Bruins Place Fourth at 2024 Pac-12 Championships
February 28, 2024 | Swimming & Diving
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. โ The UCLA swim and dive team broke a number of school records and set numerous best times this week at the 2024 Pac-12 Championships at Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center, ultimately placing fourth in the eight-team field with a final score of 1,089.
Overall, the Bruins set four new school records, had four podium finishes, and had 19ย 'A' finalists.
In addition, the Bruins cracked the 1,000-point mark for the second time since 2017 (exempting 2020, in which the league meet didn't have full participation due to COVID-19 measures).
The result marks the fifth consecutive top-four finish for the Bruins at the league championships, all under fifth-year head coach Jordan Wolfrum.
Particularly notable performances from the Bruins during the week came courtesy of Eden Cheng in the platform dive (runner-up, school record) 3m dive (runner-up), Paige MacEachern in the 400 IM (runner-up, school record), and Rosie Murphy in the 200 back (third place, school record) and 200 IM (school record).
FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. California, 1397.5
2. USC, 1291
3. Stanford, 1283
4. UCLA, 1089
5. Arizona State, 990.5
6. Arizona, 628.5
7. Utah, 514
8. Washington State, 498.5
DAY FOUR RECAP
A record-setting score from Eden Cheng in platform diving and a standout effort culminating in a school record from Rosie Murphy in the 200 back highlighted the Bruins' final day at the Pac-12 Championships.
Cheng, who broke her own school record in the prelims of the platform dive with a score of 352.50, earned second place in the championship final. The London, England native scored 323.75 points to take the silver medal in the event.
The final day of Pac-12s was opened up by the 1650 free, which saw Ashley Kolessar swim in the final heat and placed fifth overall with a time of 16:24.28.
Murphy followed Kolessar's performance with the Bruins' first podium of the night in the 200 back. The sophomore claimed third in the discipline in 1:53.13, and set a new school record, her second school record of the meet.
Eva Carlson and Ana Jih-Schiif claimed seventh and eighth in the 200 breast, finishing in 2:11.01 and 2:12.67 respectively.
Another standout performer from the week was Savana Trueb, who earned a berth in all three dive discipline finals. She capped off her impressive week with a fifth-place finish in the platform dive, finishing with a score of 258.35.
The Bruins closed out the meet with a fifth-place result in the 400 free relay, with Brooke Schaffer, Gizem Guvenc, Sarah Bennetts, and Maya Wilson combining for a time of 3:14.91.
DAY THREE RECAP
The UCLA swimming and diving team earned multiple podiums and nine top-eight finishes on day three of the Pac-12 Championships.
After earning a sixth-place finish in the 200 IM on Thursday, Paige MacEachern followed that with a second-place showing in the 400 IM on Friday. The junior not only finished second for the second consecutive year at the Pac-12 championships but also set a new school record in discipline when she finished in 4:03.47. Sophomore Rosie Murphy also finished strongly in the event, claiming fourth place with a time of 4:06.00, which was also under the old school record time.
As for the divers, the Bruins had three athletes earn births in the 3-meter dive 'A' final with Eden Cheng, Lauren Hallaselka, and Savana Trueb all qualifying out of the preliminary round into the 'A' final. In the final, Cheng secured her second career podium finish, placing second with a score of 322.30, while Hallaselka and Trueb finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Earlier in the evening, the Bruins placed multiple athletes in 'A' finals in both the 100 backstroke and the 100 breaststroke. In the 100 backstroke, youngsters Fay Lustria and Amy Zhang earned spots in the 'A' final, with Lustria finishing fifth in 53.02 and Zhang earning seventh with a time of 53.71. As for the 100 breaststroke, junior Eva Carlson represented UCLA in the 'A' final and finished in seventh place, 59.62.
To cap off the night, the Bruins' 400 medley relay team of Lustria, Carlson, Quan and Maya Wilson finished in fifth place with a time of 3:33.77. Wilson anchored the Bruins with a 47.89 split in the freestyle leg of the relay.
