UCLA
Ohio State Invitational
Grover Wins 50 Free to Highlight Day One of OSU Invite
November 21, 2019 | Swimming & Diving
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The UCLA swim and dive team had a solid first day at the Ohio State Invitational in McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, as sophomore Claire Grover won the 50 freestyle championship while the Bruins placed second in the 200 free relay.
Those two strong performances pushed the Bruins to a third-place standing after the first day of competition with a score of 551.5. Host Ohio State leads the women's team scores at 752.
Grover posted a season-best time of 22.13 to grab the top place in the A Final of the 50 free, beating out the second-place finisher by nearly a half-second. That time was good enough for an NCAA B Cut and was the best 50 free time posted by any Bruin swimmer so far this year.
The Scottsdale, Ariz. native had set herself up with a good prelim, as she beat the field with a time of 25.77 in the 50 LMC race.
Freshmen Rachel Rhee and Brooke Schaffer also qualified for the A Final, finishing 8-9. Both Rhee (23.31) and Schaffer (23.27) set collegiate-bests in the final.
Other 50 free finalists included Sophia Kosturos (23.07, 12th), Maisie Jameson (23.19, 13th), Gabrielle Anderson (23.54, 27th), and Gabby Dang (23.45, 32nd).
The Bruins also had a solid showing in the 200 free relay, as the A Team of Grover, Kenisha Liu, Jameson, and Kosturos completed the race in 1:30.40, the best time by a UCLA relay team this year. UCLA missed out on the crown by just 0.5 seconds.
Freshman Daniella Hawkins was UCLA's top finisher in the 500 free championship, placing 13th with a collegiate-best time of 4:49.79. She cut nearly five seconds off her previous season-best.
Other 500 free finalists included Liza Kaunitz (4:54.49, 18th), Stephanie Su (4:50.11, 24th), Lauryn Johnson (4:52.02, 27th), and Lucy Agnew (4:54.27, 35th).
UCLA finished 1-2-3 in the B Final of the 200 IM, led by Liu's B Cut of 1:59.93. She was followed in succession by Ella Kirschke (2:00.51) and Amy Okada (2:00.67).
The Bruins concluded the day with a fifth-place finish in the 400 medley relay. UCLA's A team of Kosturos, Grover, Okada, and Liu completed the medley in 3:37.62, a new season-best.
Junior Alice Yanovsky led the Bruins in the diving portion of the day's events, finishing 12th in the 3M championship with a score of 259.90. Junior Ruby Neave (254.45) and freshman Hannah Butler (250.50) placed 14-15.
UCLA continues action at the Ohio State Invitational on Friday, with prelims starting at 7:00 a.m. PT and finals beginning at 2:00 p.m. PT. Saturday's events include 1M diving, 200 medley relay, 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, and 800 free relay.
Day 1 Scores
1. Ohio State – 752
2. Kentucky – 606
3. UCLA – 551.5
4. Notre Dame – 534
5. Virginia Tech – 388.5
6. Yale – 328
7. Buffalo – 295
8. Ohio University - 153
Players Mentioned
