CORVALLIS, Ore. – The No. 22 Sun Devil women's swimming squad jets up north to the Beaver State Friday to open its 2018-19 campaign against Oregon State.
"I'm excited to get this season started," coach Bob Bowman said. "The women have done a great job in the preseason, and it'll be really fun to see some of the new faces in competition for the first time."
The Sun Devils hold an uncontested all-time series lead over the Beavers to the tune of a 9-0 lead going into the weekend. Both programs both met up last in 2017 in Tempe, when the Sun Devils took the meet by a commanding 164-89 victory. The largest margin of victory over OSU came in 2008, when ASU won by a 131-point difference, 209-78.
"We're looking forward to getting some experience under our belt with this first meet," Bowman said. "It'll give us some race experience to get us off for the rest of the season."
The trip follows the squad's annual intrasquad meet last week headlined by new additions on both the men's and women's side.
A few notable newcomers made their presence in the pool known in the intrasquad including freshman Ruby Martin, who contributed wins in the 100FL and 200FL and led off in the winning 400FR relay foursome.
"Ruby is our highest ranked recruit in this incoming class," Bowman said. "She's someone that has national experience, so we're very excited for her to be on the team and continue to develop."
The Sun Devil women come into their 2018 competition slate with a reinforced roster containing 11 new faces, including 10 freshmen to go along with the returning athletes that include U.S. National Junior team member Emma Nordin and Chloe Isleta, who represented the Philippines over the summer in the Pan Pacific Championships.
Along with Nordin and Isleta, a plethora of swim Devils return, including 2018 NCAA qualifiers Silja Kansakoski and Marlies Ross. As for the newcomers, the overhaul starts with Wisconsin transfer Cierra Runge, whose leadership on the team is felt despite not being able to compete until January.
"Our upperclassmen have had a very good summer, Emma and Chloe included," Bowman said. "I'm excited for them to take the work they did over the summer and carry it into this new season."
Luckily for the women, they return most of the 2017-18 roster as the squad lost just one to graduation, Pac-12 All-Academic honoree Ivana Ninkovic. Although Ninkovic provided valuable depth for the Sun Devils in the breaststroke, Kansakoski is set to take the block again as one of the premiere breaststroker in maroon and gold.
The Sun Devils take the block in Corvallis at 6 p.m. MST. Fans can follow the action by following @ASUSwimDive on Twitter or on Meet Mobile.