LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego swim squads topped California Baptist in a dual meet at their final home meet of 2023 on Saturday afternoon at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
 
The Triton women won with a resounding 225 to 90 result. The Triton men took their win 172 to 145. Before the meet began, UC San Diego celebrate their 17 seniors with their family and teammates.
 
ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE
Beginning the meet with a victory and facility record, the 200 yard medley relay comprised of Valerie Yue, Katja Pavicevic, Jordan Phillips, and Miranda Renner took first with a time of 1:39.09. Juli Arzave blew open the 1000 yard freestyle with a record breaking time of 9:46.89, setting a new record by seven seconds. The Tritons swept the event with Sophia Bell taking second with a time of 10:01.49 and Emma Keith-Brown finishing third with a time of 10:10.91.
 
Another Triton sweep came in the 200 yard freestyle with Tina Reuter, Sophie Francis, and Aneta Wyzga taking first through third. Phillips took the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 53.78 and Alana Barthel took second with a time of 56.69. In the 100 yard breaststroke, Pavicevic tallied another first place finish with a time of 1:01.27 with Chloe Braun finishing just behind her with a time of 1:01.98. Sweeping the 100 yard butterfly, Yue, Sanne Dequine, and Sandy Li took the podium for the Tritons, adding 16 points for the Tritons.
 
In the 50 yard freestyle, Reuter, Renner, and Francesca Falzon Young finished first, second, and third, all finishing within the same second. Freshmen Dequine and Minh-Nha Kawamura took first and second in the 200 yard butterfly with times of 1:50.65 and 1:52.81, adding 13 points for the Tritons. Yue took another first place finish in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 2:00.11 and teammate, Barthel took second with a time of 2:02.26. In the 200 yard breaststroke, Braun finished a full four seconds ahead of the competition with a time of 2:15.85.
 
The 100 yard freestyle went to the Tritons as Reuter, Renner, and Josette Odgers took the top place finishes. Arzave took another first place finish in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 4:49.81 to sweep the event with teammates Emma Keith-Brown and Sophia Bell. In her third first-place finish, Pavicevic took the 200 yard IM with Gabi Icheva finishing second. The Tritons bookended the meet with a victory in the 200 yard freestyle relay. Phillips, Reuter, Renner, and Odgers finished with a time of 1:32.06.
 
ON THE MEN'S SIDE
Opening the meet, the Tritons took second in the 200 yard medley relay with the squad of Andrija Petkovic, Luke Pusateri, Andrew Bowman, and Justin Morsch. Ivan Kurakin took second in the 1000 yard freestyle with a time of 9:09.67, milliseconds behind first. In the 200 yard freestyle, Petkovic, Luigi Franco, and Aidan Rikic swept the event taking all three podium spots. Nathan Lee took second with a time of 49.43 in the 100 yard backstroke.
 
In the 100 yard breaststroke, Pusateri finished second with a time of 55.22 with his teammate Josh He taking third with a time of 56.65. Another Triton first-place finish came in the 100 yard butterfly when Chad Morrison posted a time of 48.88 for another nine points. Morsch and Will Blake took second and third place in the 50 yard freestyle with times of 20.82 and 21.17. Taking second and third place in the 100 yard IM was Colton Milne and Devin Esser, respectively. Morrison took another first-place finish in the 200 yard butterfly with Yuma Dugas taking second for a combined 13 points.
 
In the 200 yard backstroke, the Tritons swept the event with Lee, Robby Griswold, and Shane Burns taking the podium spots. Petkovic and Morsch took second and third in the 100 yard freestyle, adding seven points for the Tritons. Kurakin took first in the 500 yard freestyle for nine points with a time of 4:25.92. Lee took another first place finish in the 200 yard IM with a time of 1:51.27 with teammate Milne finishing in second at 1:52.73. The Tritons ended the meet with a victory in the 200 yard freestyle with Rikic, Morsch, Petkovic, and Morrison posting a time of 1:22.15.
 
QUOTABLE
"We had an amazing performance collectively as a team this is the way to send off our seniors and celebrate their time on the team," said head coach Marko Djordjevic. "We had some great performances for this time of the year with team records and CSCAA NIC qualifications. It was a great team effort on both the women and men side to win this last home meet of the season."
 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego travels across town to University of San Diego for one final dual meet on February 4 before the MPSF Conference championships.
 
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.