LA JOLLA, Calif. – Starting the new year at home, UC San Diego swim hosted Wisconsin men's and women's squads and UCLA women's team at Canyonview Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon in La Jolla.
The Triton women fell to the No. 12 Badgers, 221-60 and fell to No. 24 UCLA, 177 to 103. The Triton men fell to No. 18 Wisconsin, 232-49.
ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE
The Triton women were led by
Madison O'Connell who posted four top five finishes. The freshman opened the meet as the lead leg for the 200 medley relay with a 50 back split of 26.03 to help the Tritons to a fourth place finish. In the 100 back, O'Connell finished third with a time of 56.48, only 0.29 seconds behind second place. She took second in the 50 fly with a time of 25.01. O'Connell posted the fastest leg in the 400 free relay with a split of 51.29 to help the relay team to a fourth-place finish.
Chloe Braun added her support with three top five finishes. The junior finished second in the 50 yard breaststroke with a time of 29.25 and was 0.22 seconds behind the Wisconsin winner. In the 100 breast, Braun came within 0.13 of first with a time of 1:02.91 to take second. Swimming the second leg of the 200 medley relay, Braun helped the Triton women to a fourth place finish with a 28.39 100 breast swim.
Audrey Moore took two top five finishes in the 200 free and the 400 free relay. The junior finished third in the 200 free with a time of 1:53.27. Moore swam the opening leg of the relay with a time of 53.10 to help the relay squad to a fourth-place finish.
ON THE MEN'S SIDE
The Triton men posted two third place finishes in the 200 medley relay and the 400 free relay.
Nathan Lee,
Bekzhan Yessengeldy,
Chad Morrison, and
Lucas Brunett posted a time of 1:31.90 in the 200 medley relay to open the meet. In the 400 free relay, Brunett,
Zach Elian,
Ryan Kirton, and
Aidan Rikic posted a time of 3:03.89.
Kirton led the Triton men with three individual top five finishes in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free. The senior took fifth in the 50 free and 100 free with a time of 21.33 and 46.46, respectively. His highest finish came in the 200 free with a time of 1:41.71 for a fourth-place finish.
Zach Elian added his support with a third and fifth place finishes. In the 50 free, the sophomore swam a 20.94 time to take third. Finishing fifth in the 100 IM, Elian posted a time of 51.96.
Lee joined Elian with two top five finishes in the 100 back and 100 IM. The senior finished ahead of his teammate in the 100 IM with a time of 51.88 for fourth place. In the 100 back, Lee took another fourth-place finish with a time of 49.74.
In the 50 fly, Morrison posted a time of 22.75 to take fifth place. He took another top five finish in the 100 fly with a time of 50.38 for fourth place.
QUOTABLE
"It is always an amazing opportunity to compete against power four programs," commented head coach
Marko Djordjevic. "This was a nice way to wrap up our winter training and we raced hard today."
He added, "we showed some character today as well as areas we need to improve on as we head into our championship portion of the season."
UP NEXT
The Tritons head north to USC to take on the top 25 ranked Trojans in a dual meet on Saturday, Jan. 11. The meet is set to begin at 12 p.m. in Los Angeles.
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.
