Bruins Win A3 Performance Invite
November 22, 2015 | Swimming & Diving
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Bruins swept the competition on the final day of the A3 Performance invite to win the meet by 380.5 points. UCLA won five of six events on Saturday, with former Bruin Noelle Tarazona winning the sixth. Freshman Emma Schanz and junior Linnea Mack posted two wins each on the weekend. Overall, the Bruins dominated the pool, winning 12 of 18 events.
200 Backstroke
The Bruins kicked off day three with junior Madison White posting the top mark in the prelims of the 200 Back (1:56.09). White advanced to the A final along with sophomore Marie-Pierre Delisle, who finished seventh in the morning swim with a 2:01.56. Freshman Sabrina Kwok and junior Nina Hayes qualified for the B final with 10th- and 15th-place finishes in the prelims, while junior Emily Hammond made the D race.
In the evening session, White finished first in the championship final with a 1:54.70, a new pool record. Improving her time from the morning swim, Delisle recorded the sixth-best time overall. Kwok and Hayes posted 10th- and 15th-place finishes in the consolation final with marks of 2:01.13 and 2:05.13, respectively. Hammond finished fourth in the D race (28th overall) with a 2:07.45.
1650 Freestyle
Freshman Sandra Soe was victorious in the 1650 Free, posting the top time of 16:25.06. Soe bested the competition by 14 seconds. Junior Hayden Walker recorded the fifth-best time (17:04.17), while senior Shannon Cheung placed 14th with a 17:34.86.
100 Freestyle
UCLA advanced nine to the evening session. Mack and Caroline McTaggart went 1, 2 in the morning swim with a 50.11 and 50.72, respectively. Finishing eighth in the prelims, senior Madison Applegate also advanced to the championship final. Kwok and freshman Alex Hubel advanced to the consolation final with marks of 51.52 and 51.75, respectively, while junior Savannah Steffen made the C race. Sophomores Carly Reid and Maddy Burnham and freshman Mary Pelton each advanced to the D race.
In the championship final, McTaggart and Mack switched places from the morning session. McTaggart edged Mack to finish first with a 49.37. Mack swam the second-best time of 50.06, while Applegate placed seventh with a 51.54. In the consolation final, Hubel finished first (ninth overall) with a 51.11 and Kwok swam the 13th-best overall time (51.49). Steffen won the C race, while Pelton, Reid, and Burnham finished 26th, 28th, and 30th overall, respectively.
200 Breaststroke
A pair of Bruin freshmen qualified for the evening finals of the 200 Breast. Emma Schanz advanced to the A final with a 2:17.38, while Elena Escalas made the B final with a 2:20.51.
Schanz won her second event of the meet and established a new pool record. Her top time of 2:12.55 in the championship final bested the field by three seconds. Escalas finished sixth in the consolation final (14th overall) with a 2:20.33.
200 Butterfly
Sophomore Katie Grover and White finished first and second, respectively, in the morning swim. The pair advanced to the championship final with senior Arlyn Upshaw and former teammate Noelle Tarazona. Delisle was the only Bruin to make the B final, as Hubel qualified for the C race and Michaela Merlihan made the D race.
In the championship final, Tarazona and the Bruins nabbed the top four spots. Tarazona finished first with a 1:56.64, while Grover, Upshaw, and White went 2, 3, 4. Delisle swam the top time in the consolation final (2:02.06), finishing ninth overall. Hubel finished first in the C race, while Merlihan placed third in the D race (27th overall).
400 Freestyle Relay
Ending the meet as they began it, the Bruins recorded the top time in a relay. This time, the quartet of White, Grover, Mack, and McTaggart won the 400 Free Relay (3:20.12). On Thursday, the foursome posted the top time in the 200 Free Relay.
Next up, UCLA swimming heads to Texas to compete in the Texas Invitational, Dec. 3-5. Prelims will begin at 7 a.m. PST, with finals beginning at 4 p.m. PST each day. Bruin diving will compete against the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Dec. 4-5.
