Before Friday, the last time the ASU women’s swim and dive team defeated the UCLA Bruins, Lattie Coor was still the president of ASU.
But the No. 23 Sun Devils began Veterans Day weekend in their first of two meets defeating No. 25 UCLA on Friday 164.5-134.5, a feat that they haven’t accomplished in ten years.
“I told the women halfway through that I definitely saw determination today,” swim coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker said. “From a team perspective, I’m not really sure I’ve seen that level in my last few years here. It’s nice to see the team elevate to that level.
“I told them that if we wanted to come out this meet, they had to be better than they’ve been all year, and they were.”
With the entire men’s team supporting the women’s team with signs and noisemakers from the grandstands of the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center, ASU emerged immediately in the first race in the 400 medley relay. The Sun Devil “A” and “B” teams placed first and second over both Bruin teams.
One race after the relay, ASU junior Cassie Morrice shattered the school record in the 1000-yard Freestyle, previously held by current teammate sophomore Tristin Baxter. Morrice then went on to win the 500 freestyle later in the meet.
“We had a couple of meets before this, and leading up to it I’ve been able to get my details right,” Morrice said. “And with the school record, my teammate had it, so she’s pushing me for it, and now I’m pushing her for it. I think this is a back-and-forth we need to have on the team.”
Baxter made her season-debut on Friday, competing in just one race, the 500 free, and placed third after she broke her foot prior to the season. While her injury was still noticeable in her race, Tierney-Walker said Baxter was still able to bring her usual intensity.
“I definitely noticed she had problems pushing off the wall, number one,” the 13-year veteran head coach said with a laugh. “But having said that on the flip side, she swam as aggressive as she always does. She likes to swim from the front and was able to do that, maybe not quite at the conditioning level that she’s used to, but we certainly have a long time to get her there.
“When she’s not in the races she’s swimming, our team is definitely not as good as we can be.”
USC takes Tempe by storm
Fresh from defeating UA in Tucson the day before, the No. 8 and No. 5 USC swim and dive teams dominated the meet against ASU on Saturday, winning 198-99 on the men’s side and 198-97 in the women’s races.
The Trojans had an athlete place first in all but two events, with ASU senior Rebecca Ejdervik winning the 100 Breaststroke and senior Cameron Bradshaw winning the 1-meter and 3-meter men’s diving events.
USC senior Katinka Hosszu, a World Championship gold medalist and 2011 NCAA Women’s Swimmer of the Year, beat the NCAA “B” standard in the 200 freestyle and 200 breaststroke events, but was disqualified from the 200 IM.
Hosszu’s male teammate, Vladimir Morozov, nearly beat the Plummer Aquatic Center record and was just .28 seconds shy of passing the NCAA “A” cut with a time of 19.63.
While the Trojans seemed to cloud a lot of the Sun Devils’ success on the weekend, Tierney-Walker was satisfied with some of her athletes’ performances, especially from freshman Zac Dalby, junior Daniel Jurgs, junior Shannon Landgrebe and sophomore Caleb Veazey.
“I think they (the Sun Devils) stepped up nicely as a team, but they need to get a lot better,” Tierney-Walker said. “It’s more of executing your races when the competition is at is best. That’s difficult to do, so that’s what we’re going to focus on.”
Teams rally for UMD
While the Sun Devils clashed with the Bruins and Trojans in the water, the three teams had one common goal at the end of the day: save the Terrapins.
Last week, the University of Maryland announced it was cutting its swim and dive program as a part a slew severe budget cuts the institution was forced to make.
After Friday’s meet concluded, the ASU and UCLA women’s teams posed for a team picture, with a sign that read “Save UMD Swim & Dive” to protest the university’s decision. ASU posed again with USC following Saturday’s meet.
As a result, many teams across the nation have taken part in the protest by doing similar gestures and signing online petitions.
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu
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