Aztec Swim and Dive Defeats Pepperdine in Sprint Meet, 84-59
The San Diego State swim and dive team continued its supremacy in dual-meet action on Thursday with an 84-59 triumph over Pepperdine at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu, California.
MALIBU, Calif. – The San Diego State swim and dive team continued its supremacy in dual-meet action on Thursday with an 84-59 triumph over Pepperdine at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
With the decision, the Aztecs notched their 88th consecutive dual-meet conquest since Jan. 8, 2018, keeping their unblemished record against the Waves intact at 27-0, including a 16-0 mark in Malibu.
SDSU recorded the fastest times in all seven swimming events, featuring five that were scored as victories, while securing a diving title to punctuate another successful meet. Additionally, the Aztecs recorded the top four fastest times in the 100 individual medley and registered at least the top two times in three other individual events.
The Aztecs set the tone at the outset with a victory in the 200 medley relay, as the combo of Liv Peebles, Elisa Branca, Camille Seiley and Alyssa Schiller joined forces for a winning time of 1:44.49, while the foursome of Alex Downing, Ava Haese, Roni Black and Gracie Thornton took third with a clocking of 1:48.22.
Shortly thereafter, SDSU boasted the top nine swims in the 50 butterfly, with those performances counted as exhibitions. Alli Mann touched the wall at 25.01, followed by Sierra Tallman (25.43) and Kaydence Bispo (25.57), while Downing (25.96) and Ginger Kiefer (26.15) rounded out the top five.
Moments later, Melanie Quinto snared the individual crown in the 50 backstroke after completing the race at 26.31 while Grace Mering (27.71) was slotted fourth just ahead of teammate Abby Slater (27.74).
The Aztecs soon pocketed another victory in the 50 breaststroke, where Kiefer logged a winning effort of 30.62, edging Bispo (30.64) for the title, while Amber Janky (31.03) took fifth.
SDSU also grabbed the top two spots in the 50 freestyle, where Schiller sprinted to the crown at 23.26, while Seiley was second with a time of 23.79.
The Aztecs’ depth was exemplary in the 100 IM with six of the top seven swimmers, including Kiefer, who claimed her second victory of the day after clocking in at 58.22, while Black (58.77) bested Quinto (59.08) for the second spot. Not to be outdone, Branca posted the fourth-best time in the event at 59.55, while Haese (1.01.11) edged Mering (1:01.14) for sixth, with those latter three results counted as exhibitions.
The Scarlet and Black also impressed with the top three times in the 200 freestyle relay, although those efforts were deemed exhibitions as well. The quartet of Alex Murphy, Schiller, Mann and Seiley completed the race at 1:34.02, while the team of Bispo, Thornton, Julia Reed and Quinto placed second at 1:35.95, followed by the combo of Tallman, Charlotte Sevin, Peebles and Janky, who took third at 1:37.52.
Not to be outdone, the Aztecs featured the top three divers on the 1-meter springboard, where Isabella Gomez emerged victorious with a winning score of 279.90, topping Alina Skrocki (253.80) and Belen Cano (251.63).
San Diego State continues it weekend excursion on Friday, Oct. 16, when it competes on the first day of Fresno State’s Gary Ota Memorial Invitational, starting at 11 a.m. PT with the early session, while the meet reconvenes at 6 p.m. for the evening set of events.