When asked whether Sunday’s swim meet will be a little more intense than an average dual, ASU coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker needed only one word.
“Absolutely,” Tierney-Walker said.
The ASU swim and dive teams will travel to Tucson this weekend to compete against UA in what will be the final dual meet of the season for both teams.
Rivalry meets are always exciting, but the Sun Devils will be big underdogs this weekend. The UA swim teams have been impressive all year long as the men are ranked sixth in the country and the women seventh.
“UA has such a storied program in swimming,” Tierney-Walker said. “We’d love to go up there and compete to the best of our ability.”
Although the UA women beat the ASU women 196-102 a year ago, Tierney-Walker is expecting an entertaining meet.
“[It] should be a pretty competitive meet on the women’s side,” Tierney-Walker said.
The ASU men, who lost 212-87 a year ago, will be facing some of the same swimmers who beat them previously.
UA juniors Nick Hadinger and Adam Small, along with senior Craig Jordens, make up 75 percent of the Wildcats’ 400 free-relay, which bested the Sun Devils last season.
Red-shirt junior Cory Chitwood, who won the NCAA title in the 200 backstroke last year, will also be competing for UA.
Despite being just a freshman, ASU swimmer Hayden Thomas understands how big the ASU-UA rivalry really is.
“I hate [UA],” Thomas said. “Living in Tempe my whole life, [the rivalry] has always been important. I’m happy to finally be a part of this.”
Thomas is not the only one excited to compete against the Wildcats as his coach is also waiting for the opportunity.
“We are very excited to race,” Tierney-Walker said. “Anytime you compete at your best, against the best, it’s a step forward. Hopefully, we’ll have an opportunity to [step forward Sunday].”
The swim teams may not have had success against UA last year, but the ASU diving team was far more successful, as they won three of the four events.
Juniors Elina Eggers and Constantin Blaha were instrumental to the diving teams’ success a year ago as Eggers won both platform events for the women and Blaha won the one-meter springboard for the men.
The only diving event ASU lost last year was the three-meter, but sophomore Riley McCormick finished in second and is hoping to win this time around.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
