FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – The UCLA swim and dive team opened the 2020 Pac-12 Championships with a pair of strong relay performances on Wednesday night at the King County Aquatic Center, highlighted by a school-record time in the 400 medley relay.
The Bruins posted a sixth-place finish in the 800 free relay, posting a time of 7:04.67 that served as a new season-best and registered as an NCAA B Cut.
Senior Kenisha Liu was the standout for the Bruins' A Team in the 800 free relay, leading off with a best time of 1:44.37 to get UCLA into strong position. Freshman Brooke Schaffer, freshman Rachel Rhee, and sophomore Olivia Andrew followed with cuts under 1:47.00 to help the Bruins trim over 18 seconds off their previous season-best in that relay.
With her new time in the 200 free, Liu currently ranks 19th in the NCAA this season and is virtually assured of a spot at NCAAs.
Sophomore Delaney Smith turned in a 1:45.67 – the second-best cut by any Bruin on Wednesday – to lead the UCLA Bs to a 7:13.38 finish.
UCLA followed up with a fifth-place result in the 400 medley relay at 3:33.81, topping the previous school record by nearly a quarter second. That time was also a new season-best, and was just three-hundredths of a second behind a B Cut.
Amy Okada was a strong performer for UCLA in the medley, posting a 52.00 cut in the butterfly, third-best among all swimmers. The relay squad also consisted of freshman Sophia Kosturos (back), sophomore Claire Grover (breast), and senior Maisie Jameson (free).
The Bruins return to action at Pac-12s on Thursday. Scheduled finals include the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, and 200 free relay.