Aztecs Top Rams, Toreros to Win USD Invitational
Bolstered by nine overall event titles, the San Diego State swim and dive program captured the three-team University of San Diego Invitational on Saturday at USD Sports Center Pool.
SAN DIEGO – Bolstered by nine overall event titles, the San Diego State swim and dive program captured the three-team University of San Diego Invitational on Saturday at USD Sports Center Pool.
The Aztecs totaled 921.50 points across 16 events for the meet, topping Mountain West rival Colorado State (892 pts) and the host Toreros (669.50 pts). The Scarlet and Black’s winning tally also included this weekend’s results from the preliminaries of the 1- and 3-meter springboard at the Lancer Diving Invitational, which featured competitors from SDSU, USD and CSU.
Back in San Diego, Moa Bergdahl was a double winner for the Aztecs, taking home crowns in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, while Meredith Smithbaker (50 free), Kaydence Bispo (100 free), Alli Mann (100 fly) and Reka Nyiradi (200 fly) were victorious in their respective races.
Not to be outdone, the SDSU foursome of Mann, Bispo, Wilma Johansson and Avery Turney emerged triumphant in the 400 freestyle relay.
Additionally, divers Valentina Lopez Arevalo (1-meter) and Taylor Konopacke (3-meter) were credited with wins from Riverside.
Elsewhere, the Aztecs received a series of second-place finishes from Mann (50 free, 200 free), Smithbaker (100 free) and Emily Tenczar (200 fly), along with the team of Liv Peebles, Bergdahl, Tenczar and Bispo in the 200 medley relay.
The aforementioned combo completed that opening race with a time of 1:44.87, while the foursome of Abby Storm, Christiana Williams, Alex Roberts and Smithbaker clocked in at 1:45.09 to finish fourth.
Moments later, the 1,000 freestyle featured a pair of SDSU competitors, as Summer West logged a fifth-place swim of 10:58.08, while Elsa Fullerton (11:01.89) followed in sixth.
In the 200 freestyle, Mann touched the wall at 1:51.60, edging Bispo (1:51.86) for second place, while Johansson (1:53.11) took fifth.
As the day progressed, Roberts placed third in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.60, while Storm was a close fourth at 56.69, followed by Peebles (57.46) in the sixth spot.
Bergdahl soon took center stage in 100 breaststroke with the first of her two wins, completing the race at 1:02.89, while Williams (1:05.33) and Elisa Branca (1:05.87) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Shortly thereafter, the Aztecs crafted a series of strong performances in the 200 butterfly, where Nyiradi recorded a winning time of 2:02.71, while Tenczar touched the wall in second at 2:05.09, followed Charlotte Sevin (2:07.03) and Grace Mering (2:09.98), who took fifth and sixth, respectively.
In the 50 freestyle, Smithbaker emerged victorious with a sprint of 23.47, while Mann followed in second at 23.89, finishing ahead of Turney (24.41), who placed sixth.
Following a brief intermission, SDSU continued its winning ways in the 100 freestyle, where Bispo topped the field with a time of 51.71, while Smithbaker completed the race in second at 52.67, before Turney completed the race in 52.97 to finish fourth.
In her first start of the season in the 200 backstroke, Roberts recorded a fifth-place swim of 2:07.13, while Storm followed in seventh at 2:08.15.
Moments later, Bergdahl earned her second title of the afternoon after logging a winning time of 2:18.17 in the 200 breaststroke, while Branca (2:21.81) took fourth, followed by Williams’ (2:22.12) sixth-place finish.
Johansson was the Aztecs’ top competitor in the 500 freestyle, where she completed a fourth-place swim of 5:08.03, while Eva Allan (5:16.64) was slotted seventh.
Mann soon triumphed in the 100 butterfly, touching the wall at 55.29, while Tenczar clocked in at 57.21 to finish third.
Shortly thereafter, Branca placed fourth in the 200 individual medley, where she completed a swim of 2:08.33, while Mering was seventh at 2:10.28.
The swimming events concluded with the 400 freestyle relay as Johansson, Mann, Turney and Bispo joined forces for a victorious time of 3:27.49, while the team of Allan, Nyiradi, Sevin and Tenczar took fourth at 3:34.04.
The Aztecs’ final tally also included top scores from the preliminary rounds at the CBU Lancer Diving Invitational by Lopez Arevalo (1-meter, 268.45) and Konopacke (3-meter, 249.65). Summer Westmoreland (261.20) also finished second in the 1-meter preliminaries, while Lopez Arevalo (246.15) was the preliminary runner-up on the 3-meter board.
San Diego State will once again face USD in a pair of dual meets on consecutive days, Jan. 24-25. The Aztecs will engage the Toreros in swim-only events at USD’s pool, before returning to The Mesa with a full squad the next day when the Scarlet and Black conducts Senior Day festivities at Aztec Aquaplex.