SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's and women's swimming and diving teams split their respective dual meets with Cal Poly at the Anderson Aquatic Center on Saturday.
The fifth-ranked Triton men produced a 179-115 victory over the Division I Cal Poly men (0-2), while the third-ranked Triton women were defeated by the Mustangs (1-1), 185-115. The results moved UCSD's dual records to 8-2 on the men's side and 7-3 on the women's, snapping a four-meet win streak for the women. The UCSD men have won seven consecutive dual competitions.
UCSD student-athletes produced the top marks in 17 of the 32 combined events, including 12 of 16 for the men.
Winners of multiple individual events for the Tritons included Nicholas Korth, Tyler Runsten and Dane Stassi for the men and Anji Shakya for the women.
Korth swept the breaststroke distances in 55.47 and 2:02.73. The junior co-captain also placed second in the 200 IM (1:52.30) and swam the breaststroke leg of the Tritons' first-place 200 medley relay to open the meet (1:33.22). That foursome included Julius Espiritu, Stassi and anchor Reid McCallum.
Stassi won both of the butterfly events, 1:50.97 to touch first in the 200 before racing 50.79 in the 100. In addition to his efforts in the 200 medley relay, the sophomore led off the winning 200 free relay (1:24.74) to close the meet, sprinting a 21.55 split ahead of Ethan Pham, Cole Heale and McCallum.
Runsten was the top point-getter off both the one-meter (256.72) and three-meter (283.95) springboards.
For the UCSD women, Shakya was fastest in the 200 free (1:51.63) and later the 500 free (4:59.70). She also swam the third leg of the first-place 200 free relay (1:35.95) to conclude the meet, teaming with Olivia Fountain, Amber Tan and Sierra Robbins.
Other first-place individuals for UCSD were Erika Rodman (1000 free, 10:29.38), Alex Merrill (200 free, 1:42.03), Michael Leung (100 back, 51.76), Tan (50 free, 24.17), Heale (50 free, 21.57) and Jack Galvan (100 free, 47.13).
“On the women's side, we knew it was going to be a challenge, but we swam well and had a lot of in-season bests, which was exciting,” said UCSD co-head coach Matt Macedo. “Anji Shakya was definitely a standout, getting two wins, and having Erika Rodman go mid-10s (10:29.38) in winning the 1000 freestyle was impressive.
“For the men, Dane Stassi won every event he swam, including relays, and Nick Korth got two wins and had a very strong performance finishing second in the 200 IM. In the last opportunity to prepare for our conference meet, those two guys, who have been carrying us all year, showed that they have the potential to win not only at conference but at the NCAA Championships if they continue to work.
“The sprints were also a real strength for us today. Jack Galvan (100) and freshman Cole Heale (50) both got the first event-wins of their careers and Jack's was the front end of a 1-2-3 finish for us. For Amber Tan, it was back-to-back 50 free wins in the past two meets, and we're eager to see what she'll be able to do at conference.”
Saturday's competition marked the end of the dual-meet and regular-season schedule for the Triton men, whose focus will now shift to defending their four straight titles at the Pacific Collegiate Swimming & Diving Conference (PCSC) Championships, Feb. 13-16. That meet was officially moved earlier this week for the second straight year to the Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center in La Mirada after a closure at the original site, Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach.
The Triton women, however, still have one more important dual date left prior to the PCSC Championships, as they play host to local Division I foe University of San Diego at the Canyonview Aquatic Center next Saturday, Feb. 2, beginning at noon. The rivals swam to a thrilling 149-149 tie at USD's Sports Center Pool a season ago.
-- UCSDtritons.com --
