TEMPE – In the most anticipated meet of the regular season, No. 4/17 Sun Devil Swim and Dive heads to the Lone Star State for the Eddie Reese Showdown, competing against No. 6/8 N.C State, No. 1/2 Texas and No. 18/1 Virginia beginning Friday with a morning session at 9 a.m MST and then an evening session at 4:30 p.m. MST. The meet concludes Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
Friday's evening session can be seen on SEC Network+ as part of an ESPN+ subscription, live results can also be seen here.
Texas has the No. 1 men's team in the country and the No. 2 women's team in the nation. While Virginia has the No. 1 women's team and has won four straight national title, their men's team is currently ranked No. 17 in the country. This meet will be the third time the Sun Devils have raced against the Wolfpack, who have the No. 6 men's team in the nation and the No. 9 women's team in the latest CSCAA rankings.
The meet commences Friday morning starting with the 200 medley relay, 500 free, 200 IM and the 50 free. The Friday night session will feature the 200 free relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, diving and the 400 medley relay. Saturday morning it will conclude with the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 1650 free and the 400 free relay.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Sun Devils defeated the No. 23/24 Gophers nearly two weeks ago in Tempe after balanced efforts by the mens and womens teams.
Ilya Kharun shined by winning both the 100 and 200 fly events, and helping the team win the 200 medley relay. Andy Dorbzanski swept the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and was also part of the winning 200 medley relay team.
Jono Adam managed to win both the 100 back and the 200 back, which helped him win his first weekly honor by being named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.
For the season, Kharun currently has the fastest 200 fly time in the country at 1:38.74, and the second fastest time in the 50 free (18.51), 100 fly (43.85) heading into the quad-meet.
Caroline Bentz won the 50 free (22.23) and the 200 back (1:54.61) en route to earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week. Iza Adame swept the breaststroke events against the Gophers, winning the 100 breast in 1:00.22 and the 200 breast in 2:12.40 helping ASU to a victory. Julia Ullmann won the 100 fly (53.30) and placed second in the 200 fly (1:59.07).
OPPONENT OUTLOOK:
No. 1/2 Texas Longhorns:
About the Eddie Reese Showdown:
It's the inaugural meet in the name of legendary head coach Eddie Reese, who won 15 national titles and coached numerous olympians in his time at Texas. Admission is free for the event and can be seen on SEC Network+. Reese was head coach at Texas for 46 seasons (1979-2024) and had 45 consecutive conference titles. He also coached for three olympic teams for the United States (1992, 2004, and 2008)
BIG AWARD WINNERS:
Sun Devil Swim and Dive have won 25 Big 12 weekly awards since the season began from 11 different athletes, including sweeping the swimming awards five times since the season began on Oct. 4.
Ilya Kharun earned his fifth weekly conference honor after his performance against No. 24 Minnesota in the victory. Graduate Jono Adam won his first career weekly honor being newcomer of the week after sweeping the 100 and 200 backstroke. Iza Adame won her first career weekly award after sweeping the 100 and 200 breaststroke, and also helping the Sun Devils win the 200 medley relay. Caroline Bentz earned her seventh weekly conference honor after pacing the Sun Devils to a ranked victory over the No. 23 Gopher by being named newcomer of the week.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Sun Devils remain ranked in both the men and women's CSCAA January polls. The men checked in at No. 4 in the country, down a spot from their No. 3 ranking in December and the women moved down a spot to No. 17. Both are the only teams to represent the Big 12 Conference.
Sun Devils at Short Course World Championships:
Four Sun Devils performed at the World Aquatics Short Course World Championships taking place in Budapest, Hungary on Dec. 10-15. Ilya Kharun represented Canada, Daniel Matheson represented the United States, Deniz Ertan represented Turkey and freshman Tolu Young for Fiji.
Kharun won three medals total, highlighted by becoming a world champion in the 200m butterfly and setting a Canadian Record of 1:48.24. He also won silver in the 50 fly (20.80) and secured a bronze medal in the 4x100 mixed medley relay swimming a 48.27 100m fly.
Young broke two national records for Fiji, swimming a 21.70 50m free and a 23.11 50 fly. Matheson appeared in seven events in Budapest and Ertan had two top-25 finishes in the 500 free and the 800 free.
