STOCKTON, Calif./CORVALLIS, Ore. - For the first time since 2006, both men and women's swim and dive squads have won on the opening weekend of the season.
Head coach Bob Bowman and his staff led the women's team to Oregon State for a Pac-12 duel, while the men took on the University of the Pacific on Saturday, Oct. 3.
The ladies got off to a hot start in Corvallis, winning four of the first five events and earning 59 points.
Junior Kat Simonovic, senior Jennifer Morgan and junior Indira Ceranic finished 1-2-3 in the women's 200-yard freestyle. Simonivic turned in a time of 1:51.88, Morgan with a 1:55.09 and Ceranic just behind her with a 1:55.26.
Senior Alysha Bush nearly hit a standard qualifying time in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing in first with a time of 23.38. She would later miss another standard in the 100-yard freestyle, turning in a time of 50.82.
The Sun Devils also finished 1-2-3 in the 100-yard freestyle, with Bush in first, freshman Krista Kolkebeck in second (52.83), and sophomore Raquel Grays in third (52.93).
ASU won six of the 11 events against the Beavers, and won the meet 109-94.
For the men, they performed even better in Stockton, winning 12 of the 14 events and the meet 170-92.
Junior Barkley Perry had quite an afternoon, winning three of the four events he competed in. After a fourth place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, he turned in a time of 1:40.53 in the 200-yard freestyle -- just ahed of fellow junior Thomas Martins with a time of 1:41.08. Perry won the 200-yard backstroke by over a full second. He would wrap up his third victory with teammates Martins, sophomore Patrick Park and junior Tadas Duskinas in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:02.96.
Duskinas won all four events he was apart of -- the 50-yard freestyle (21.07), the 100-yard butterfly (48.95), and the 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay with Perry.
The men will enjoy a little more time to prepare and have off before their next meet than the women, as they don't compete again until Oct. 28 in Tempe against LSU.
The women will also compete at that meet, but have the SMU Classic in Dallas, Texas on Friday, Oct. 16 through Saturday, Oct. 17. They'll have one Pac-12 meet against Washington State in Tempe on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 5 p.m. as well.