TEMPE, Ariz.- No. 1/19 Sun Devil Swim and Dive will return to the pool for the first time in 2024 as they will host Grand Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 11 a.m.
The meet with the Lopes will be the senior meet in the final home meet for the Sun Devils this season.
SUN DEVIL OUTLOOK
The Sun Devils last competed on November 20 where both programs dominated a conference dual meet at Utah with the No. 1 Sun Devil men winning 232-66 and the No. 19 Sun Devil women with the 210.5-88.5 win.
The Sun Devil men and women combined to win 26 events throughout the final meet of the 2023 calendar year.
In the meet with the Utes, Deniz Ertan won the 1000 free for the fifth time of the season and the 500 free for the fourth time this season.
Ilya Kharun, who broke both the program's men's butterfly records a the NC State Invite, swam the second fastest time in program history (1:39.31) in Salt Lake City in addition to winning all of the events he swam.
Ieva Maluka and Lindsay Looney also both won all of their events in Utah as Looney swept all butterfly events.
This weekend's meet will be the first this season for sophomore Zalan Sarkany, who currently holds the school records in both the 1000 free and 1650 free. After an eighth place finish at NCAA's last season in the 1650 free, Zarkany was named an All-American in that event. Sarkany, along with fellow sophomores Jonny Kulow, Hubert Kós and Owen McDonald, combined for 81 points to be the highest scoring freshmen class at NCAA Championships.
A few Sun Devil swimmers and pros competed last month at the U.S. Open Championships which were in Greensboro, N.C. from November 29 through December 2. Looney took the silver in the 200m fly, Kharun took the gold in the 200m fly and Kós won the 200m back. Among the swimmers and pros, they combined for 21 medals as they swept the men's, women's and combined point totals. In addition, three meet records were set throughout the duration of the championships.
OPPONENT OUTLOOK
The GCU women last competed on December 9 in a home dual meet with Northern Colorado where they won 173-125. Both Lopes programs swept Arizona Christian and Ottawa (Arizona).
The Lopes women enter Saturday's meet with an 8-2 record while the GCU men currently sit at 5-3.
The Lopes are led by Steve Schaffer who is in his 16th season with GCU. Last season, he led the Lopes to their best combined Western Athletic Conference Championship finish with both teams taking second.
Current GCU junior Sam Jennings was named WAC Men's Swimmer of the Week on October 11 and sophomore Paula Martinez Moreno won Women's Swimmer of the Week along with divers Reece Robles winning Men's Diver of the Week.
The meet with the Lopes will be the senior meet in the final home meet for the Sun Devils this season.
SUN DEVIL OUTLOOK
The Sun Devils last competed on November 20 where both programs dominated a conference dual meet at Utah with the No. 1 Sun Devil men winning 232-66 and the No. 19 Sun Devil women with the 210.5-88.5 win.
The Sun Devil men and women combined to win 26 events throughout the final meet of the 2023 calendar year.
In the meet with the Utes, Deniz Ertan won the 1000 free for the fifth time of the season and the 500 free for the fourth time this season.
Ilya Kharun, who broke both the program's men's butterfly records a the NC State Invite, swam the second fastest time in program history (1:39.31) in Salt Lake City in addition to winning all of the events he swam.
Ieva Maluka and Lindsay Looney also both won all of their events in Utah as Looney swept all butterfly events.
This weekend's meet will be the first this season for sophomore Zalan Sarkany, who currently holds the school records in both the 1000 free and 1650 free. After an eighth place finish at NCAA's last season in the 1650 free, Zarkany was named an All-American in that event. Sarkany, along with fellow sophomores Jonny Kulow, Hubert Kós and Owen McDonald, combined for 81 points to be the highest scoring freshmen class at NCAA Championships.
A few Sun Devil swimmers and pros competed last month at the U.S. Open Championships which were in Greensboro, N.C. from November 29 through December 2. Looney took the silver in the 200m fly, Kharun took the gold in the 200m fly and Kós won the 200m back. Among the swimmers and pros, they combined for 21 medals as they swept the men's, women's and combined point totals. In addition, three meet records were set throughout the duration of the championships.
OPPONENT OUTLOOK
The GCU women last competed on December 9 in a home dual meet with Northern Colorado where they won 173-125. Both Lopes programs swept Arizona Christian and Ottawa (Arizona).
The Lopes women enter Saturday's meet with an 8-2 record while the GCU men currently sit at 5-3.
The Lopes are led by Steve Schaffer who is in his 16th season with GCU. Last season, he led the Lopes to their best combined Western Athletic Conference Championship finish with both teams taking second.
Current GCU junior Sam Jennings was named WAC Men's Swimmer of the Week on October 11 and sophomore Paula Martinez Moreno won Women's Swimmer of the Week along with divers Reece Robles winning Men's Diver of the Week.