In the team standings, UCLA sits fourth overall after the third night of action with 754 points, and are 70 points behind No. 4 USC in third, and 110.5 points ahead of No. 21 Arizona State.
DAY TWO RECAP
UCLA's second day at Pac-12s was highlighted by a new school record in the 200 IM, and multiple top-eight showings in both the swim and dive events.
To kick off the diving competition both Zoe Jespersgaard and Savana Trueb qualified for the 'A' final in the 1-meter dive, while Lauren Hallaselka and Eden Cheng both earned a spot in the consolation final. Jespersgaard would go on to finish sixth with a score of 284.85 in the 'A' final, while Trueb finished directly behind her in seventh, scoring 284.45 points.
As for the consolation final, Hallaselka won the final and placed ninth overall with a score of 299.00, while Cheng came in third in the final with a score of 277.05, good for an 11th-place finish.
The Bruins continued their momentum from the morning session in the individual swim events on Thursday. In the 200 IM, Paige MacEachern and Rosie Murphy took sixth and seventh place in the 'A' final, finishing in 1:56.29 and 1:56.41, respectively. Other Bruins who took part in the 200 IM finals were Ana Jih-Schiff (13th place - 1:58.60) and Bailey Herbert (23rd place - 2:01.93).
As for the 50 free, Maya Wilson was the Bruins' representative in the 'A' final. Taking part in her first Pac-12 Championships 'A' final, Wilson touched the wall in 22.66, good for eighth place in the event. Brooke Schaffer (13th place โ 22.48) and Sarah Bennetts (20th place - 22.63) also participated in the finals session.
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To cap off the second night of the meet, UCLA's 200 free relay squad claimed fourth place in 1:29.43. The quartet of Schaffer, Maddie Wright, Bennetts, and Wilson combined to finish the second day of competition strongly. ย
Earlier in the day the Bruins had seven athletes qualify for finals in two different events. To kick off the day Rosie Murphy, Paige MacEachern, Ana Jih-Schiff and Bailey Herbert all qualified for the finals in the 200 IM. Murphy and MacEachern both earned spots in the 'A' final while Jih-Schiff claimed a spot in the 'B' final, while Herbert finished 24th to head to the 'C' final.
Both Murphy and MacEachern both went under the old school record in the discipline in prelims, with MacEachern setting a new school record in 1:59.97, which was then bettered by Murphy finishing in 1:55.93 a few minutes later.
As for the 50 free, the Bruins had three athletes earn spots in the finals. Maya Wilson placed seventh in prelims to qualify for the 'A' final with a time of 22.37, while Brooke Schaffer came in 14th to claim a spot in the 'B' final, and Sarah Bennetts finished 24th and took part in the evenings 'C' final.
In the team standings, the Bruins are fifth overall after the second night of action with 349 points, and are eight points behind No. 21 Arizona State in fourth with 357 points.
Day One Recap
The Bruins opened the 2024 Pac-12 Championships in Washington on Wednesday, finishing fifth in the 200 medley relay, coming in second in the team dive event, and taking fourth in the 800 free relay.
The first race of the meet, the 200 medley relay, saw Fay Lustria, Ana Jih-Schiff, Joanie Cash and Maddie Wright combine to finish sixth in the 200 medley relay. The quartet finished in 1:37.68, their fastest time of the season to date.
The Bruins then grabbed their first podium finish of the meet in a closely-contested team diving event. The Bruins trio of Zoe Jespersgaard, Eden Cheng, and Savana Trueb placed second with a team-record score of 330.40.
In the third and final event of the night, UCLA placed fourth in the 800 free relay with a time of 7:02.72. Maya Wilson had the Bruins' top split of the race, completing the third leg of the relay in 1:45.18. She was joined by Brooke Schaffer (1:45.41), Gizem Guvenc (1:45.83), and Paige MacEachern (1:46.30).
