By Jordan Parry, SDA Media Relations Assistant
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Arizona State men (2-3) and women’s (0-4) swim and dive teams fell to USC in Los Angeles Friday night, with the men dropping its contest by a score of 165-125, while the women got edged, 169-127. However, the Devils didn’t go down without a fight and put together some of their best swims of the season thus far, something the final scores fail to illustrate.
"Overall, both the men and women raced much more consistently and at a much higher level than we have all year long," said head coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker.
To put it into perspective, 29 of the 38 total swims for the Devils on Friday night were season-bests.
Though the ASU women didn’t leave the meet with the victory, they were able to re-establish themselves in the pool and find success against a very good USC team, which bodes well for what’s to come the rest of the season.
“The final score didn’t show it,” Tierney-Walker said, “but our women raced exceptionally well tonight.”
Sophomore Anna Olasz tallied the first win of the night for ASU in dominate fashion as she touched in at 10:01.52 in the 1000 freestyle. In the very next women’s event, senior Juanita Barreto won the 200 freestyle (1:50.17) in a down-to-the-wire race that resulted in her escaping with the victory by .15 of a second. It was then freshman Jorie Caneta’s turn, winning the 100 breaststroke (1:02.06) by 1.19 seconds.
However, it would be impossible to mention the women's success on Friday without bringing up sophomore Alysha Bush. Bush cemented herself as the only woman, and only one of two ASU swimmers to touch in first in two individual races, doing so in the 50 freestyle (23.61), as well as the 100 freestyle (51.20).
Another good sign for ASU came when the women’s team finished on top in the 200 freestyle relay (1:33.82), led by the team of sophomore Alysha Bush, junior Marina Spadoni, Barreto, and senior Melanie Busch. They look to grab hold of that momentum from winning the last event of the night as they shift their focus to UCLA on Saturday.
As, too, do the men.
Though they came up short in a relay for the first time this season after beginning the year 6-for-6, the team of freshman Patrick Park and sophomores Tadas Duskinas, Thomaz Martins, and Barkley Perry regrouped abd got back on track, taking down USC in the 200 freestyle relay (1:22.16) to cap off the night.
A huge bright spot on the men’s side came from the lone senior on the squad, Zac Dalby. Dalby captured two wins on the evening, first in the 200 butterfly (1:49.71) followed by the 200 IM (1:53.27), which he won by over four seconds.
"Zac really stepped up to another level tonight," Tierney-Walker proclaimed.
Overall, the Sun Devil women brought home six individual victories to the men’s four.
On the diving side, ASU freshman Mara Aiacoboae took first-place in the 3-meter, recording a score of 333.30, a mark over 20 points ahead of her next competitor. Aiacoboae then finished second in the 1-meter dive (277.35).
"I thought both teams showed some grit tonight against very good USC teams, teams that are well-coached and respected," Tierney-Walked explained. "There was a lot of good racing, not just for first-place, but for second, third, and down the line."
It’s a short turnaround for the Devils, as both teams are scheduled to compete again on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. MT. The women will remain in conference competition as they face UCLA, while the men are set to take on CSU Bakersfield.