UCLA
Utah
UCLA Records 175-125 Win at Utah
October 28, 2022 | Swimming & Diving
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah โ The No. 20-ranked UCLA swim and dive team improved to 2-0 on the young season after notching a 175-125 win over Utah on Friday afternoon at the Ute Natatorium.
The Bruins won 13 of 16 scheduled events in their Pac-12 opener, sweeping both relays.
A trio of Bruins had particular standout efforts individually.
Fifth-year senior Claire Grover (50 free, 100 free) swept the sprint freestyle events and freshman Katrina Bellio (500 free, 1000 free) placed first in both distance freestyle events.
Elsewhere, sophomore Ana Jih-Schiff set a new pool record en route to a win in the 200 breast.
UCLA opened up the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, as the Bruins' A team edged out the Utes by under a second at 1:41.30.
Bellio stretched the Bruins' lead in the next event, touching first in the 1000 free (10:18.89).
After a Utah win in the 200 free, Sophia Kosturos got the Bruins' back in the win column with a 55.45 in the 100 back, with teammate Rosie Murphy (55.94) placing runner-up.
That result sparked a run of five swimming-event wins for the Bruins, as sophomore Eva Carlson (100 breast; 1:02.84) and freshman Ashley Kolessar (200 fly; 2:01.42) finished first in their respective swims before Grover notched back-to-back first-place finishes in the 50 free (23.25) and 100 free (51.63).
Later on, Jih-Schiff (2:15.28) held off Utah's Hilja Schimmel (2:15.66) to pick up a win in the 200 breast and set a new Ute Natatorium record in that event.
Bellio (4:59.25) and Bocekler (5:05.05) placed 1-2 in the 500 free, marking the second time breaking the five-minute mark in as many tries this season for Bellio.
Senior Gabby Dang (55.36) led a dominant effort for the Bruins in the 100 fly, with teammates Joanie Cash (56.02) and Fay Lustria (56.74) following her in succession for a 1-2-3 finish.
Sophomore Paige MacEachern (4:25.60) kept up the momentum for UCLA with a win in the 400 IM, with Kolessar (4:27.61) taking second.
The Bruins closed out the swim portion of the meet with a first-place time of 3:27.38 in the 400 free relay.
Senior Hannah Butler was UCLA's lone entry on the diving side of the meet, and the Rochester, N.Y. native responded with a win in the 3-meter championship (307.28) and a fourth-place result in 1M (254.55).
UCLA returns home to Spieker Aquatics Center next weekend for the squad's only two home dual meets of the fall, hosting Arizona on Nov. 4 at 2:00 p.m. PT and Arizona State on Nov. 5 at 11:00 a.m. PT.