After the first night of the meet, the Bruins ranked fourth in the crowded team standings with 102 points, just two points behind third-place Arizona and four points behind second-place Arizona State.
ย
Overall, the Bruins set four new school records, had four podium finishes, and had 19ย 'A' finalists.
In addition, the Bruins cracked the 1,000-point mark for the second time since 2017 (exempting 2020, in which the league meet didn't have full participation due to COVID-19 measures).
The result marks the fifth consecutive top-four finish for the Bruins at the league championships, all under fifth-year head coach Jordan Wolfrum.
Particularly notable performances from the Bruins during the week came courtesy of Eden Cheng in the platform dive (runner-up, school record) 3m dive (runner-up), Paige MacEachern in the 400 IM (runner-up, school record), and Rosie Murphy in the 200 back (third place, school record) and 200 IM (school record).
FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. California, 1397.5
2. USC, 1291
3. Stanford, 1283
4. UCLA, 1089
5. Arizona State, 990.5
6. Arizona, 628.5
7. Utah, 514
8. Washington State, 498.5
DAY FOUR RECAP
A record-setting score from Eden Cheng in platform diving and a standout effort culminating in a school record from Rosie Murphy in the 200 back highlighted the Bruins' final day at the Pac-12 Championships.
Cheng, who broke her own school record in the prelims of the platform dive with a score of 352.50, earned second place in the championship final. The London, England native scored 323.75 points to take the silver medal in the event.
The final day of Pac-12s was opened up by the 1650 free, which saw Ashley Kolessar swim in the final heat and placed fifth overall with a time of 16:24.28.
Murphy followed Kolessar's performance with the Bruins' first podium of the night in the 200 back. The sophomore claimed third in the discipline in 1:53.13, and set a new school record, her second school record of the meet.
Eva Carlson and Ana Jih-Schiif claimed seventh and eighth in the 200 breast, finishing in 2:11.01 and 2:12.67 respectively.
Another standout performer from the week was Savana Trueb, who earned a berth in all three dive discipline finals. She capped off her impressive week with a fifth-place finish in the platform dive, finishing with a score of 258.35.
The Bruins closed out the meet with a fifth-place result in the 400 free relay, with Brooke Schaffer, Gizem Guvenc, Sarah Bennetts, and Maya Wilson combining for a time of 3:14.91.
DAY THREE RECAP
The UCLA swimming and diving team earned multiple podiums and nine top-eight finishes on day three of the Pac-12 Championships.
After earning a sixth-place finish in the 200 IM on Thursday, Paige MacEachern followed that with a second-place showing in the 400 IM on Friday. The junior not only finished second for the second consecutive year at the Pac-12 championships but also set a new school record in discipline when she finished in 4:03.47. Sophomore Rosie Murphy also finished strongly in the event, claiming fourth place with a time of 4:06.00, which was also under the old school record time.
As for the divers, the Bruins had three athletes earn births in the 3-meter dive 'A' final with Eden Cheng, Lauren Hallaselka, and Savana Trueb all qualifying out of the preliminary round into the 'A' final. In the final, Cheng secured her second career podium finish, placing second with a score of 322.30, while Hallaselka and Trueb finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Earlier in the evening, the Bruins placed multiple athletes in 'A' finals in both the 100 backstroke and the 100 breaststroke. In the 100 backstroke, youngsters Fay Lustria and Amy Zhang earned spots in the 'A' final, with Lustria finishing fifth in 53.02 and Zhang earning seventh with a time of 53.71. As for the 100 breaststroke, junior Eva Carlson represented UCLA in the 'A' final and finished in seventh place, 59.62.
To cap off the night, the Bruins' 400 medley relay team of Lustria, Carlson, Quan and Maya Wilson finished in fifth place with a time of 3:33.77. Wilson anchored the Bruins with a 47.89 split in the freestyle leg of the relay.
In the team standings, UCLA sits fourth overall after the third night of action with 754 points, and are 70 points behind No. 4 USC in third, and 110.5 points ahead of No. 21 Arizona State.
