UCLA Swimming Tops Washington State in Pac-12 Showdown

Photo Courtesy: NCAA Media

The UCLA swim and dive team opened its Pac-12 schedule with a 169-91 win over Washington State on Saturday afternoon at Spieker Aquatics Center.

The victory was the Bruins’ (2-0, 1-0) second in as many dual meets this season. Washington State dropped to 2-2, 1-2 with the result.

UCLA won 11 of 14 scheduled events on Saturday, with eight different Bruins logging individual event wins. UCLA placed the top-three swimmers in four events (100 IM, 100 back, 100 breast, 100 fly) and opened the meet by placing the top two relay squads in the 400 medley relay.

“Overall, I’m really pleased with the meet,” said UCLA head coach Jordan Wolfrum. “We were faster than we were last week, and there we were faster than the week before. They lifted this morning before we came over and raced, and they stepped up. This was a meet that our team was really excited about. They stepped up and executed at a really high level.”

Freshman Paige MacEachern led the Bruins with wins in the 200 fly and 500 free, becoming the first Bruin this season to notch multiple individual event wins in a single meet.

MacEachern was one of two Bruins to record their first-ever collegiate wins on Saturday, as sophomore Bailey Herbert also joined the club after recording the top time in the 200 breast.

Mia Chang (100 back), Eva Carlson (100 breast), Abriana Howard (200 back), and Brooke Schaffer (100 free) all picked up wins in their respective events for the second consecutive weekend.

UCLA opened up the competition with a dominant performance in the 400 medley relay, as UCLA’s A squad (Sophia Kosturos, Carlson, Sam Baron, Schaffer) finished nearly 10 seconds ahead of WSU’s top team (3:43.48 to 3:52.01).

The Bruins kept up their early-meet dominance with a 1-2-3 showing in the 100 IM, with Kosturos (57.21), Delaney Smith (57.35), and Baron (57.36) all finishing in quick succession.

Chang (55.63) led the Bruins’ contingent in the 100 back, with Gabby Dang (57.08) and Lindsay Stenstrom (57.69) also placing top-three.

Carlson repeated in the 100 breast with a time of 1:02.30, putting her just ahead of teammate Herbert (1:03.12). Freshman Ana Jih-Schiff (1:04.11) was third to give the Bruins another 1-2-3 event.

MacEachern picked up her first win of the day – and her college career – with a 2:03.98 in the 200 fly.

After WSU picked up the win in the 50 free heading into the break, Schaffer got the Bruins back on the right track with a win in the 100 free, edging out the second-place finisher by just over a tenth of a second at 51.06.

Howard picked up more points for UCLA with a repeat win in the 200 back, coming in at 2:01.01. Chang (2:02.30, third) and Katrina Sommer (2:05.34, fourth) also scored for the Bruins.

Herbert beat the field in the 200 breast by nearly two seconds at 2:16.21 to notch her first-ever win in a UCLA uniform. Carlson (2:18.02) finished runner-up.

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MacEachern closed out her day with a win in the 500 free, notching a new collegiate-best at 5:00.84. She finished nearly five seconds before the runner-up.

Dang beat out a crowded pack in the 100 fly to take first place at 55.47. It was her first individual event win of the season, and the seventh of her career.

The Bruins closed out the meet with a win in the 200 free relay, as Kosturos, Cash, Schaffer, and Dang came in at 1:33.18.
Washington State picked up wins in the 200 free (Angela DiPalo, 1:50.38), 50 free (Chloe Larson, 23.21), and 400 IM (Taylor McCoy, 4:22.13).

UCLA hits the road next week for a pair of Pac-12 dual meets, facing Arizona State on Friday, Nov. 5 before heading to Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 6.

— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with UCLA Athletics. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.

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