RETURNING OLYMPIANS:
The Sun Devils return five total Olympians who have competed in the Olympics. Deniz Ertan and Miriam Sheehan both competed in Tokyo in 2021. Tiago Behar, freshman Tolu Young and Ilya Kharun all swam for their respective countries in 2024 in Paris.
Kharun, representing Canada, garnered two bronze medals in Paris, coming in the 200m and the 100m fly after coming off a freshman year where he claimed the 200y fly individual title at NCAA Championships. Similar to his teammate Matheson, he'll also be competing in Budapest at the short-course world championships. Kharun currently holds the school record in the 100 fly (43.95) and 200 fly (1:37.93).
Looking Ahead:
Sun Devil Swim and Dive will then prepare for in-state rival Arizona and celebrate the seniors on Feb. 8. The meet will begin at 12 p.m MST. Follow the team's Twitter/X account, @ASUSwimDive and on Instagram @sundevilswimdive.
How to Follow:
Follow the meet on Meet mobile and on the team's social media accounts on Twitter/X @ASUSwimDive and on Instagram @sundevilswimdive.
Friday's evening session can be seen on SEC Network+ as part of an ESPN+ subscription, live results can also be seen here.
Texas has the No. 1 men's team in the country and the No. 2 women's team in the nation. While Virginia has the No. 1 women's team and has won four straight national title, their men's team is currently ranked No. 17 in the country. This meet will be the third time the Sun Devils have raced against the Wolfpack, who have the No. 6 men's team in the nation and the No. 9 women's team in the latest CSCAA rankings.
The meet commences Friday morning starting with the 200 medley relay, 500 free, 200 IM and the 50 free. The Friday night session will feature the 200 free relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, diving and the 400 medley relay. Saturday morning it will conclude with the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 1650 free and the 400 free relay.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Sun Devils defeated the No. 23/24 Gophers nearly two weeks ago in Tempe after balanced efforts by the mens and womens teams.
Ilya Kharun shined by winning both the 100 and 200 fly events, and helping the team win the 200 medley relay. Andy Dorbzanski swept the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and was also part of the winning 200 medley relay team.
Jono Adam managed to win both the 100 back and the 200 back, which helped him win his first weekly honor by being named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.
For the season, Kharun currently has the fastest 200 fly time in the country at 1:38.74, and the second fastest time in the 50 free (18.51), 100 fly (43.85) heading into the quad-meet.
Caroline Bentz won the 50 free (22.23) and the 200 back (1:54.61) en route to earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week. Iza Adame swept the breaststroke events against the Gophers, winning the 100 breast in 1:00.22 and the 200 breast in 2:12.40 helping ASU to a victory. Julia Ullmann won the 100 fly (53.30) and placed second in the 200 fly (1:59.07).
OPPONENT OUTLOOK:
No. 1/2 Texas Longhorns:
- Texas has the top ranked men's team in the country and are coming off a dominant 237-63 win over SMU. Their women are No. 2 in the country and also are unbeaten going into this week.
- The Texas men boast the two fastest 500 free times in the country by Rex Maurer (4:04.45) and David Johnston (4:09.41). Johnston also has the fastest 1000 free time in the country (8:39.25)
- For the Texas women, Jillian Cox has the fastest times in the 500, 1000 and 1650 free.
- Emma Sticklen has the fastest 200 fly time in the country at 1:49.54, the only swimmer to have a sub-1:50 time currently. She also has the fastest time in the 200 IM at 1:52.75.
- The Virginia Cavaliers Women's Swimming have won the last four National Championships and are ranked No. 1 in the country.
- In the previous swim meet against rival Virginia Tech, The Virginia women won all but two races and swept the diving events. Ultimately beating Virginia Tech 215 to 85.
- On her senior day, Olympian Gretchen Walsh logged the fastest 50 Fly split ever in the 200 Medley Relay. Walsh posted a 20.87 in her leg, beating her own previous fastest split (21.50) set last January. Walsh also set pool records in the 50 Free (20.73) and the 100 Free (46.12).
- Walsh currently has the fastest 50 free (20.54) 100 free (46.12) time in the country. She also has the fastest 100 fly (48.26) in the country.
- Virginia's women has the fastest 200 and 400 free relay times in the country, with Texas having the second best times in both events.
- The Cavalier men won two events, with freshman David King taking the 1000 Free with a 9:03.43 and Hayden Bellotti the 200 Fly with a 1:43.69. Ultimately falling short to Virginia Tech 198 to 102.
