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Aztecs post fourth dual meet season in last six years
Source: goaztecs.com
Photo courtesy goaztecs.com
February 2, 2019 (Los Angeles/Flagstaff, Ariz.) - The San Diego State swimmers capped an undefeated run through dual meet action on Saturday, defeating Loyola Marymount 124-103 at the Burns Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon. Heading into the Mountain West Championships beginning on Feb. 20, the Aztecs are a perfect 13-0 and have finished their fourth undefeated dual-meet season in the last six years.
The Aztecs posted the fastest time in all 14 events and posted the first and second best times in 13 races. SDSU kicked things off with a win in the 200 medley, as Ava Howard, Klara Thormalm, Elli Ferrin, and Larisa Tam teamed up for a first-place time of 1:47.80 -- less than a fifth of a second faster than SDSU's Alma Thormalm, Caitlin Delaney, Courtney Vincent and Morganne McKennan, who finished second at 1:47.99.
Kristina Murphy and Anna Stahlak finished first and second, respectively, in the 200 free, logging times of 1:54.87 and 1:57.87. One race later, SDSU claimed each of the top three spots in the 100 back, led by Alma Thormalm at 58.43. Vincent and Howard followed Thormalm with times of 58.76 and 59.27.
Klara Thormalm claimed the 100 breast crown with a time of 1:03.73 while McKennan and Ferrin made it back-to-back races with the Aztecs claiming the top three spots after posting times of 1:05.04 and 1:07.47, respectively.
Lizzie Menzmer, Andy Felix, and Rachael Kelch claimed the top three spots in the 200 fly, recording times of 2:09.66, 2:10.19, and 2:11.80. Larisa Tam and Cathy Cooper continued to collect points for the Aztecs in the next race, finishing first and second in the 50 free at 24.44 and 24.61.
Alma Thormalm and Peyton Wilson posted standout performances in the 100 free, recording tightly-knit times of 52.93 and 53.25 for first and second place.
Howard, Felix, Kelch, and Maude Boily-Dufour recorded dominating performances in the 200 back, finishing first through fourth, respectively. Howard claimed the first-place spot at 2:11.12, while Boily-Dufour finished fourth at 2:15.95 -- nearly 12 seconds ahead of Loyola Marymount's top finisher in the race.
In exhibition action, Klara Thormalm recorded the meet's fastest 200 breast time at 2:21.88, while Mia Ryan led the pack in the 500 free with a time of 5:10.01. Ferrin touched the wall first in the 100 fly, recording the only sub-1:00 time of the race at 59.21.
Murphy posted a 1:00.28 in the 100 IM to record the meet's fastest time to finish individual events. SDSU closed the afternoon with Wilson, Alma Thormalm, Klara Thormalm, and Sammy Geyer recording a first-place time of 1:37.79 in the 200 free relay. McKennan, Lizzie Menzmer, Cooper, and Tam finished just .06 seconds behind SDSU's A-relay team, finishing second at 1:37.85.
Klara Thormalm led the Aztecs with a pair of individual top times while contributing to both of SDSU's first-place relay times. Alma Thormalm and Murphy also contributed a pair of individual top times.
The San Diego State divers claimed the Northern Arizona Diving Invitational title on Saturday, outscoring both Northern Arizona (101) and Idaho (76) with 132 points. Ximena Lechuga Gonzalez led the Aztecs throughout the competition, recording 32 individual points to finish in a tie for second among the 16-diver field.
In 3-meter action, Lechuga Gonzalez finished third with a two-round score of 581.95. Marie Yacopino finished sixth in the event, recording a score of 527.20.
On the 1-meter board, it was Lechuga Gonzalez again who led the Aztecs after climbing from a 10th-place score (240.85) in the preliminary round to finish third after posting a finals score of 289.45 to accumulate 530.30 total points. Yacopino finished just behind Lechuga Gonzalez, recording a score of 530.10 to finish in fourth place. Gina Cazares (521.80, seventh), Emily Reed (479.70, ninth) and Lexi Letts (471.75) also placed inside the top-10 in 1-meter competition.
To conclude the event, Lechuga Gonzalez posted the fourth-best platform board score in school history with a 244.90 to finish in second. Cazares placed third at 224.70, while Delaney Gallagher also recorded a top-five score with a score of 217.00.
Lechuga Gonzalez finished the meet as the only diver to finish in the top three on all three boards.
NOTES
- SDSU improves to 71-2 in dual meets since January 13, 2013.
- The Aztecs recorded their fourth undefeated dual meet season in the last six years.
- Including SDSU's two swimming invitational meets (the Chic-fil-A Invitational and Mizzou Invitational), only three teams during the entire regular season beat the Aztecs. Those teams include No. 4 California, No. 19 Missouri, and Arkansas, which is the top team receiving votes in the CSCAA national top 25.
UP NEXT
SDSU awaits the Mountain West Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. that run from Feb. 20-23. The Aztecs are searching for their first MW title since 2015 and aiming for their 10th consecutive top-three finish.
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