In the first dual meets of the season, the ASU women’s swim team defeated Kansas and UNLV in Tucson, while the men lost to UNLV.
The women (2-0) beat Kansas 157-105 and UNLV 175-85. UNLV topped the ASU men (0-1) 206-55.
The men and the women swam on both Friday and Saturday, but only Saturday’s events were scored.
Friday’s exhibition gave the young ASU swim team a chance to compete against one of the top teams in the country, UA, without having to worry about the score or the results.
“There were some nerves,” ASU coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker said. “That’s what early meets are for, to work out the kinks and get comfortable in this environment.”
Tierney-Walker said the swimmers, particularly the freshmen, showed nerves on Friday, but bounced back and performed a lot better on Saturday. Sophomore Shannon Landgrebe echoed the sentiment.
“[Friday] was rough, but [Saturday] was a lot better,” Landgrebe said. “I was a lot looser in the water.”
Friday was an exhibition, so no official score was kept, but UA won 15 of the 22 relays.
On Saturday, the meets were scored, but the Sun Devils did not compete against the Wildcats because the two teams are scheduled to meet in January.
The Sun Devils won four of the 28 events Saturday.
The ASU women were impressive over the weekend, and Tierney-Walker liked what she saw from her team.
“The women are way further ahead this time of year this year than [they] were last year,” Tierney-Walker said. “They competed with a lot of confidence and much higher expectations, which I think is a real positive.”
Junior Jordyn Green and sophomore Caroline Kuczynski each had good weekends. Green won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:15.91 and Kuczynski won the 100-yard butterfly in 55.61 seconds.
Sophomore Cassie Morrice also came away with a victory, taking the 500-yard freestyle in 4:55.31.
Tierney-Walker was also impressed with junior Rebecca Ejdervik, who won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:03.49.
“Rebecca Ejdervik executed the 100 breaststroke tremendously today,” Tierney-Walker said. “[She] competed and was a fabulous leader on relays,”
The women were pleased with their results over the weekend, and Tierney-Walker noticed their confidence.
“The women are realizing that this team can be pretty special,” Tierney-Walker said.
Although the men did not win any events, Tierney-Walker said she was impressed with the long-distance swimmers, especially freshman Hayden Thomas.
Tierney-Walker also added that the Sun Devils need to work on their intensity around the walls and into the finish.
Although ASU did not compete against UA, the Sun Devils were able to watch one of the best swimming teams in the country.
Landgrebe said it was exciting to see a team of UA’s caliber and that there is a lot the Sun Devils can take away from the meet.
“It helps a lot, it was good seeing where they’re at and where we’re at” Landgrebe said. “We can see what we have to work on for our meet against them in January.
The Sun Devils will return to the pool for their Alumni Meet on Oct. 30 at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