- Spencer Nicholas's time of 45.93 in the 100 Back ranks fifth on the UVA all-time list. He finished second in the race.
- In their previous matchup against rival North Carolina,The No. 6-ranked NC State women's swimming and diving team and the No. 9-ranked men's team put on a show at the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center, with both teams sweeping North Carolina in a home dual meet. The women secured a 170.5-129.5 victory, while the men followed with 165-134.
- Junior Lance Norris set the tone for the men's team in the 1000 freestyle, breaking both the pool and school records with an outstanding time of 8:43.60. In the process, Norris surpassed a seven-year-old record previously held by Anton Ipsen, marking a major milestone in the program's history.
- Leah Shackley raised the bar for the Wolfpack, cementing her place in the record books with two new pool records during the meet against North Carolina. She delivered impressive performances, posting times of 1:54.30 in the 200 butterfly and 1:50.56 in the 200 backstroke. Her 200 fly time also allowed her to reclaim the pool record, which she had first set during NC State's dual meet with Arizona State.
- This marks the third time this season the Sun Devils are racing against N.C. State, the first coming in a dual meet in October, and the second time was at the NC State GAC Invitational in November.
About the Eddie Reese Showdown:
It's the inaugural meet in the name of legendary head coach Eddie Reese, who won 15 national titles and coached numerous olympians in his time at Texas. Admission is free for the event and can be seen on SEC Network+. Reese was head coach at Texas for 46 seasons (1979-2024) and had 45 consecutive conference titles. He also coached for three olympic teams for the United States (1992, 2004, and 2008)
BIG AWARD WINNERS:
Sun Devil Swim and Dive have won 25 Big 12 weekly awards since the season began from 11 different athletes, including sweeping the swimming awards five times since the season began on Oct. 4.
Ilya Kharun earned his fifth weekly conference honor after his performance against No. 24 Minnesota in the victory. Graduate Jono Adam won his first career weekly honor being newcomer of the week after sweeping the 100 and 200 backstroke. Iza Adame won her first career weekly award after sweeping the 100 and 200 breaststroke, and also helping the Sun Devils win the 200 medley relay. Caroline Bentz earned her seventh weekly conference honor after pacing the Sun Devils to a ranked victory over the No. 23 Gopher by being named newcomer of the week.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Sun Devils remain ranked in both the men and women's CSCAA January polls. The men checked in at No. 4 in the country, down a spot from their No. 3 ranking in December and the women moved down a spot to No. 17. Both are the only teams to represent the Big 12 Conference.
Sun Devils at Short Course World Championships:
Four Sun Devils performed at the World Aquatics Short Course World Championships taking place in Budapest, Hungary on Dec. 10-15. Ilya Kharun represented Canada, Daniel Matheson represented the United States, Deniz Ertan represented Turkey and freshman Tolu Young for Fiji.
Kharun won three medals total, highlighted by becoming a world champion in the 200m butterfly and setting a Canadian Record of 1:48.24. He also won silver in the 50 fly (20.80) and secured a bronze medal in the 4x100 mixed medley relay swimming a 48.27 100m fly.
Young broke two national records for Fiji, swimming a 21.70 50m free and a 23.11 50 fly. Matheson appeared in seven events in Budapest and Ertan had two top-25 finishes in the 500 free and the 800 free.
RETURNING OLYMPIANS:
The Sun Devils return five total Olympians who have competed in the Olympics. Deniz Ertan and Miriam Sheehan both competed in Tokyo in 2021. Tiago Behar, freshman Tolu Young and Ilya Kharun all swam for their respective countries in 2024 in Paris.
Kharun, representing Canada, garnered two bronze medals in Paris, coming in the 200m and the 100m fly after coming off a freshman year where he claimed the 200y fly individual title at NCAA Championships. Similar to his teammate Matheson, he'll also be competing in Budapest at the short-course world championships. Kharun currently holds the school record in the 100 fly (43.95) and 200 fly (1:37.93).
Looking Ahead:
Sun Devil Swim and Dive will then prepare for in-state rival Arizona and celebrate the seniors on Feb. 8. The meet will begin at 12 p.m MST. Follow the team's Twitter/X account, @ASUSwimDive and on Instagram @sundevilswimdive.
How to Follow:
Follow the meet on Meet mobile and on the team's social media accounts on Twitter/X @ASUSwimDive and on Instagram @sundevilswimdive.