SDSU vs Pepperdine
- Friday, January 15, 2021
- Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool, Malibu, Calif.
- Full Results
Courtesy: San Diego State Athletics
MALIBU, Calif.– San Diego State’s swimming and diving team captured its 24th consecutive dual-meet win Friday, besting the Pepperdine Waves 95-83 at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu, Calif. The Aztecs continued a dual meet win streak that dates back to the 2017-18 season (last loss vs. Colorado State, MW Quad Meet, Jan. 8, 2018) with their win over the Waves.
Friday’s action started with a podium sweep on the 1m springboard, led by junior Lexi Letts with a first-place score of 259.80. Fellow juniors Ximena Lechuga Gonzales and Gina Cazares rounded out the Aztecs’ top-finishes as Lechuga Gonzales placed second with a score of 244.72 while Cazares totaled a bronze-medal effort of 232.19 points.
Kicking off the swimming portion of the day was the top finish of the Aztecs’ 400-medley relay squad of sophomore Riley Tapley, junior Sammy Geyer, junior Lizzie Menzmer, and senior Elli Ferrin. The quartet touched the wall first with a time of 3:58.35. SDSU’s ‘B’ squad of sophomore Evonne Stehr, senior Larisa Tam, and freshmen Jessie McMurray and Alex Gershman finished right after their teammates, placing second with a mark of 4:04.78.
Sophomore Paige Mitchell earned the first individual swimming event win of the day, topping all competitors in the 300 free with a time of 3:03.29. Rounding out the top-three finishers in the event was sophomore Christy Neufield, touching the wall at 3:10.33 for third place.
Freshman Emma Willmer finished second in the 400-individual, her first taste of collegiate competition in the event, earning a time of 4:45.00.
Tapley captured her first individual win of the day in the 50-yard back, besting the competition by .5 seconds with a top finish of 27.01. Stehr finished in second with a time of 27.56.
McMurray earned a top-three finish in the 100-individual medley, finishing second with a time of 1:02.52.
The Scarlet and Black ended the day with wins in all four final events, as the 800-free relay of Neufeld, Willmer, freshman Ashlyn Hemphill and Mitchell touched the wall first with a time of 7:59.79, and Menzmer earned her first individual top finish of the day in the 50 fly with a time of 25.97. With the dual captured after event eight, the Aztecs exhibitioned all swimmers on the final two events.
While not officially topping the charts in the events, Geyer earned the top time in the 50 breast with a time of 30.10. The Aztecs ‘A’ 200-free relay squad also collected the fastest mark in the final swim of the day, finishing just .02 seconds ahead of the ‘B’ squad with a time of 1:38.06.
SDSU heads further up the coast to take on the Cal Poly Mustangs Saturday, Jan. 16. The dual begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Anderson Aquatic Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Courtesy: Pepperdine Athletics
MALIBU, California – Emily Morton and Jenna Sanchez picked up wins in the 400 and 100 IM, respectively, but the Pepperdine women’s swimming and diving team fell to the San Diego State Aztecs, 95-83 at home on Friday.
Yet given the dual meet came after a 300-day wait since the Waves’ last competition, Pepperdine head coach Ellie Monobe was proud of the results and grateful for the team’s ability to compete once again.
“I am very pleased with today,” Monobe, who made her Pepperdine head coaching debut, said. “Going into this meet, we talked about being grateful for this opportunity, whether the meet was going to start late or it was just going to be us swimming in the pool. They did a fantastic job, and I think we’re setting ourselves up for a good season.”
MEET RECAP
Junior Paulina Holmberg (Apple Valley, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) led the Waves in the 1-meter dive by scoring a 208.19, good for fourth place. Freshman Anna Johnson (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme HS) made her collegiate debut in the 1-meter dive with a 121.12-point performance.
Then the Waves kicked off the swimming portion of the meet by placing third in the 400-yard medley relay with a 4:05.58, all thanks to efforts from sophomores Jasmine Williams (Folsom, Calif./Folsom HS) and Morton (Golden, Colo./Lakewood HS), and freshmen Tay Thomas (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park HS) and Ellie Hendren (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista HS).
In the second event, senior captain Sammie Slater (Sonora, Calif./Sonora HS) placed second in the 300-yard freestyle with a 3:06.29.
Pepperdine picked up its first win of the day in the 400 IM when Morton — the Waves’ school record holder in the event — pulled away in the last 150 meters to win in a 4:38.90.
In the following event, Williams — a late addition to the event — stepped in to lead the Waves with a third-place finish in the 50-yard back with a 27.69. Her performance was less than seven-tenths of a second behind the winning time.
The Waves’ second win of the day came courtesy of sophomore Sanchez (Highland, Calif./Redlands East Valley HS), who won the 100 IM with a time of 1:00.65 — a mere 1.6 seconds off the school record in the first meet of the season. Allison Cho (Valencia, Calif./ Valencia HS) won the second heat of the 100 IM in a 1:04.11, which was the fourth-best time overall.
After a brief intermission, Pepperdine’s 800-yard free relay team of Morton, Paige Brackett (Folsom, Calif./Granite Bay HS), Hendren and Slater traded the lead with San Diego State’s team before finishing with a 8:01.86, less than three seconds behind the winning time.
In the final event of the day, Pepperdine’s 200-yard free relay team of Williams, Slater, Hendren and Sanchez placed third with a 1:40.88. Sanchez closed out the final 50 in a 24.13.
“I’m not too worried about the times — that comes after some more training,” Monobe added. “But for being in the water for a little over two weeks, I’m very happy.”
NEXT UP: The Waves will have a quick turnaround, as they host Loyola Marymount and San Diego on Saturday, Jan. 16. The diving portion of the meet is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. PT, with swimming events to follow. The meet will be livestreamed on WaveCasts.
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