TEMPE – The Sun Devil men and women's swim and dive team begin their 2024-25 season this Friday against UNLV at 6 p.m. AZT at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. The meet will not be streamed, but can be followed on the team's Twitter/X account, @ASUSwimDive and on Instagram @sundevilswimdive.
It's the first of seven home swim meets for the Sun Devils and the first meet for head-coach Herbie Behm who was announced as head coach in April.
Behm and the Sun Devils have a loaded schedule with the top competition in the country. On Oct. 25 and 26, the Sun Devils will travel to N.C. State to face the sixth ranked Wolfpack men and the No. 11 Wolfpack women before returning back to Tempe in November to take on former Pac-12 rivals California and Stanford in duel meets on Nov. 7 and 8.
"We're super excited to get started this year. It's a very exciting time. We had a really good summer. Ilya (Kharun) highlighted that by winning two Olympic medals. But we have a very talented team, a very deep team." said head coach Herbie Behm. "It's an exciting time, with a lot of success last year and the doors open for a lot of people to step up and become major contributors to this team."
The men's team is coming off their first national title in program history and are coming off back-to-back Pac-12 championships and are eyeing another conference title, this time in the Big 12. The Women's team is also looking to carry momentum from last season after placing 26th at NCAA Championships and being ranked as the best Big 12 team in the latest CSCAA preseason rankings.
For the women's team, of the nine that represented ASU at the NCAA Championships, six of them are returning to this year's squad.
The women's side has two returning all-americans, Charli Brown and Erin Milligan. Both swam at the NCAA Championships a season ago, earning 2nd team All-American honors in the 800 free relay. For Brown, she placed in the top 10 in every event she competed in at Pac-12 Championships and competed at the Australian Olympic trials this past summer. Caroline Bentz, a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech is also an all-american who will make a huge impact for the Sun Devils this season.
The men's team has three returning Pac-12 champions in Jonny Kulow, Patrick Sammon and Ilya Kharun, all looking to repeat their success from a year ago after leading ASU to its second consecutive Pac-12 championship last March. In total, the men have five returning all-americans.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Sun Devils are ranked in both the men and women's CSCAA preseason polls announced on Sept. 26. The men check in at No. 6 in the country, and the women are ranked No. 21. Both are the only teams to represent the Big 12 going into the new season.
OPPONENT OUTLOOK:
It marks the second straight season meeting against UNLV, last season the Sun Devils swept the Rebels with the men winning 229-71, and the women winning 230-70. Last season, the Rebel's women's team placed second at Mountain West championships, with seven top-5 finishes in races last year.
On the men's side, the Rebels won the WAC conference title for the fourth consecutive year with a record-breaking 972 points. They had 12 top-5 finishes in the WAC conference championships.
RETURNING OLYMPIANS:
The Sun Devils return five total Olympians who have competed in the Olympics. Deniz Ertan and Miriam Sheehan both competed in Tokyo in 2021. Tiago Behar, David Young and Ilya Kharun all swam for their respective countries in 2024 in Paris.
Kharun, representing Canada garnered two bronze medals in Paris, coming in the 200m and the 100m fly after coming off a freshman year where he claimed the 200y fly individual title at NCAA Championships. Similar to his teammate Matheson, he'll also be competing in Budapest at the short-course world championships. Kharun currently holds the school record in the 100 fly (44.33) and 200 fly (1:37.93).
UNDER THE LIGHTS:
Including the home opener against UNLV, the Sun Devils will have their second home meet at night against California and Stanford on Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. AZT. It marks the first home regular season meet at night for the Sun Devils since Oct. 22, 2015 since the Sun Devil Women swam against Washington State.
It's the first of seven home swim meets for the Sun Devils and the first meet for head-coach Herbie Behm who was announced as head coach in April.
Behm and the Sun Devils have a loaded schedule with the top competition in the country. On Oct. 25 and 26, the Sun Devils will travel to N.C. State to face the sixth ranked Wolfpack men and the No. 11 Wolfpack women before returning back to Tempe in November to take on former Pac-12 rivals California and Stanford in duel meets on Nov. 7 and 8.
"We're super excited to get started this year. It's a very exciting time. We had a really good summer. Ilya (Kharun) highlighted that by winning two Olympic medals. But we have a very talented team, a very deep team." said head coach Herbie Behm. "It's an exciting time, with a lot of success last year and the doors open for a lot of people to step up and become major contributors to this team."
The men's team is coming off their first national title in program history and are coming off back-to-back Pac-12 championships and are eyeing another conference title, this time in the Big 12. The Women's team is also looking to carry momentum from last season after placing 26th at NCAA Championships and being ranked as the best Big 12 team in the latest CSCAA preseason rankings.
For the women's team, of the nine that represented ASU at the NCAA Championships, six of them are returning to this year's squad.
The women's side has two returning all-americans, Charli Brown and Erin Milligan. Both swam at the NCAA Championships a season ago, earning 2nd team All-American honors in the 800 free relay. For Brown, she placed in the top 10 in every event she competed in at Pac-12 Championships and competed at the Australian Olympic trials this past summer. Caroline Bentz, a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech is also an all-american who will make a huge impact for the Sun Devils this season.
The men's team has three returning Pac-12 champions in Jonny Kulow, Patrick Sammon and Ilya Kharun, all looking to repeat their success from a year ago after leading ASU to its second consecutive Pac-12 championship last March. In total, the men have five returning all-americans.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Sun Devils are ranked in both the men and women's CSCAA preseason polls announced on Sept. 26. The men check in at No. 6 in the country, and the women are ranked No. 21. Both are the only teams to represent the Big 12 going into the new season.
OPPONENT OUTLOOK:
It marks the second straight season meeting against UNLV, last season the Sun Devils swept the Rebels with the men winning 229-71, and the women winning 230-70. Last season, the Rebel's women's team placed second at Mountain West championships, with seven top-5 finishes in races last year.
On the men's side, the Rebels won the WAC conference title for the fourth consecutive year with a record-breaking 972 points. They had 12 top-5 finishes in the WAC conference championships.
RETURNING OLYMPIANS:
The Sun Devils return five total Olympians who have competed in the Olympics. Deniz Ertan and Miriam Sheehan both competed in Tokyo in 2021. Tiago Behar, David Young and Ilya Kharun all swam for their respective countries in 2024 in Paris.
Kharun, representing Canada garnered two bronze medals in Paris, coming in the 200m and the 100m fly after coming off a freshman year where he claimed the 200y fly individual title at NCAA Championships. Similar to his teammate Matheson, he'll also be competing in Budapest at the short-course world championships. Kharun currently holds the school record in the 100 fly (44.33) and 200 fly (1:37.93).
UNDER THE LIGHTS:
Including the home opener against UNLV, the Sun Devils will have their second home meet at night against California and Stanford on Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. AZT. It marks the first home regular season meet at night for the Sun Devils since Oct. 22, 2015 since the Sun Devil Women swam against Washington State.