LOS ANGELES, Calif. – With the season approaching the halfway point, the Sun Devil swim and dive teams head to the City of Angels as they face off against two conference foes this weekend.
The road trip marks the beginning of a tough conference schedule for the Sun Devils that includes three of the top-10 ranked teams on the men's side and two for the women.
First on the tap on the weekend is a matchup with No. 7/11 USC, a squad with a strong core of upperclassmen on the women's side. The Trojans have 12 seniors and 10 juniors, including the NCAA champion in the 100 butterfly.
"USC is a very strong team with several world-level competitors on the men's and the women's side," head coach Bob Bowman said. "They have a very good incoming freshmen class, so they'll be a very strong challenge for us."
The trip to Los Angeles comes after a split with Florida State that saw the Sun Devils excel in the long and mid-distance events. The ASU men swept the top four spots in the 500 freestyle and the 1000 freestyle, while the women went 1-2-4 in the 500 free and 1-2-3 in the 1000 free. The Sun Devils also took top honors in the 200 free as well.
"Between Florida State and now, we've been trying to work on a lot of the details at speeds," Bowman said. "Turns, starts, relay takeoffs and a lot of other things that are going to be very important as we head to the invitational at Indiana in three weeks."
In the diving well, ASU looks to build upon a strong showing in Tallahassee that included four Sun Devils achieving NCAA Zone qualifying scores. Youssef Selim and David Hoffer qualified for both springboard events, while Ashley McCool and Frida Kaellgren qualified for 1M. Sprinter Evan Carlson also contributed a B-Cut finish in the 50 freestyle with a time of 19.94.
Selim was his usual self against the Seminoles, taking the top spot in both the 1M and 3M dives. Hoffer, in his first collegiate action in over a year, placed fourth in 1M, but jumped up to second place in the 3M event. McCool placed second in the 1M springboard.
Backstrokers Chloe Isleta and Zach Poti also look to continue their dominance this weekend. Both have won every backstroke event of the season so far, with Isleta notching victories in the 100 and 200 back at Oregon State and both sweeping those events at Florida State.
The freshmen are also a group to watch, with seven men contributing podium finishes against the Seminoles. On the women's side, Ruby Martin has been a consistent cog in the butterfly stroke, placing top-three in the 100 and 200 fly at Florida State and taking top honors earlier this season against the Beavers.
The Sun Devils and Trojans are set for a 1:15 p.m. MST start time Friday, while Saturday's action is slated for a 10:30 a.m. MST start. Fans can keep up with the action by following @ASUSwimDive on Twitter or on Meet Mobile.
The road trip marks the beginning of a tough conference schedule for the Sun Devils that includes three of the top-10 ranked teams on the men's side and two for the women.
First on the tap on the weekend is a matchup with No. 7/11 USC, a squad with a strong core of upperclassmen on the women's side. The Trojans have 12 seniors and 10 juniors, including the NCAA champion in the 100 butterfly.
"USC is a very strong team with several world-level competitors on the men's and the women's side," head coach Bob Bowman said. "They have a very good incoming freshmen class, so they'll be a very strong challenge for us."
The trip to Los Angeles comes after a split with Florida State that saw the Sun Devils excel in the long and mid-distance events. The ASU men swept the top four spots in the 500 freestyle and the 1000 freestyle, while the women went 1-2-4 in the 500 free and 1-2-3 in the 1000 free. The Sun Devils also took top honors in the 200 free as well.
"Between Florida State and now, we've been trying to work on a lot of the details at speeds," Bowman said. "Turns, starts, relay takeoffs and a lot of other things that are going to be very important as we head to the invitational at Indiana in three weeks."
In the diving well, ASU looks to build upon a strong showing in Tallahassee that included four Sun Devils achieving NCAA Zone qualifying scores. Youssef Selim and David Hoffer qualified for both springboard events, while Ashley McCool and Frida Kaellgren qualified for 1M. Sprinter Evan Carlson also contributed a B-Cut finish in the 50 freestyle with a time of 19.94.
Selim was his usual self against the Seminoles, taking the top spot in both the 1M and 3M dives. Hoffer, in his first collegiate action in over a year, placed fourth in 1M, but jumped up to second place in the 3M event. McCool placed second in the 1M springboard.
Backstrokers Chloe Isleta and Zach Poti also look to continue their dominance this weekend. Both have won every backstroke event of the season so far, with Isleta notching victories in the 100 and 200 back at Oregon State and both sweeping those events at Florida State.
The freshmen are also a group to watch, with seven men contributing podium finishes against the Seminoles. On the women's side, Ruby Martin has been a consistent cog in the butterfly stroke, placing top-three in the 100 and 200 fly at Florida State and taking top honors earlier this season against the Beavers.
The Sun Devils and Trojans are set for a 1:15 p.m. MST start time Friday, while Saturday's action is slated for a 10:30 a.m. MST start. Fans can keep up with the action by following @ASUSwimDive on Twitter or on Meet Mobile.