ASU Swim and Dive battled against the staunch No. 4/4 NC State Wolfpack at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in the scorching 104-degree heat last Friday.
The ASU men's swim and dive team, currently the No. 1 team in the country according to the CSCAA rankings, wrapped up the meet with an 186.5-113.5 win, but the women suffered a 169.5-130.5 loss. This win continues the men's undefeated start to the season and brings the women to a record of 1-3.
Even though the women lost, head coach Bob Bowman, who was recently inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, still had high praise for the Sun Devils.
“That was the best complete day of racing we’ve had since I came here in 2015," Bowman said. "Top to bottom, first event to last event, men, women, freshman, seniors, 5th years, the whole thing. Everybody stepped up, and when we needed them too, they came through for the team, and I am very pleased with it.”
Graduate student Jack Dolan dominated in freestyle events. Dolan won the 100 yard Freestyle and was onthe winning unit in the 400 yard Freestyle Relay. However, his most notable achievement was in the 50 yard Freestyle, as he now holds the sixth best time in school history in the event at 19.02 seconds.
“It’s been good, our relays this year are really good,” Dolan said. “Our relays have had a really strong start, so hopefully, we can keep it going.”
World record holder junior Léon Marchand won all four of his events. He won the 500 yard Freestyle, 400 yard Freestyle relay, 100 yard Breaststroke and 200 yard Medley Relay. Freshman Ilya Kharun also took the number one spot in both the 200 yard and 100 yard Butterfly.
Despite the loss, the women's squad had multiple individual accomplishments. Latvian sophomore Ieva Maluka said her ability to stay locked in when swimming in her relay team’s 400 yard Freestyle win is due to the team's support.
“You stay grounded and just be grateful for your teammates,” Maluka said. “Listen to them cheer you on, and remember you are doing this for your team.”
Deniz Ertan, a sophomore from Turkey, swam a 9:36.66 1000 yard Freestyle, so she now holds the fourth-best time in ASU history.
Bowman said that his squads were able to take advantage of the fact that they have few meets under their belt so far this season, while this was NC State’s first competition of the season.
“You just don’t know the racing rhythm as well; it’s been a while," Bowman said. "We have had a couple of shots to kind of hone in on some things. I think that’s the difference; you just have a little more sharpness because you know the rhythm of it better internally.”
ASU has one more matchup in Tempe against USC on Saturday, Nov. 4. The men look to keep their win streak alive, and the women look to bounce back with a win after their recent loss.
Edited by Vincent DeAngelis, Walker Smith, Shane Brennan
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