LA JOLLA, Calif. – Entering its second season of competition in NCAA Division I, UC San Diego's swim and dive program kicks off the 2022-23 season this weekend at the two-day USC Invitational in Los Angeles on Oct. 14 and 15. The Trojans will host UC San Diego, Auburn, and Hawai'i.
Last year at the invitational, the Tritons competed against USC, UNLV, and TCU, finishing in fourth place with 982 points.
DETAILS
USC INVITATIONAL
Oct. 14 – Oct. 15
Uytengsu Aquatics Center – Los Angeles
Watch Live
Head coach
Marko Djordjevic is excited to be returning to the USC Invitational for the opening meet of the season, "this meet is important for us. Being able to compete against a Big 10 school, an SEC school, and an MPSF rival is a great way to start our season."
The Triton women return this season as the defending MPSF champions after knocking off the Rainbow Wahine, who were looking for their sixth-straight championship in 2022.
"We are bringing all that good energy into this season," added Djordjevic. "The team is excited to suit up and get back into competition, but they are excited to build on last season's successes as well."
2021-22 SEASON RECAP
While the team is still unable to compete in postseason championships for the NCAA, the Tritons competed at the CSCAA National Invitational Championships last spring. Between both sides, seven team records were set, and the women's 200-yard freestyle relay team set a CSCAA NIC meet record.
At the MPSF Conference Championships, the Triton women posted a 712.5 score to edge out Hawai'i, the returning champions, by 12.5 points. After the women's win, head coach
Marko Djordjevic was named the MSPF Conference coach of the year. Due to their outstanding performance in the water and the classroom, UC San Diego had 34 scholar-athletes earn MPSF All-Academic honors.
ATTENDING THE MEETS
Admission to UC San Diego home swim meets is free, but parking permits are required seven days per week on campus. For UC San Diego Parking information,
click here.
COVERING THE TRITONS
Media members wishing to cover a UC San Diego game in-person at Canyonview Aquatic Center this season must notify a member of the Athletics Communication staff no later than noon the day before the meet.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will return home to host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the season home opener on Oct. 22 at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
FRESH FACES
UC San Diego welcomed 15 newcomers to its roster for the 2022-23 season, including eight women and six men. 9 swimmers join the squad from California with Washington, Texas, New York, Brazil, Canada, and France represented.
RETURNING TALENT
UC San Diego returns 39 scholar-athletes for the 2022-23 season. Among the top returners, are three fifth years:
Ivan Kurakin,
Tina Reuter, and
Jordan Phillips. The upperclassmen returners include
Katja Pavicevic,
Juli Arzave,
Miranda Renner,
Andrija Petkovic, and
Luke Pusateri. Sophomore
Nathan Lee leads the team's returning underclassmen.
CAPTAINS
Captains for the 2022-23 season are
Cade Brower and
Katja Pavicevic.
MPSF CONFERENCE
The Tritons enter year three of competing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) conference and their second as a Division I program. The conference features all Division I schools including BYU, Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield, Hawai'i, Pacific, San Diego (women), UC Davis (women), UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.
Currently, the Triton women are the defending MPSF Conference champions. The Triton men finished fourth at the 2022 championships.
RENNER RECORDS NATIONAL TIME FOR THE PHILIPPINES AND TAKES TWO MEDALS HOME
Joining Team Philippines this past summer at the 31st Southeast Asian Games, Manila-born,
Miranda Renner set two team records and a national record for the Philippines. Renner took third at the Games in the 100-meter, marking her as the first swim and dive scholar-athlete to win an international medal in the program's history. She then snagged another medal swimming as the anchor for the 100-meter medley relay. Swimming a 56.85 split, the relay team was able to take silver for the Philippines.
MPSF CONFERENCE RELOCATES CHAMPIONSHIPS
For the first time in the conference's 13-year history, the MSPF Conference championships will leave California to be held at Utah Tech in St. George, UT.
The Human Performance Center is Utah Tech's swim facility which recently opened in the fall of 2019. The HPC features a six-story, 155,000-square-foot building, which includes ample academic and recreational space with a 25-yard collegiate indoor pool (spectator capacity of 750) and several multi-purpose rooms.
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast,
Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter
@Tritoncast.
SWIM AND DIVE ON TRITONCAST
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO SWIM & DIVE
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through
Twitter,
Facebook, and
Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdswimdive.
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the
Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories,
click here.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
