Courtesy: San Diego State Athletics
SDSU vs Cal Poly (Dec. 21)
SAN DIEGO – Competing for the first time this season at the Aztec Aquaplex, the San Diego State swimming and diving team won its 36th straight dual meet with a 150-135 decision over the Cal Poly Mustangs on Monday morning.
With the win, the Aztecs have not come out on the short end of a dual meet since Jan. 8, 2018, a span of 1,442 days and will put that record on the line again on Tuesday when they host Air Force. The victory also marks the program’s eighth straight dual meet victory over the Mustangs since the start of the 2009-10 season, which includes four wins at the Aquaplex.
In the 14 swimming events, the Aztecs recorded the fastest time in 13 races and won nine.
The meet got underway with the 200 Medley Relay and the Aztec team of Riley Tapley, Sammy Geyer, Alex Roberts and Lizzie Menzmer were the winners in 1:45.21. Mai McKenna, Meredith Smithbaker, Emily Gebhardt and Bryn Busskohl touched in 1:49.86 good for second place while Lexi Anderson, Evonne Stehr, Jessie McMurray and Lauren Torchiana finished in 1:50.53.
In the 1000 Free, Wilma Johansson was the lone Aztec in the race and won with a time of 10:36.55.
The 200 Free saw Aztecs in each of the first three spots. Kristina Murphy won the event in 1:54.23, while Ryan Dulaney and Page Mitchell were second and third in 1:56.51 and 1:56.94, respectively. Also competing in the race was Ashlyn Hemphill who swam a 1:59.41.
Cal Poly’s Summer Cheng won the 100 back in 59.71, but the Aztecs occupied second through fourth place. McKenna, in 1:01.32, was the first San Diego State swimmer to finish and was followed by Fiona Trotz-Chavez (1:01.36) and Lexi Anderson (1:02.03).
The two Aztecs who competed in the 100 Breaststroke finished in the top two spots. Geyer won the race in 1:03.96 and McMurray was second in 1:07.00.
The 200 Fly had a similar result as the 100 Breaststroke, in that the two SDSU swimmers in the race finished one-two. Menzmer won the event in 2:07.28 and was followed by Roberts who stopped the clock in 2:08.76.
Mia Ryan, Gebhardt and Stehr were the first three finishers in the 50 free. Ryan finished in 23.68 to win the race while Gebhardt (24.50) and Stehr (24.53) were second and third respectively. Also competing in the race for SDSU were Tapley (24.91) and Busskohl (25.97).
Geyer took her second individual win of the meet in the 100 Free, stopping the clock in 52.88. Kristina Murphy was second in 53.70 and Lauren Torchiana (55.12) was fourth.
In the next race, the 200 Back, Johansson took her second victory with a 2:11.56.
McMurray, the lone Aztec in the 200 Breaststroke, stopped the clock in 2:26.74 which was the best time among the four competitors.
In the 500 Free, Ryan (5:05.92), Dulaney (5:07.96), Paige Mitchell (5:08.35) and Gebhardt (5:16.32) clocked the four quickest times and Hemphill came home in 5:31.03.
Tapley and Menzmer recorded the two fastest times in the 100 Free, 56.42 and 58.09, respectively. Torchiana finished in fifth in 1:02.90 while Murphy (58.87) and Roberts (59.31) also had strong races.
The penultimate race was the 200 IM and Stehr (2:11.22) and Trotz-Chavez (2:13.32) had the two fastest times with McKenna recording a 2:19.08.
The final competition was the 400 Free Relay and the Aztec team of Johansson, Mitchell, Dulaney and Ryan clocked the fastest time with a 3:34.79. Hemphill, Trotz-Chavez, Torchiana and Phillips stopped the clock in 3:50.95.
In the 1-meter diving competition, the Aztecs top scorers were Lexi Letts (251.18), Gillian Garcia (244.73) and Gina Cazares (238.88) who finished in second through fourth place, respectively. Ximena Lechuga Gonzalez recorded the top score with a 286.88. Also competing for SDSU were Summer Westmoreland (225.98), Olivia Zamudio (225.15) and Juliana Harrison (192.98).
Lechuga Gonzalez came back in the 3-meter event and won with a score of 303.45. Garcia was second with a 276.08 and Letts was fourth at 243.30. Also competing for San Diego State were Harrison (235.95), Cazares (234.83), Zamudio (219.60) and Westmoreland (200.18).
SDSU vs Air Force (Dec. 22)
SAN DIEGO – In its second dual meet in as many days, the San Diego State swimming and diving team defeated the Air Force Falcons 108-91 on Tuesday at the Aztecs Aquaplex to secure its 10 straight dual meet win of the season and its 31st consecutive dual victory.
With the win the Aztecs have not lost a dual meet in 1,442 days.
In the first event of the day, the Aztecs’ 200 Medley Relay teams finished in first and second place. Mia Ryan, Lizzie Menzmer, Sammy Geyer and Kristina Murphy won the race in 1:44.37 and were followed by Evonne Stehr, Fiona Trotz-Chavez, Emily Gebhardt and Ashlyn Hemphill who stopped the clock in 1:27.04.
In the 1000 Free, Paige Mitchell was the first to touch the wall and earned the win in 10:32.45. Ryan Dulaney came home in third (10:32.95) and Ashlyn Hemphill was seventh (11:29.25).
The 200 Free saw Ryan pick up her second win of the day, stopping the clock in 1:52.90. Wilma Johansson was fourth and Gebhardt was fifth in 1:57.11 and 1:57.18, respectively. Lauren Torchiana finished in 2:02.92 and in eighth place.
The 50 Free saw the first of two consecutive races that ended in a dead heat. Menzmer and Geyer finished in matching times of 23.92. Jessie McMurray was seventh in 25.83 and Bryn Busskohl clocked a 26.32.
Murphy and Riley Tapley both touched the wall in 2:04.12 to share the victory in the 200 IM. Alex Roberts was fourth in 2:06.79.
Wilma Johansson had the quickest time and won the 200 Fly in 2:06.41 and was followed by Gebhardt in 2:08.44. Lexi Anderson came home in seventh place in 2:20.96.
In the 100 Free, Ryan picked up her third win of the day with a 51.80. Torchiana (55.36) and Trotz-Chavez (55.52) were fifth and six, respectively. Also in the race was Hemphill, who stopped the clock in 56.04.
Tapley won the 200 Back in 2:03.46 and was followed, in second place, by Alex Roberts (2:07.59). Stehr (2:08.30) was fourth and Mai McKenna finished in 2:12.58.
Mitchell and Dulaney had the top two times in the 500 Free and stopped the clock in 5:08.44 and 5:10.55, respectively.
McMurray was third in the 200 Breaststroke in 2:27.33 while Murphy had the fastest time, a 2:19.52.
The final race of the meet was the 200 Free Relay and the Aztecs had the two fastest times. Ryan, Menzmer, Meredith Smithbaker and Geyer came home in 1:35.69, the quickest time in the event, and Stehr, Trotz-Chavez, Gebhardt and Murphy finished in 1:38.37.
The Aztecs will take the next two weeks off before returning to the competition pool on Jan. 4, 2022, against San Jose State and Incarnate Word.