The men's and women’s ASU swimming teams couldn't keep up with No. 1 Stanford in their rainy dual meet Friday but both came closer than anticipated.
The men came into the competition at home undefeated — their closest matchup this season coming from a tough competition against Pac-12 opponent USC. The young-but-talented women’s team came into the meet with a 4-2 record looking to show off their season-long improvements.
ASU and Stanford swimmers warming up for today's PAC-12 clash @statepresssport pic.twitter.com/s96zWD4Qdw
— Anthony Totri (@Anthony_Totri) January 20, 2017
The men's team racked up 141 points by the end of the meet, but it wasn't enough to top Stanford’s 159 points.
A slow start from the men allowed Stanford to take first and second place in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle. Soon after, the Cardinal took the lead, but the unpredictable Arizona weather seemed to change the momentum of the race as the rain began to fall.
Almost simultaneously, ASU junior Christian Lorenz seized control of the pool and finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke (55.41) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:00.46). Lorenz said he was happy with not only his performance but with the team’s as well.
Thanks to all @ASUSwimDive fans who braved the weather to support us today! Make sure to come out tomorrow @ 11:45 to send off our seniors!
— Christian Lorenz (@CLorenz95) January 21, 2017
“It’s kind of showing ASU is something,” Lorenz said. “We are coming from something that wasn’t great, but we are on our way up.”
While Lorenz put the other swimmers on notice, the same could be said for Stanford senior Sam Perry, who also took first in two events.
The ASU women had a tougher time catching the Cardinal, as they only placed first once in the individual events. The talented freshman Chloe Isleta placed first in the 200-yard IM (2:02.06).
“Just seeing what we did in the water is amazing,” Isleta said.
The lopsided score of 178-113 does not tell the whole story, as the women were neck-and-neck in several races.
Overall, the performance by the No. 16 Sun Devils was surprisingly close against the current team to beat in the NCAA..
That impressive show of strength was witnessed by Olympians Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel and Richard Bohus who were in attendance at Friday's meet.
Head coach Bob Bowman said there were obviously some positives and negatives to be taken from the competition, but at the end of the day, he is pleased with both team’s performances.
“Every meet we have now is just sharpening us up for the Pac-12s,” he said.
ASU will get right back to work Saturday in another conference matchup against the California Bears at noon.
Reach the reporter at atotri@asu.edu or follow @Anthony_Totri on Twitter.
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