished 13-0 record vs. LMU all-time, notching a pair of wins at the GCU Quad Meet (165-39 and 168-34) in the last encounter between the two squads, Oct. 21-22, 2022, in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Lions, who are also members of the PCSC, are coming off a ninth-place performance with 408 points at the La Verne Invitational, Nov. 17-19, in Monterey Park, California. LMU was toppled by San Diego, 238-62, in its last dual meet on Nov. 4 at USD's pool.
Following Tuesday's dual meet, San Diego State will compete in the UCLA Bruin Diving Invitational, set for Jan. 12-14 in Los Angeles, California.