
UCLA Dominates at UNLV Invitational
December 19, 2022 | Swimming & Diving
LAS VEGAS โ The UCLA swim team closed out the 2022 calendar year with a dominant showing at the UNLV Invitational, taking first place in the 10-team field with a final score of 1,344.
The Bruins were in control of the meet from start to finish, winning 15 of 19 swimming events overall. UCLA won every relay competition and also swept the individual races in both freestyle and IM.
Several Bruin swimmers collected multiple individual event wins over the three-day meet, which started on Saturday and wrapped up Monday. Fifth-year Claire Grover led all swimmers with three individual wins (50 free, 100 breast, 100 IM). Freshman Katrina Bellio (400 IM, 1650 free) and sophomore Eva Carlson (200 IM, 200 breast) each had a pair of wins.
Grover was the top individual scorer at the meet with 77 points. Carlson was right behind her at 72. Overall, eight of the top 10 individual scorers at the meet were Bruins.
UCLA started off the weekend with four wins in five events on Saturday. The opening finals session saw the Bruins finish 1-3 in the 200 free relay, with the UCLA As (Rachel Rhee, Maddie Wright, Gabby Dang, Grover) going 1:29.97. It was just the second time this season the Bruins broke the 90-second mark in that race.
Brooke Schaffer (4:58.76, sixth) and Maya Wilson (4:59.63, seventh) were UCLA's top performers in the 500 free, reaching the A Final. Schaffer posted a best time (4:56.89) in prelims to land in the championship race.
Five separate Bruins reached the A Final in the 200 IM, with Carlson (2:00.96) notching a best time en route to the win. Sophomore Ana Jih-Schiff (2:01.65) placed runner-up.
UCLA then dominated the 50 free, placing the top three swimmers. Grover (22.48) led the field and recorded an NCAA B Cut, and she was followed by Dang (22.98) and senior Sophia Kosturos (23.13).
Saturday was closed out by a 1-2 finish for UCLA in the 400 medley relay. The Bruins' top relay (Kosturos, Carlson, Dang, Grover) was nearly eight seconds faster than any other school.
UCLA picked up right where it left off on Sunday, with the same quartet from the 400 medley notching a win in the 200 medley relay at 1:37.94.
Bellio notched her first win of the weekend in the first individual race on Sunday, going an NCAA B Cut at 4:13.82 in the 400 IM. She was one of five Bruins to make the A Final.
Four UCLA swimmers made the top final in the 100 fly, led by Schaffer (55.17) who ended up fifth. A Bruin finished each in each spot 5-10 in that race.
The 200 free was all about Maya Wilson for UCLA, as the junior went a best time of 1:48.60 to record her first-collegiate event win. Five Bruins qualified for the A final overall in the 200 free.
The Bruins swept through the 100 breast, taking each of the top three spots and sending five overall to the A Final. Grover (1:00.31) and Carlson (1:00.32) both had best times and NCAA B Cuts to finish 1-2, while Rhee (1:02.32) was third. Grover was making her season debut in the 100 breast.
A quartet of Bruins reached the A Final in the 100 back, with Kosturos (53.78) posting an NCAA B Cut and picking up the win.
UCLA closed out Sunday with another dominant relay performance, finishing 1-3 in the 800 free relay. The A Team (Rhee, Schaffer, Wilson, Wright) completed the race in 7:17.98.
Monday was more of the same for UCLA, which won six of seven events on the day.
Bellio started it off with a landslide win in the 1650 free, notching a best time (16:21.06) and beating out the field by over 24 seconds. Stephanie Su (16:55.25, third) and Beril Bocekler (16:59.65, fifth) each beat the 17-minute mark to place top-five.
UCLA cleaned up in the 100 IM finals, placing each of the top five finishers and sending six overall to the A Final. Grover (54.46), Rosie Murphy (55.14), and Jih-Schiff (55.88) were the podium finishers for the Bruins.
Seniors Katrina Sommer (2:01.39, fourth) and Lindsay Stenstrom (2:02.65, sixth) were the two Bruins to make the top final in the 200 back. Sophomore Emma Matous (2:03.08) dropped nearly five seconds from her prelims time to finish runner-up in the B Final.
The 100 free saw another clean sweep, with Bruins taking the top five and seven of the top-10 spots. Rhee (49.06), Grover (49.10), and Schaffer (49.92) had the podium finishes.
UCLA then went 1-2-3 in the 200 breast, with Carlson (2:12.48) and Murphy (2:16.15) going best times and finishing 1-2. Junior Bailey Herbert (2:16.19) ended up in third.
Freshman Ashley Kolessar (1:59.19) was the lone swimmer to break the two-minute mark in the 200 fly, granting UCLA was one final individual event win. Bellio had a best time (2:04.94) in prelims but sat out the finals.
The Bruins are off for the remainder of 2022, but return to action with a dual meet at UC San Diego on Jan. 7. UCLA returns to Spieker Aquatics Center the following weekend, hosting the Bruin Diving Invitational from Jan. 13-15 while also welcoming Denver for a non-conference dual meet on Jan. 14.