TEMPE – Capping off one of the most historic weekends in school history, Sun Devil Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving bombarded No. 2/11 Cal on Saturday afternoon at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
It was tabbed as one of the most anticipated meets in all of college swimming this year, but even that didn't capture the excitement that ultimately unfolded in Tempe. The Sun Devils won 22 swimming events in front of a lively home crowd, keeping their foot on the gas against one of the country's most prolific programs.
Less than 24 hours from beating the nationally-ranked Stanford Cardinal, the No. 1 Sun Devil Men bested the reigning national champions in the No. 2 California Golden Bears. The Sun Devil Women pieced together their best showing of the season to upset No. 11 Cal.
FINAL:
No. 1 ASU Men 211, No. 2 Cal Men 87
ASU Women 191.5, No. 11 Cal Women 96.5
Sophomore Léon Marchand unleashed a new NCAA record in the 400 yard IM, with a time of 3:31.84.
LEON MARCHAND JUST BROKE THE NCAA RECORD WITH A 3:31.84 IN THE 400 IM ??
— Kyle Sockwell (@kylesockwell) January 21, 2023
FASTEST TIME IN HISTORY!! pic.twitter.com/rMMPtl35HP
Marchand's record-breaking swim was one of many highlights for a Sun Devil program that produced arguably the best dual meet in program history.
SUN DEVIL NOTABLES
- Lindsay Looney was a perfect three-for-three in individual events on the afternoon. She won the 200 free, 200 fly and 500 free and was also a member of the winning 400 free relay team.
- Sophomores Iza Adame and Charli Brown were also sensational, as they combined for three wins. Adame won both the 100 breast and 200 breast and Brown took first in the 400 IM.
- Like Adame, Grant House added a pair of wins on the Men's side of things by winning both the 100 free and 200 free.
- Molly Batchelor had one of her finest days as a Sun Devil, winning the 100 free and taking second in the 50 free and 500 free.
- Erin Milligan, one of the Sun Devils' best sprinters, took second in the 100 free and third in the 50 free.
- Hubert Kos and Zalan Sarkany, who recently joined the team at the start of the spring semester, have been fantastic in their first taste of action. Sarkany won both the 500 free and 1000 free -- breaking his school record in the 1000 free -- while Kos had a trio of second-place finishes on Saturday.
OMG OMG OMG@leon_marchand sets a new NCAA record in the 400 IM (3:31.84) ??
— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) January 21, 2023
THIS PLACE IS ROCKING ?? pic.twitter.com/wGXUiAe6QV
EVENT BY EVENT BREAKDOWN:
Women 200 Yard Medley Relay:
The first race of the afternoon featured the top Sun Devil Women relay team taking second out of six relay teams. The group of Charli Brown-Iza Adame-Jade Foelske-Erin Milligan raced a time of 1:39.49 to claim the first points for ASU on the day.
Men 200 Yd Medley Relay:
The opening race between the No. 1 Sun Devils and No. 2 Golden Bears lived up to the hype, as ASU grabbed the top two spots, beating out both Cal relay teams. The star-studded group of Jack Dolan-Léon Marchand-Max McCusker-Grant House swam a 1:22.77, and just behind them was the Sun Devil's second relay team consisting of Jack Wadsworth-John Heaphy-Cody Bybee-Jonny Kulow finishing in 1:24.29.
Women 1000 yd Freestyle:
Two Sun Devil freshmen placed in the top-three to secure big points for the Women's team early in this one. Freshman Katherine Randall, who has already emerged as one of the top long-distance options for the Sun Devils, outpaced the competition by an outstanding 20 seconds to secure first place with a time of 9:50.14. Mackenzie Nedom rounded out the top-three with her third-place effort of 10:15.77.
Men 1000 yd freestyle
On the Men's side, the Sun Devils dominated the water with a sweep of the podium over the Golden Bears. Freshman Zalan Sarkany, fresh off breaking the school record in his debut race yesterday, set a new record with a time of 8:50.25, beating out the competition by 13 seconds. Behind him were fellow Sun Devils Daniel Matheson (9:03.78) and Jake Mason (9:12.44).
Women 200 yd freestyle
The Sun Devil Women went 1-2 in the event with Lindsay Looney continuing her stellar weekend and touching the wall at 1:45.65. Behind her was Ieva Maluka with a time of 1:46.93. It was the first of three wins for Looney on the day.
