TEMPE, Ariz. – Amidst a pouring rain uncharacteristic for the Phoenix valley, the Sun Devils battled Stanford but ultimately fell short, the men dropping a close 159-141 decision while the women fell, 178-113, to the #2 Cardinal.
"I would like to be a little bit better but overall I liked the way we raced and we did some really good things," reflected head coach Bob Bowman. "I think we handled some really tough conditions pretty well. We made a couple of mistakes on the men's side that would have made it a little closer had we changed a couple of things but all in all, I'm very pleased with their effort. I'm sure that's the closest ASU has come to Stanford in a very long time on the men's side, so we're very happy about that."
Despite the losses, the #12 Sun Devil men posted their best team score vs. #8 Stanford since the 1999-2000 season, when just 10 points separated the two. The ASU "A" men's 200 medley relay – Andrew Porter, Christian Lorenz, Tadas Duskinas, and Richard Bohus – tied the Stanford "A" team early while Bohus, Patrick Park, Duskinas, and Cameron Craig captured a victory in the 400-free relay.
"It's just another step in our process, and it's a good step. The guys stepped up today. I don't know when the men have won a relay against Stanford. We tied one and we won one so I think that's a pretty good step for us. Every meet we have now is just sharpening us up for the Pac-12s. That's the main event for us so that we can qualify people for the NCAAs."
Bowman pinpointed Bohus, Lorenz, and Duskinas for posting top performances against one of the nation's best. Duskinas won the 100 fly and was a member of both top-performing Devil "A" relay teams.
"Richard Bohus raced really hard and Christian Lorenz came through with two wins for us. Tadas Duskinas probably had the best day overall in terms of really stepping up four times. I thought he did an amazing job on that."
Though the rain steadied and worsened throughout the afternoon, Bowman believed the test prepares the teams for adversity down the stretch.
"It doesn't really affect me but when it's really raining like that, they tend to get cold between the races. It just makes everything a little more difficult. It doesn't make it impossible but it just makes everybody uncomfortable, which is a good thing. I'd like for them to get comfortable with being uncomfortable."
On the women's side, Stanford women brought star power in Rio Olympic gold medalists Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel silver medalist Lia Neal.
"It's awesome to have all these people here and to see Katie [Ledecky] come in and do her thing, and Simone [Manuel] and Lia Neal, we had a lot of Olympians here swimming here today. It was really fun for our guys to race them and to see what they do and learn some things."
The Sun Devils have a quick turnaround, hosting top-ranked Cal men and sixth-ranked Cal women on Saturday at noon. The meet, which starts at noon, features a senior ceremony prior to the meet (11:45 am) in the senior class' final career home meet.
"For tomorrow, we will just step up and keep chipping away at it. Just what we did today. Get up, race as hard as you can, see what you did, learn from it and come back tomorrow, maybe we'll correct some mistakes."
Saturday's meet at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center is free to the public.
"I would like to be a little bit better but overall I liked the way we raced and we did some really good things," reflected head coach Bob Bowman. "I think we handled some really tough conditions pretty well. We made a couple of mistakes on the men's side that would have made it a little closer had we changed a couple of things but all in all, I'm very pleased with their effort. I'm sure that's the closest ASU has come to Stanford in a very long time on the men's side, so we're very happy about that."
Despite the losses, the #12 Sun Devil men posted their best team score vs. #8 Stanford since the 1999-2000 season, when just 10 points separated the two. The ASU "A" men's 200 medley relay – Andrew Porter, Christian Lorenz, Tadas Duskinas, and Richard Bohus – tied the Stanford "A" team early while Bohus, Patrick Park, Duskinas, and Cameron Craig captured a victory in the 400-free relay.
"It's just another step in our process, and it's a good step. The guys stepped up today. I don't know when the men have won a relay against Stanford. We tied one and we won one so I think that's a pretty good step for us. Every meet we have now is just sharpening us up for the Pac-12s. That's the main event for us so that we can qualify people for the NCAAs."
Bowman pinpointed Bohus, Lorenz, and Duskinas for posting top performances against one of the nation's best. Duskinas won the 100 fly and was a member of both top-performing Devil "A" relay teams.
"Richard Bohus raced really hard and Christian Lorenz came through with two wins for us. Tadas Duskinas probably had the best day overall in terms of really stepping up four times. I thought he did an amazing job on that."
Though the rain steadied and worsened throughout the afternoon, Bowman believed the test prepares the teams for adversity down the stretch.
"It doesn't really affect me but when it's really raining like that, they tend to get cold between the races. It just makes everything a little more difficult. It doesn't make it impossible but it just makes everybody uncomfortable, which is a good thing. I'd like for them to get comfortable with being uncomfortable."
On the women's side, Stanford women brought star power in Rio Olympic gold medalists Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel silver medalist Lia Neal.
"It's awesome to have all these people here and to see Katie [Ledecky] come in and do her thing, and Simone [Manuel] and Lia Neal, we had a lot of Olympians here swimming here today. It was really fun for our guys to race them and to see what they do and learn some things."
The Sun Devils have a quick turnaround, hosting top-ranked Cal men and sixth-ranked Cal women on Saturday at noon. The meet, which starts at noon, features a senior ceremony prior to the meet (11:45 am) in the senior class' final career home meet.
"For tomorrow, we will just step up and keep chipping away at it. Just what we did today. Get up, race as hard as you can, see what you did, learn from it and come back tomorrow, maybe we'll correct some mistakes."
Saturday's meet at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center is free to the public.