Claire Grover, Katrina Bellio Lead UCLA to Win at Utah

Claire Grover -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Claire Grover, Katrina Bellio Lead UCLA to Win at Utah

One week after earning a win over UC-Santa Barbara, the UCLA women’s team picked up its first Pac-12 dual meet win of the season during a trip to Utah. The Bruins won 175 to 125, and it was fifth-year swimmer Claire Grover standing out as she posted individual wins in the 50 freestyle (23.25) and 100 free (51.63), with both wins coming by mere hundredths over Utah’s Reagan Cathcart. Also winning multiple events for UCLA was Katrina Bellio, who cruised to first place in the 1000 free (10:18.89) and later the 500 free (4:59.25).

Full results are available here, and read the full press release from UCLA below:

The No. 20-ranked UCLA swim and dive team improved to 2-0 on the young season after notching a 175-125 win over Utah on Friday afternoon at the Ute Natatorium.

The Bruins won 13 of 16 scheduled events in their Pac-12 opener, sweeping both relays.

A trio of Bruins had particular standout efforts individually.

Fifth-year senior Claire Grover (50 free, 100 free) swept the sprint freestyle events and freshman Katrina Bellio (500 free, 1000 free) placed first in both distance freestyle events.

Elsewhere, sophomore Ana Jih-Schiff set a new pool record en route to a win in the 200 breast.

UCLA opened up the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, as the Bruins’ A team edged out the Utes by under a second at 1:41.30.

Bellio stretched the Bruins’ lead in the next event, touching first in the 1000 free (10:18.89).

After a Utah win in the 200 free, Sophia Kosturos got the Bruins’ back in the win column with a 55.45 in the 100 back, with teammate Rosie Murphy (55.94) placing runner-up.

That result sparked a run of five swimming-event wins for the Bruins, as sophomore Eva Carlson (100 breast; 1:02.84) and freshman Ashley Kolessar (200 fly; 2:01.42) finished first in their respective swims before Grover notched back-to-back first-place finishes in the 50 free (23.25) and 100 free (51.63).

Later on, Jih-Schiff (2:15.28) held off Utah’s Hilja Schimmel (2:15.66) to pick up a win in the 200 breast and set a new Ute Natatorium record in that event.

Bellio (4:59.25) and Bocekler (5:05.05) placed 1-2 in the 500 free, marking the second time breaking the five-minute mark in as many tries this season for Bellio.

Senior Gabby Dang (55.36) led a dominant effort for the Bruins in the 100 fly, with teammates Joanie Cash (56.02) and Fay Lustria (56.74) following her in succession for a 1-2-3 finish.

Sophomore Paige MacEachern (4:25.60) kept up the momentum for UCLA with a win in the 400 IM, with Kolessar (4:27.61) taking second.

The Bruins closed out the swim portion of the meet with a first-place time of 3:27.38 in the 400 free relay.

Senior Hannah Butler was UCLA’s lone entry on the diving side of the meet, and the Rochester, N.Y. native responded with a win in the 3-meter championship (307.28) and a fourth-place result in 1M (254.55).

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use