UCLA Swimmers Set Several Season Bests In Win Over Utah

LOS ANGELES, California, January 11. UCLA’s women’s swimming and diving team got the second half of the season started on a winning note by topping fellow Pac-12 member Utah on Saturday afternoon. The Bruins outscored the Utes 157-134 and posted wins in 12 of the 16 events to earn the victory.

UCLA Press Release

Seniors Kathryn Murphy and Ting Quah each won a pair of events on Saturday, as the 16th-ranked Bruins had the best time in 12 of the 16 events in a 157-134 dual meet victory over #22 Utah at Spieker Aquatics Center.

On day two of the Bruin Diving Invitational, senior Paulina Guzman and freshman Annika Lenz each made the finals of the 3-Meter, with Guzman placing sixth and Lenz finishing seventh.

Lenz was fourth after the preliminary six dives with a total of 293.30, followed by Guzman in fifth with a score of 291.05. Senior Haley McNamara just missed the Top 18 for the finals with a 223.55 (20th). Sophomore Montana Monahan was 24th (220.40) and freshman Danni Repper 25th (213.05).

Guzman had a final six-dive score of 272.35 for a total of 563.40 to finish sixth. Lenz posted a 263.10 in the finals for an overall tally of 556.40 to place seventh.

The swimming portion began with the 1000 Freestyle, which was won by senior Lauren Baker in a UCLA-Utah meet record and season-best time of 9:57.34. Sophomore Katy Campbell was second with a season-best 10:02.88. In the 200 Medley Relay, the Bruin quartet of freshman Linnea Mack, juniors Jessica Khojasteh and Noelle Tarazona and Murphy posted a UCLA-Utah meet record of 1:42.04. The Bruin B team of sophomore Katie Kinnear, freshman Brigitte Winkler, senior Anna Senko and junior Monica Dornick finished third with a 1:43.98.

The Bruins also claimed each of the next two events, the 200 Free and the 100 Backstroke. Quah led a UCLA 1-2-3 finish with a 1:50.17, followed by freshman Madison White (1:52.27) and junior Ally Loper (1:53.02). A pair of exhibition swimmers, Campbell (1:52.45) and sophomore Arlyn Upshaw (1:52.58), had the third- and fourth-best times. In the 100 Back, Mack was first with a 55.24, followed by fellow freshman Ashley Tse in second at 56.41.

Utah won both Breaststroke events, as Stina Colleou claimed the 100 with a UCLA-Utah meet record of 1:04.18. The Utes claimed second place as well, with Winkler (1:05.12) and junior Taylor Carlson (1:05.36), finishing third and fourth, respectively. The Bruins would bounce back though with two event victories heading into the first break.

In the 200 Butterfly, Kinnear was first with a UCLA-Utah meet record mark of 1:59.74, followed by Tarazona in a time of 2:00.75. Murphy claimed her first event of the meet with a swift 23.18 in the 50 Free, a UCLA-Utah meet record. The Bruins also had the second-place finisher, Mack, in a time of 23.53 and the fourth-place spot with Dornick (season-best 23.79).

The 1-Meter diving event was held on Friday, with the preliminary scores from day one of the Bruin Diving Invitational accounting for Saturday’s dual meet tally. Utah’s Kersten Merry took the event (273.65), with Guzman placing second with a season-best 270.15.

After the swimming break, Murphy won her second consecutive race in the 100 Free with a time of 50.68, followed by teammates Dornick (51.83) and Kinnear (52.13) in second and third. Senko kept the Bruins in the win column in the next race, the 200 Back, with a UCLA-Utah meet best swim of 1:59.41, followed by White, who was second with a 2:00.92.

Colleou collected the Breaststroke double with a UCLA-Utah meet record of 2:16.67 in the 200. The Bruins were second and third, with Khojasteh going 2:18.65 and Tse posting a 2:20.16. But just like after the Utes’ other race victory, the Bruins won the next two heading into the second break.

Loper claimed the 500 Free in a UCLA-Utah meet record time of 4:58.14, leading a 1-2-3 finish, with freshman Michaela Merlihan (season-best 4:59.40) and junior Kacey Milligan (season-best 5:00.49) finishing second and third. Quah then won her second event of the afternoon, the 100 Fly, in a Utah-UCLA meet record of 54.46. Sophomore Madison Applegate, who was exhibitioned, had the third-best time of 56.85.

The 3-Meter preliminaries of the Bruin Diving Invitational accounted for the dual meet score, as Merry won the event (299.55). Lenz was second (293.30), while Guzman placed third (291.05).

The Bruins had the best four times in the 400 Individual Medley coming out of the second break. Upshaw was tops with a 4:23.45, followed by Baker (4:24.64), Tse (4:25.19) and Tarazona (4:25.92). In the final race, the 400 Free Relay, the Bruin foursome of Quah, Mack, Murphy and Dornick had the best time, a UCLA-Utah meet record of 3:24.07, just missing the Spieker pool mark. The quartet of Kinnear, Senko, White and Carlson posted the second-best mark of 3:28.56.

Lenz, Monahan and Repper are back in the pool on Sunday for the Platform on the final day of the Bruin Diving Invitational, starting at 9:30 a.m. The UCLA swimming team heads to Pullman next weekend for a two-day dual meet with Washington State next Friday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 18 at 11 a.m.

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