Men 200 yd freestyle
Winning their fifth straight race to begin the day, Grant House was the star in this one with his swim of 1:31.84. Patrick Sammon placed in third with a swim of 1:33.96. Like Looney, House would carry additional success well into the afternoon.
Women 100 yd backstroke
The star sophomore from Australia, Charli Brown took second in the event with a time of 53.74 to give ASU important points in the dual. Brown has emerged as one of the Sun Devils' top backstroker.
Men 100 yd backstroke
The Golden Bears finished first in the race but the Sun Devils were closely behind as they went 2-3 in the event. Hubert Kos swam a time of 47.07 while Owen McDonald was closely behind with a time of 47.12.
Women 100 yd Breaststroke
The Sun Devil Women swept the event, led by Iza Adame with her time of 1:00.74. Following her were teammates Ginger McMahon and Emma Gehlert swimming times of 1:01.84 and 1:02.32, respectively, to add to their lead against the nationally-ranked Golden Bears. Adame has been magnificent all weekend, and would later add a second victory in the 200 breast.
Men 100 yd Breaststroke
Super sophomore Léon Marchand continues to be in a league of his own, winning this one at 51.01, outpacing the entire race by two seconds. He set a new school record, less than 24 hours after breaking it yesterday with his time of 51.15.
Women's 200 yd Butterfly
Looney secured her second victory of the day with a breezy 1:53.97, beating out the competition by about three-and-a-half seconds, and her teammate Jadé Foelske brought in more points for the Sun Devils with a swim of 1:57.14 to take second place.
Men's 200 yd Butterfly
The race featured another ASU victory as Alexander Colson swam a 1:41.45 with teammate Andrew Gray finishing at a 1:43.20. Colson and Gray have combined to post some of the fastest 200 fly times in program history, and couldn't be outdone by the Golden Bears in this one.
Women's 50 yd Freestyle
In the fastest race of the day -- the splash-and-dash -- the Sun Devils were unable to claim the top spot but were successful in placing two in the top three. Molly Batchelor swam a quick 23.07 with teammate Erin Milligan finishing in third with a 23.15. Batchelor wound up having a career-day, as she added a victory and a pair of second-place finishes. The Sun Devils held the lead into the first break over the Golden Bears, 76-55.
Men's 50 yd Freestyle
It was the Men's turn to sprint as redshirt junior Jack Dolan, owner of the fastest 50 free in team history, claimed the top spot with a swim of 19.21. His teammate Max McCusker took third with his 19.75. The Sun Devils continue to look the part of the country's top-ranked team, blasting the No. 2 Golden Bears 93-38 going into the first break.
Men's 1-meter dive
The Sun Devils' couldn't catch Cal's Joshua Thai, who won this event, but Zachory Lundgren was closest behind (283.43). Freshman Lane Stallworth rounded out the top-three in this event, with his effort of 287.03.
Women's 3-meter dive
Amayah Wiley (258.60) edged out Ashlyn Kirsch (207.08) in this event, as the two dueled against each other with no Cal entries.
Women's 100 yard Freestyle
Returning from the break, the Sun Devil Women kept their foot on the gas and swept the top-three positions from the Golden Bears. Batchelor was victorious with a swim of 49.44, closely behind by four-one-hundredths of a second was Milligan (49.48) and Maluka (49.56) to round out the top-three.
Keeping the foot on the gas ??
— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) January 21, 2023
Batchelor-Milligan-Maluka go 1-2-3 in the 100 free ?? pic.twitter.com/0JTSky9fBt
Men's 100 yard freestyle
The second race out from the break, House was able to finish in front of Dolan by an astounding one-one-hundredth of a second, with swims of 42.63 and 42.64, respectively, to increase the ASU lead.
Women's 200 yard Backstroke
Backstroke specialist Charli Brown struck again, this time taking second at 1:57.60. Emma Gatzke finished in fourth, her best performance of the afternoon, with a swim of 2:00.85.
Men's 200 yd backstroke
ASU finished 2-3 behind the Golden Bears, but got critical points in the process. Freshman Hubert Kos, in his second day as a Sun Devil, claimed second (1:41.48) and rookie Owen McDonald swam a 1:44.45 to take third.
Women's 200 yd Breastroke
It was the third Sun Devil sweep of the day for the women with the California native Adame winning the race with a 2:12.57. In second was Emma Gehlert (2:13.44), and closely behind was Izzy Krantzcke who swam a 2:14.98, respectively. With four women races remaining in the dual, the Sun Devils had completely pulled away from the No. 11 Golden Bears, holding on to a 128-73 lead.
