TUCSON, Ariz. – In a men's portion of the meet that ultimately would come down to the final relay, the #13 Sun Devil men's swim & dive teams tied #17 Arizona, 147-147, as the men remain undefeated vs. the Wildcats under head coach Bob Bowman.
Overall, the Sun Devils set new season highs in 14 of 32 events including nine for the women and five for the men. Three Sun Devils also set new NCAA B-cuts including Richard Bohus and Patrick Park in the 100 free and Chloe Isleta in both the 100 and 200 back.
The women improved upon last year's performance vs. #17 U of A despite a 180-118 loss in the regular season finale.
"I am extremely pleased with how both teams battled the Wildcats," said head swimming coach Bob Bowman. "This year we chose to stay in a regular training pattern for this meet and our guys swam some great times. We are in a great place heading into Pac-12's where the territorial cup points will be decided."
In the first event of the day, Kendall Dawson finished fourth, improving upon her fastest 1000 yard free of the season by seven seconds, while Anna Olasz in fifth finished 10 seconds faster than her season best. On the men's side, Ben Olszewski finished second, just .02 seconds away from his personal best.
ASU's A-team of Ingibjorg Jonsdottir, Silja Kansakoski, Chloe Isleta, and Alysha Bush swam the team's fastest time of the season, finishing second in the 200-medley relay.
The Sun Devils dominated the top spot on both sides in the 200 free, with senior co-captain Kat Simonovic and Cameron Craig posting back-to-back wins. On the women's side, Marlies Ross and Claire Fisch each recorded personal bests. Two events later, Jonsdottir and Isleta recorded their fastest times of the season in the 100 back.
Richard Bohus won the second straight event for the ASU men with his second fastest 100 back of the season, while Zach Poti swam his career fastest, finishing fourth, and Reid Elliott swam his season fastest, finishing fifth. Two events later, Patrick Park also swam a season best in the 200 fly, finishing second.
Newcomer Silja Kansakoski won the women's 100 breast, improving upon her lifetime best for her third straight meet as a Sun Devil. Ivana Ninkovic posted her season fastest time in the same event.
Alysha Bush, also a team co-captain, improved upon her career best in the 50 free for the third time this season, her fastest time since the Art Adamson Invitational in November, while Claire Fisch also posted a personal best in fourth place, her fastest since the team's home opener vs. Denver in late October.
"Everyone stepped up today, especially the freshmen. Our women had their best dual meet since I have been here," Bowman commented.
Competing for the first time against his former school, Andrew Porter finished second in the men's 50 free, 1/100 of a second ahead of Tadas Duskinas in third. The next two finishers, both from Arizona, finished just 3/100's behind Duskinas in a tight race.
Later in the meet, Porter would finish first in the 100 fly, his best time in the event as a Sun Devil.
In diving action, newcomer Youssef Selim and Heikki Makikallio went 1-2 in the men's 1=meter, reversing the order in the 3-meter dive. Makikallio earned his highest score of the season in the 3 M.
Mara Aiacoboae won the 3-meter dive and finished second in the 1M, the team's second best of the season and second 300+ 1M dive this year. Rebecca Deacon also posted her best 1-meter dive of her young season by 19 points.
Bowman also noted that "diving was critical to our success" against the Wildcats.
Following the first diving break, Bush recorded her second personal best of the day, this time in the 100 free. Fisch, finishing third, posted a season best and her first sub-50 second 100 free this year.
Craig, Bohus, and Park went 1-2-3 in the 100 free, capturing key points to start the Sun Devil comeback, Park's best 100 free of the season. Thomaz Martins also swam his fastest in the event this season, finishing fifth.
Silja Kansakoski and Marlies Ross finished 1-2 in the women's 200 breast, each improving upon their season fastest times by four and two seconds, respectively.
Simonovic won her second event of the day with a career-fastest 500 free while Olszewski won on the men's side with a season best time.
Ending individual competition on a high note, Marlies Ross won the 400 IM with the fastest time in the event this season by three seconds. All four Sun Devils in the men's 400 IM swam their fastest times of the season, as Juanjo Garcia improved his season time by nearly 10 seconds.
Going into the final relay, the Sun Devil men found themselves behind by nine points, needing a win to stay competitive. After Craig, Duskinas, and Park swam the first three legs of the 400 free relay, Martins touched the wall at 2:54.07 just ahead of Arizona's A-team at 2:54.37. The Sun Devils added a third-place finish at 2:55.05 (Bohus, Porter, Elliott, Barkley Perry) to officially tie the final score.
"Our free relays really show the great quality of effort our kids gave today," Bowman concluded on the final event of the day.