DAY TWO RECAP
UCLA's second day at Pac-12s was highlighted by a new school record in the 200 IM, and multiple top-eight showings in both the swim and dive events.
To kick off the diving competition both Zoe Jespersgaard and Savana Trueb qualified for the 'A' final in the 1-meter dive, while Lauren Hallaselka and Eden Cheng both earned a spot in the consolation final. Jespersgaard would go on to finish sixth with a score of 284.85 in the 'A' final, while Trueb finished directly behind her in seventh, scoring 284.45 points.
As for the consolation final, Hallaselka won the final and placed ninth overall with a score of 299.00, while Cheng came in third in the final with a score of 277.05, good for an 11th-place finish.
The Bruins continued their momentum from the morning session in the individual swim events on Thursday. In the 200 IM, Paige MacEachern and Rosie Murphy took sixth and seventh place in the 'A' final, finishing in 1:56.29 and 1:56.41, respectively. Other Bruins who took part in the 200 IM finals were Ana Jih-Schiff (13th place - 1:58.60) and Bailey Herbert (23rd place - 2:01.93).
As for the 50 free, Maya Wilson was the Bruins' representative in the 'A' final. Taking part in her first Pac-12 Championships 'A' final, Wilson touched the wall in 22.66, good for eighth place in the event. Brooke Schaffer (13th place โ 22.48) and Sarah Bennetts (20th place - 22.63) also participated in the finals session.
ย
To cap off the second night of the meet, UCLA's 200 free relay squad claimed fourth place in 1:29.43. The quartet of Schaffer, Maddie Wright, Bennetts, and Wilson combined to finish the second day of competition strongly. ย
Earlier in the day the Bruins had seven athletes qualify for finals in two different events. To kick off the day Rosie Murphy, Paige MacEachern, Ana Jih-Schiff and Bailey Herbert all qualified for the finals in the 200 IM. Murphy and MacEachern both earned spots in the 'A' final while Jih-Schiff claimed a spot in the 'B' final, while Herbert finished 24th to head to the 'C' final.
Both Murphy and MacEachern both went under the old school record in the discipline in prelims, with MacEachern setting a new school record in 1:59.97, which was then bettered by Murphy finishing in 1:55.93 a few minutes later.
As for the 50 free, the Bruins had three athletes earn spots in the finals. Maya Wilson placed seventh in prelims to qualify for the 'A' final with a time of 22.37, while Brooke Schaffer came in 14th to claim a spot in the 'B' final, and Sarah Bennetts finished 24th and took part in the evenings 'C' final.
In the team standings, the Bruins are fifth overall after the second night of action with 349 points, and are eight points behind No. 21 Arizona State in fourth with 357 points.
Day One Recap
The Bruins opened the 2024 Pac-12 Championships in Washington on Wednesday, finishing fifth in the 200 medley relay, coming in second in the team dive event, and taking fourth in the 800 free relay.
The first race of the meet, the 200 medley relay, saw Fay Lustria, Ana Jih-Schiff, Joanie Cash and Maddie Wright combine to finish sixth in the 200 medley relay. The quartet finished in 1:37.68, their fastest time of the season to date.
The Bruins then grabbed their first podium finish of the meet in a closely-contested team diving event. The Bruins trio of Zoe Jespersgaard, Eden Cheng, and Savana Trueb placed second with a team-record score of 330.40.
In the third and final event of the night, UCLA placed fourth in the 800 free relay with a time of 7:02.72. Maya Wilson had the Bruins' top split of the race, completing the third leg of the relay in 1:45.18. She was joined by Brooke Schaffer (1:45.41), Gizem Guvenc (1:45.83), and Paige MacEachern (1:46.30).
After the first night of the meet, the Bruins ranked fourth in the crowded team standings with 102 points, just two points behind third-place Arizona and four points behind second-place Arizona State.
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Players Mentioned
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