LET'S GO LADIES ??
— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) January 21, 2023
Adame-Gehlert-Krantzcke-Summar go 1-2-3-4 in the 200 breast ?? pic.twitter.com/TqBrDMzhG1
Men's 200 yd Breaststroke
He's done it again: Marchand continued his dominance with his second win of the day (1:48.82). He remains unbeaten in the event and was only six-tenths of a second from breaking his own record in the race.
HE'S UNREAL ??@leon_marchand is victorious once more in the 200 breast, touching the wall at 1:48.82 ?? pic.twitter.com/1qusdYdIwc
— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) January 21, 2023
Women's 500 yd Freestyle
Looney put the finishing touches on a stellar stellar weekend with another win (4:45.59). Batchelor (4:46.90) wasn't far behind and Randall rounded out the top-three with a time of 4:50.60.
Men's 500 yd freestyle
Sarkany continued his dominance in the distance events with his fourth win of the weekend with his time of 4:17.81. The Sun Devils continued their momentum sweeping the podium again as Julian Hill finished in 4:19.96 and being followed by teammate Andrew Gray (4:23.02).
Women's 100 yd Butterfly
The Sun Devil Women certainly began to smell victory, and Foelske pushed the tempo once more. She finished in a rare tie for first-place with a swim of 53.48, to split the 6.5 points with the Golden Bears. Finishing third was teammate Maluka (53.70) to push the Sun Devil lead to 68 points.
Men 100 yd Butterfly
The domination continued as the Sun Devils swept the top-3 spots in the butterfly with McCusker taking first with a time of 45.67, Colson swimming a 46.14 and redshirt senior Cody Bybee taking third with a 46.68. ASU grew their lead by an incredible 98 points over the Golden Bears, 171-73 heading into the second break.
Men's 3-meter dive
Cal's lone diver took the top spot in this event, but was trailed by the runner-up Thomas Wesche, who scored a 306.83 across six attempts.
Women's 1-meter dive
The Golden Bears didn't have Women's divers competing, but Ashlyn Kirsch scored a 224.25 and Amayah Wiley scored a 210.83.
Women's 400 yd IM
With just four events remaining, Charli Brown steamrolled the competition by 11 seconds with a time of 4:11.05 to hold the lead for the Sun Devil women. It marks the 19th win by the team for the entire dual.
CHARLI BROWN ??
— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) January 21, 2023
She wins the 400 IM a full 11 SECONDS faster than the runner-up ?? pic.twitter.com/krHo1EATjp
Men's 400 yd IM
The Frenchman Léon Marchand saved his best for last and kept his undefeated streak alive by breaking the NCAA record in the 400 yard IM with a time of 3:31.84. Teammate Hubert Kos added his third second-place finish of the afternoon, touching the wall at 3:43.77. Taking third was teammate David Schlicht, who finished with a 3:46.52 to make it another sweep of the top three positions.
Marchand's finish sent the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center into a frenzy, as teammates and fans alike roared throughout his record-setting performance.
Women's 400 yd Freestyle Relay
The relays consisted of the Sun Devils Women finishing off the successful day by taking first and third. The winning squad of Looney-Maluka-Milligan-Batchelor won with a time of 3:17.42, and the second ASU relay team took third with Elli Straume-Indigo Armon-Jade Foelske-Gatzke swimming a 3:22.23. The Sun Devil women's team successfully fulfilled the upset over the No.11 ranked Golden bears with a score of 191.5-96.5.
They jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
Men's 400 yd Freestyle Relay:
The grand finale saw the No. 1 Sun Devils asserting their dominance over the Golden Bears by claiming the top-two spots in the relay. The top relay team of McCusker-House-Patrick Sammon-Kulow swam a 2:48.25 as ASU's second relay take came in right behind them that consisted of Dolan-Cody Bybee-Julian Hall-Tiago Behar (2:52.46). It was the perfect finish to a historic weekend, in which the Sun Devil Men defeated the No. 2 Golden Bears, 211-87.
UP NEXT
After completing this stretch of three meets in the last week, the Sun Devil Swim & Dive program will have a two-week break before their next action. They'll welcome in-state rival Arizona to the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center on Saturday, February 4 (12 p.m. MST) to close out the regular season.