TEMPE, Ariz. – When the Sun Devils head south this weekend, making the 110-mile trek to Tucson, it'll serve as their first meeting with in-state rival Arizona in 728 days.
And for the last 24 months, the Wildcats have had to stew about the February 8, 2020, staggering loss in Tempe that saw the Sun Devils win by their largest margin in the rivalry since at least 1998.
The Sun Devils will put a bow on the 2021-22 regular season on Saturday at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center against the No. 20/23 Men's and Women's Wildcats squads, beginning at 12:00 p.m. MST.
CSCAA RANKINGS
No. 6 - Sun Devil Men's
No. 20 - Arizona Men's
No. 23 - Arizona Women's
NR - Sun Devil Women's
PREVIEWING THE WILDCATS
- The Wildcats are led by Augie Busch, who became the head Swim & Dive coach for Arizona in July of 2017, spent some time as the head coach in Virginia (2013-2017) before his position with Arizona.
- The No. 20 ranked Men's team (1-3) had its lone win against SMU on January 8, with losses against USC, Cal and Stanford.
- The No. 23 ranked Women's team (1-4) had its lone win against UCLA on Nov. 6, with losses coming against, Washington State, USC, Cal and Stanford.
- During the 2020-2021 regular season, the Wildcat Men's team's only loss came at the UNLV Invitational. They finished their abbreviated season with a 1-1 record.
- For the women's 2020-2021 regular season, their only loss also happened at the UNLV Invitational. They finished that year with a 3-1 record, racking up wins at Grand Canyon and at a New Mexico State/Northern Arizona tri-meet.
- A steady force in the Wildcats success this season is Tucson native Brooks Fail, who won the 200 fly, 400 IM, 500 & 1000 free in the win over SMU. Wildcat Men's relays won the 200 & 400 free relays, along with the 200 & 400 medley relays, a few weeks ago against SMU, as well. They'll go toe-to-toe with the Sun Devils' potent relay squads, some of which have set new school records this season in various events.
- As freshman last season, Julia Heimstead and Amalie Mortensen qualified for the NCAA B-cut in the 100 fly and 200 free, respectively. At last season's Pac-12 Championships, diver Delaney Schnell broke the school and conference record in the platform dive.
Bob Bowman's men's (0-3) team is looking for an opportunity to notch their first win of the regular season, meanwhile, the women's team (2-3) is looking to finish at the .500 level. The Sun Devils did some damage at the November NC State Invite, in which a handful of program records were shattered and the history books were rewritten.
LAST TIME OUT
Freshman Sun Devil sensation Léon Marchand earned himself a couple of victories against Stanford in the 200 IM and 200 back and two more against Cal in the 200 breast and the 400 IM on the team's California road trip on January 21-22. Senior Erica Laning also took home some victories in the 200 free race, beating Stanford's 2020 Olympic Silver Medalist Brooke Forde. Against Cal, Laning delivered the women's only win in the 1000 free.
The Sun Devils also had a pair of divers who debuted for the first time this season while in California, in transfers Thomas Wesche and Zachory Lundgren. In the first meet of his Sun Devil career against Stanford, Lundgren qualified for the Zone E NCAA Diving Championships with a score of 334.80 in the 3-meter dive.
UP NEXT
After the last meet of the regular season, the Sun Devils will devote their attention to the postseason for the respective Pac-12 Championships in Seattle. The women's team will compete from February 23-26, while the men's squad will compete the week after from March 2-5.
FOLLOW THE SUN DEVILS
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