Nevada flew by UC Davis on Friday, earning a 203-97 victory in their home opener. UC Davis junior Hilvy Cheung swept the fly events to highlight the meet for her team.
UC Davis:
RENO, Nev. — UC Davis junior Hilvy Cheung doubled in the 100- and 200-butterfly, while freshman Solie Laughlin took home an individual crown in her Division I debut, leading the Aggies’ women’s swimming and diving team against No. 32 Nevada during their season-opener on Friday night at Lombardi Pool in Reno, Nevada.
The Wolf Pack won 13 of the 16 events to take the meet, 203-97, including 1-2-3 sweeps in the 200 breaststroke and the 200 IM. Nevada’s Krysta Palmer swept the diving events, while Teresa Baerens and Yawen Li each won two individual titles en route to the victory.
In her signature event, Cheung won her first event of the night with a time of 2:01.65 in the 200 fly and, seven events later, completed the double with a time of 55.37 in the 100 fly to sweep the stroke. She also swam legs of the Aggies’ third-place 400 medley and 400 free relay squads.
Making her Division I debut, Laughlin gave the Aggies their second win of the night with a victory in the 200 back, touching in a time of 2:03.06 to beat Nevada’s Kate Hofmeyer by half a second and post the seventh-fastest time in the event in school history. She also finished second in the 100 back with a time of 57.98, swam the lead-off leg of UC Davis’ 200 medley relay squad, and completed a busy night with a fifth-place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:12.99.
In another debut, freshman Mia Facey posted a trio of top-three finishes on Friday night, touching second in the 100 free (52.66) and finishing third in both the 200 free (1:57.63) and the 50 free (24.38). Fellow rookie Eva Chung also paced the Aggies in the 200 IM, finishing fourth in a time of 2:10.89.
Following a redshirt season in 2014-15, senior Cara Silvas led UC Davis with a third-place finish in the 1,000 free (10:50.36), senior Hailey Ferko was the top Aggie in the 100 breast (1:06.36), junior Elise Roberts was fourth in the 200 breast (2:23.64), and junior Kirsten Brand was third in the 500 free (5:17.18).
Senior Lucy Lafranchise led UC Davis with a third-place finish on both the 1- and 3-meter boards, scoring a 263.93 in the former and rounding out her night with a score of 276.53 on the high board — the latter representing the third-highest score in the event in school history, besting her previous high of 275.85 set against San Jose State last season.
The Aggies return to the pool, this time within the friendly confines of the Schaal Aquatics Center, on Saturday (Oct. 31) at 1 p.m., hosting Loyola Marymount in their home opener.
Swimming news courtesy of UC Davis Swimming & Diving.
Nevada:
RENO, Nev. – The 32nd-ranked Nevada swimming and diving team shined in its first home meet of the 2015-16 season, racing past UC Davis in a 203-97 victory on Friday afternoon at Lombardi Pool. The Wolf Pack won 13-of-16 events and followed last week’s title at the Pacific Invitational with a dominant display in its first dual of the season.
The Wolf Pack won both the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay to remain unbeaten on relays this season. Senior Krysta Palmer, senior Yawen Li and junior Teresa Baerens each won two individual events to lead Nevada.
“I thought the team as a whole swam really well today,” said Neil Harper, who was coaching in his first career meet at Lombardi Pool. “They were excited about our first home meet and they responded really well to a great week of practice. I’m very happy with the results and we’ll go out tomorrow and try to keep improving.”
The Pack jumped out to a 15-2 early lead after placing first and second in the 200 medley relay. Sophomore Josefin Eriksen and juniorsArantxa Medina-Alegria, Sita Kusserow and Teresa Baerens combined to win in 1:43.17.
Nevada won the next four events to take a commanding lead. Sisters Antonia Baerens and Teresa Baerens won in back-to-back events as Antonia won the 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:23.70 for her first collegiate event title, while Teresa won the 200-yard free in 1:49.82, setting a new team season-best time in the event. Freshman Rebecca Murray also placed second in the 1,000 free (10:24.01) and Eriksen finished runner-up in the 200 free (1:52.07).
Sophomore Jaeger Turner followed with a victory in the 100 back, touching the wall in 57.28. Medina-Alegria won her first event of the season with a first place showing in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:03.91. Additionally, junior Riley Hilbrandt placed second in the 100 breast (1:05.67) and sophomore Kate Hofmeyer placed third in the 100 back (58.05).
The Pack placed tallied two top three finishes in the 200 fly as senior Erin Fuss placed third in 2:06.19 and Kusserow placed runner-up in 2:03.20. Nevada also had two top three finishes in the 200-yard breaststroke as Hofmeyer placed second (2:03.53) and Turner placed third in 2:05.67.
Nevada then tallied victories in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Baerens tallied her second win of the evening in a time of 23.68 in the 50 free, while sophomore Emma Payneplaced second in 24.20. Murray won the 100 free in 52.04 for her first collegiate event title. Payne also provided the team’s top finish in the 100 fly, placing second in 57.72.
The Wolf Pack swept the podium in the 200-yard breaststroke, led by Li’s victory in 2:18.81. Hilbrandt placed runner-up in 2:21.32 and Medina-Alegria placed third in 2:22.41. Nevada also boasted the top two finishes in the 500-yard freestyle as Eriksen won in 5:05.74 and Kusserow placed second in 5:08.40.
The trio of Li, Medina-Alegria and Hilbrandt also swept the podium in the 200 IM. Li tallied her second title of the meet, winning in 2:05.16. Medina-Alegria placed second (2:05.74) and Hilbrandt placed third (2:10.81).
Nevada capped its strong performance with the top two finishes in the 400-yard freestyle relay – the final event of the evening. Nevada’s “A” relay of freshman Caitlyn Richardson, Kusserow, Murray and Baerens won in 3:26.18. The Pack’s “B” relay touched the wall next in 3:28.34.
The Pack’s two divers – Palmer and freshman Rebekah Dominik – placed first and second in both diving events, helping Nevada claim 30-of-42 total diving points. Palmer won the 1-meter dive with a career-best 364.12 points and the 3-meter dive with 342.90 points. The Carson City native is undefeated in regular season diving events in the past two seasons. In her first collegiate meet, Dominik placed second in the 1-meter with 284.93 points and second in the 3-meter with 271.88 points.
The Wolf Pack returns to the pool tomorrow, hosting its second dual meet in as many days. Nevada hosts Fresno State at noon PT on Saturday in Lombardi Pool. The Wolf Pack and Bulldogs previously competed together at the Pacific Invitational, where Nevada placed first with 1,020 points and Fresno State placed third with 578 points.
FINAL: No. 32 Nevada 203, UC Davis 97
Swimming news courtesy of Nevada Swimming & Diving.