No. 15 UCLA Women Upend No. 9 Arizona, First Time Since 2000

LOS ANGELES, California, November 11. ONE day after beating #16 Arizona State, the 15th-ranked Bruins knocked off another nationally-ranked, Pac-12 foe, defeating #9 Arizona for the first time since 2000 in a 157-141 victory on Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Center.

The Bruins improve to 8-0 in dual meets this season and 4-0 in Pac-12 action.

Arizona took an early meet lead with a victory in the 200 Medley Relay, but the Bruins bounced back with a 1-2-3 finish in the 1000 Freestyle to take their first advantage. Junior Lauren Baker swam a time of 10:00.59, followed by freshmen Megan Rankin (10:08.63) and Katy Campbell (10:11.80).

It was the first of three straight race wins for the Bruins, as junior Ting Quah broke an 11-year-old, UCLA-Arizona meet record with a time of 1:47.92 in the 200 Free, which was followed by a first-place finish from senior Andrea Reigel (55.85) in the 100 Backstroke to give UCLA a 45-29 lead in the meet.

Arizona responded with a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 Breaststroke to cut the gap to three, but it went right back up to 16 for the Bruins, as they went 1-2-3 in the 200 Butterfly. Sophomore Noelle Tarazona finished first (2:01.39), just ahead of teammate freshman Katie Kinnear (2:01.41, with senior Karoline Sanderud placing third in a time of 2:03.16. The Wildcats claimed the 50 Free and closed the deficit to 11 at 71-60 heading into the first break.

The Bruin divers finished 1-2-4 in the Three-Meter event to put them up by 22 at 86-64 upon resumption of the swimming portion of the schedule. Junior Paulina Guzman totaled a UCLA-Arizona meet record score of 307.20, just missing the Spieker pool record of 308.55. Sophomore Emma Ivory-Ganja finished second (299.40) and senior Michelle Vale was fourth (255.98).

The post-break portion on the swimming side was dominated by the Wildcats, as they won the 100 Freestyle, the 200 Backstroke, the 200 Breaststroke, the 500 Free and the 100 Butterfly in succession, which helped them gain a 127-118 lead heading into the second break.

Another great diving session propelled the Bruins back in front, as Ivory-Ganja claimed the One-Meter event with a score of 289.13. Guzman was second (280.05) and Vale was third (255.30).

Out of the second break, Arizona won its seventh-straight swimming event in the 200 Individual Medley, as senior Laurence Delisle was just out-touched by one one-hundredth of a second (2:02.23-2:02.24). However, UCLA still held a 142-141 lead in the meet.

The final event of the meet was the 200 Freestyle Relay, however the Arizona swimmers believed it was a 400 Free Relay and its two teams were disqualified. UCLA's quartet of Kinnear, Quah and juniors Kathryn Murphy and Cynthia Fascella won the event in a time of 1:33.21 to complete the victory.

The UCLA swimming team heads to the Arena Cup in Long Beach this weekend, which runs Thursday through Saturday. The Bruin diving squad will spend those same three days in Houston, Texas at the Phill Hansel Invitational.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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