The meet serves as the Devils' final regular season meet of the year, as they now prepare for the Pac-12 championships. The women's swim and men's/women's dive Pac-12 take place Fb. 22-25 in Federal Way, Wash. while the men's will be Mar. 1-4 at the same location.
Overall, the Sun Devils set new season highs in 14 of 32 events including nine for the women and five for the men. Three Sun Devils also set new NCAA B-cuts including Richard Bohus and Patrick Park in the 100 free and Chloe Isleta in both the 100 and 200 back.
The women improved upon last year's performance vs. #17 U of A despite a 180-118 loss in the regular season finale.
"I am extremely pleased with how both teams battled the Wildcats," said head swimming coach Bob Bowman. "This year we chose to stay in a regular training pattern for this meet and our guys swam some great times. We are in a great place heading into Pac-12's where the territorial cup points will be decided."
In the first event of the day, Kendall Dawson finished fourth, improving upon her fastest 1000 yard free of the season by seven seconds, while Anna Olasz in fifth finished 10 seconds faster than her season best. On the men's side, Ben Olszewski finished second, just .02 seconds away from his personal best.
ASU's A-team of Ingibjorg Jonsdottir, Silja Kansakoski, Chloe Isleta, and Alysha Bush swam the team's fastest time of the season, finishing second in the 200-medley relay.
The Sun Devils dominated the top spot on both sides in the 200 free, with senior co-captain Kat Simonovic and Cameron Craig posting back-to-back wins. On the women's side, Marlies Ross and Claire Fisch each recorded personal bests. Two events later, Jonsdottir and Isleta recorded their fastest times of the season in the 100 back.
Richard Bohus won the second straight event for the ASU men with his second fastest 100 back of the season, while Zach Poti swam his career fastest, finishing fourth, and Reid Elliott swam his season fastest, finishing fifth. Two events later, Patrick Park also swam a season best in the 200 fly, finishing second.
Newcomer Silja Kansakoski won the women's 100 breast, improving upon her lifetime best for her third straight meet as a Sun Devil. Ivana Ninkovic posted her season fastest time in the same event.
Alysha Bush, also a team co-captain, improved upon her career best in the 50 free for the third time this season, her fastest time since the Art Adamson Invitational in November, while Claire Fisch also posted a personal best in fourth place, her fastest since the team's home opener vs. Denver in late October.
"Everyone stepped up today, especially the freshmen. Our women had their best dual meet since I have been here," Bowman commented.
Competing for the first time against his former school, Andrew Porter finished second in the men's 50 free, 1/100 of a second ahead of Tadas Duskinas in third. The next two finishers, both from Arizona, finished just 3/100's behind Duskinas in a tight race.
Later in the meet, Porter would finish first in the 100 fly, his best time in the event as a Sun Devil.
In diving action, newcomer Youssef Selim and Heikki Makikallio went 1-2 in the men's 1=meter, reversing the order in the 3-meter dive. Makikallio earned his highest score of the season in the 3 M.
Mara Aiacoboae won the 3-meter dive and finished second in the 1M, the team's second best of the season and second 300+ 1M dive this year. Rebecca Deacon also posted her best 1-meter dive of her young season by 19 points.
Bowman also noted that "diving was critical to our success" against the Wildcats.
Following the first diving break, Bush recorded her second personal best of the day, this time in the 100 free. Fisch, finishing third, posted a season best and her first sub-50 second 100 free this year.
Craig, Bohus, and Park went 1-2-3 in the 100 free, capturing key points to start the Sun Devil comeback, Park's best 100 free of the season. Thomaz Martins also swam his fastest in the event this season, finishing fifth.
Silja Kansakoski and Marlies Ross finished 1-2 in the women's 200 breast, each improving upon their season fastest times by four and two seconds, respectively.
Simonovic won her second event of the day with a career-fastest 500 free while Olszewski won on the men's side with a season best time.
Ending individual competition on a high note, Marlies Ross won the 400 IM with the fastest time in the event this season by three seconds. All four Sun Devils in the men's 400 IM swam their fastest times of the season, as Juanjo Garcia improved his season time by nearly 10 seconds.
Going into the final relay, the Sun Devil men found themselves behind by nine points, needing a win to stay competitive. After Craig, Duskinas, and Park swam the first three legs of the 400 free relay, Martins touched the wall at 2:54.07 just ahead of Arizona's A-team at 2:54.37. The Sun Devils added a third-place finish at 2:55.05 (Bohus, Porter, Elliott, Barkley Perry) to officially tie the final score.
"Our free relays really show the great quality of effort our kids gave today," Bowman concluded on the final event of the day.
The meet serves as the Devils' final regular season meet of the year, as they now prepare for the Pac-12 championships. The women's swim and men's/women's dive Pac-12 take place Fb. 22-25 in Federal Way, Wash. while the men's will be Mar. 1-4 at the same location.