LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego swim and dive will send eight Tritons to the Toyota U.S. Open Championships. The Open begins Nov. 30 and runs thru Dec. 3 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.
The eight Tritons will be competing with several hundred other athletes including members from this year's US National Team, National Junior Tea, 2020 US Olympic team, and 2022 FINA World Championships US roster. The gold and blue will be traveling
Katja Pavicevic,
Jordan Phillips,
Miranda Renner,
Chloe Braun,
Ivan Kurakin,
Shane Burns,
Andrija Petkovic, and
Luigi Franco.
"This is a great group of student-athletes is a combination of our freshman class and some more experienced returners," head coach
Marko Djordjevic explained. "We are expecting some good performances, but the experience of competing in this environment will help elevate our younger athletes so we can continue our great performances at the national level."
While the meet begins Wednesday, Nov. 30, UC San Diego will be competing Thursday thru Friday in several different events.
Thursday
200 IM –
Katja Pavicevic
400 Free –
Ivan Kurakin
Friday
100 Breast –
Katja Pavicevic, Chloe Braun
100 Fly –
Jordan Phillips, Miranda Renner
100 Back –
Luigi Franco
200 Free –
Ivan Kurakin, Andrija Petkovic
Saturday
200 Breast –
Katja Pavicevic, Chloe Braun
100 Free –
Miranda Renner
100 Free –
Andrija Petkovic
200 Back –
Shane Burns, Luigi Franco
Results will be updated
here.
LAST TIME OUT
Wrapping up the Trailblazer Invitational, the Triton women won the three-day event with a score of 748 and the men took second with a score of 838.5.
On the third and final day of the invite, the women added 196 points to solidify their win. The men added 272 points to finish in second behind MPSF competitor, UC Santa Barbara.
ARZAVE TAKES MPSF WEEKLY HONORS
On Nov. 11, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation announced UC San Diego's
Juli Arzave as the Swim and Dive female athlete of the week for her record-breaking performances on Friday and Saturday, in a women-only dual meet vs. conference opponent, No. 9 Cal on Nov. 4 and a double dual meet vs. Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara.
Hosting No. 9 Cal women, a hometown product, Arzave took first place with a facility record in the 1000 freestyle (10:08.32). The next day in a double-dual against UCSB and the host Pepperdine, Arzave won the 1650 free (16:57.92) and 500 free (5:01.21), before taking first again in the later session 500 free with an MPSF season-best (4:52.45).
This is Arzave's second time earning weekly honors from the conference, and she is the 18th Triton to earn MPSF weekly honors. Last week,
Katja Pavicevic earned MSPF weekly honors with
Nathan Lee earning MPSF male swimmer honors the previous week, taking the conference awards three weeks in a row.
PAVICEVIC EARNS MPSF WEEKLY RECOGNITION
On Nov. 2, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation announced UC San Diego's
Katja Pavicevic as the Swim and Dive female athlete of the week for her stellar performance on Saturday, Oct. 29 in a women-only dual meet vs. conference opponent, UC Davis.
On the road at UC Davis, UC San Diego's swim and dive captain, Pavicevic earned three first-place finishes and scored a total of 29 points. Leading off the meet with a win, the 200-yard medley relay team posted a 1:41.60 time (NIC 'A' cut) and the captain swam a 28.1 split. In the 100-yard breaststroke, she finished almost three seconds faster than second place with a NIC 'B' cut. In her final first-place finish, Pavicevic posted a 2:13.48 time in the 200-yard breaststroke, which was five seconds ahead of her competitors and a NIC 'A' cut.
LEE EARNS MPSF WEEKLY HONORS
On Oct. 26, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation announced UC San Diego's
Nathan Lee as the Swim and Dive male athlete of the week for his outstanding performance on Saturday, Oct. 23 in a dual meet against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Hosting CMS for the Tritons home opener, the Washington product earned 26 points for the Tritons swimming in three events. Taking first in the 100-yard backstroke, Lee posted a 50.37 time to swipe nine points from CMS. He then posted another first-place finish in the 400 IM with a final time of 4:01.7. With these two times, Lee earned two NIC-B cuts. Swimming the lead-off backstroke leg (23.74) in the 200-yard medley relay, he helped the Tritons take second and four more points from CMS.
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
UC San Diego's men's and women's swim teams will head to Greensboro, N.C. for the Toyota US Open. The open will take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 at the Greensboro 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.
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.
ALUM TRAVIS MILLER RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE ALL-TIME BEST
UC San Diego alumnus Travis Miller '94 was recognized in the College of Swimming and Diving Coaches Association's list of the 100 Greatest Men's Swimmers and Divers.
To celebrate CSCAA's 100th year as the nation's first college coaches' organization, they constructed a list of the top 100 greatest college swimmers and divers. Out of 973 finalists drawn from nearly three thousand nominations, Miller secured one of the 100 selections.
To read more,
click here.
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.
