Saturday, February 3
Los Angeles, CA
11:00 AM
UCLA
144
vs
155
California
Bruins Fall in Tight Dual to No. 5 California, 155-144
February 03, 2024 | Swimming & Diving
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA Swimming and Diving Team took No. 5 California to the wire on Saturday afternoon, but fell just short 155-144. The Bruins finished with six event wins on Saturday.
After Joanie Cash earned a second-place finish in the 100 yd. butterfly in 54.16 in the 14th event of 16 on the day, the Bruins trailed Cal by one point, 132-131. UCLA kept within striking distance courtesy of a strong 200 IM performance by Rosie Murphy, Anna Jih-Schiff, and Ashley Kolessar. The trio finished second, third, and fourth in the discipline to set things up for a frantic relay finish with Cal ahead by just two points, 142-140.
In the final event of the day, the 200 free relay, the Bruins hung tough with the Bears. The Bruins 'A' relay team of Brooke Schaffer, Sarah Bennetts, Maddie Wright, and Joanie Cash went toe-to-toe with the Cal 'A' team but came up just short, coming in second in the relay in 1:31.54.
Earlier in the day the Bruins (5-3, 3-3 Pac-12) kicked off the day strongly, finishing first and second in the 400 medley relay. The 'B' team of Rosie Murphy, Eva Carlson, Cash, and Bennetts earned the win in 3:40.27 while the 'A' team of Fay Lustria, Jih-Schiff, Aislinn Walsh, and Brooke Schaffer came in second in 3:40.51.
That was quickly followed by a second consecutive 1-2 finish in the 1,000 free. Ashley Kolessar and Paige MacEachern took the top two spots in the event in 10:05.39 and 10:07.45 respectively.
Gizem Guvenc and Amy Zhang claimed spots on the podium for the second day in a row in the next two events for UCLA. Guvenc took second in the 200 free in 1:49.36 while Zhang placed third in the 100 back in 55.32.
Bennetts and Walsh tallied third-place finishes to follow Zhang in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 butterfly. Bennetts earned her bronze in 1:02.52 in her discipline while Walsh placed third in 2:02.63 in the fly.
Brooke Schaffer continued her high finishes in both the 50 free and the 100 free on Saturday. After claiming the top spot in both in the meet against Stanford, she took silver in both on Saturday, finishing second in the 100 free in 50.10 and second in the 50 free in 23.12.
As for the diving events, the Bruins again swept the podium in the 1M dive, and placed two Bruins in the top three in the 3M dive. Eden Cheng took the top spot in the 1M dive, with Savana Trueb and Zoe Jespersgaard rounding out the top three. As for the 3M dive,ย Jespersgaard and Cheng finished 1-2 to add crucial points for the Bruins in the team score.
Back in the pool the Bruins continued to put the pressure on the visiting Bears. MacEachern and Kolessar took first and third in the 500 free, which set up a tight finish in the final three events for the squads.
Up Next: The Bruins are back in action for the final dual meet of the season on Friday, February 9th when the Bruins host No. 7 USC. The meet will begin at 1 p.m. PT at the Spieker Aquatics Center.
After Joanie Cash earned a second-place finish in the 100 yd. butterfly in 54.16 in the 14th event of 16 on the day, the Bruins trailed Cal by one point, 132-131. UCLA kept within striking distance courtesy of a strong 200 IM performance by Rosie Murphy, Anna Jih-Schiff, and Ashley Kolessar. The trio finished second, third, and fourth in the discipline to set things up for a frantic relay finish with Cal ahead by just two points, 142-140.
In the final event of the day, the 200 free relay, the Bruins hung tough with the Bears. The Bruins 'A' relay team of Brooke Schaffer, Sarah Bennetts, Maddie Wright, and Joanie Cash went toe-to-toe with the Cal 'A' team but came up just short, coming in second in the relay in 1:31.54.
Earlier in the day the Bruins (5-3, 3-3 Pac-12) kicked off the day strongly, finishing first and second in the 400 medley relay. The 'B' team of Rosie Murphy, Eva Carlson, Cash, and Bennetts earned the win in 3:40.27 while the 'A' team of Fay Lustria, Jih-Schiff, Aislinn Walsh, and Brooke Schaffer came in second in 3:40.51.
That was quickly followed by a second consecutive 1-2 finish in the 1,000 free. Ashley Kolessar and Paige MacEachern took the top two spots in the event in 10:05.39 and 10:07.45 respectively.
Gizem Guvenc and Amy Zhang claimed spots on the podium for the second day in a row in the next two events for UCLA. Guvenc took second in the 200 free in 1:49.36 while Zhang placed third in the 100 back in 55.32.
Bennetts and Walsh tallied third-place finishes to follow Zhang in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 butterfly. Bennetts earned her bronze in 1:02.52 in her discipline while Walsh placed third in 2:02.63 in the fly.
Brooke Schaffer continued her high finishes in both the 50 free and the 100 free on Saturday. After claiming the top spot in both in the meet against Stanford, she took silver in both on Saturday, finishing second in the 100 free in 50.10 and second in the 50 free in 23.12.
As for the diving events, the Bruins again swept the podium in the 1M dive, and placed two Bruins in the top three in the 3M dive. Eden Cheng took the top spot in the 1M dive, with Savana Trueb and Zoe Jespersgaard rounding out the top three. As for the 3M dive,ย Jespersgaard and Cheng finished 1-2 to add crucial points for the Bruins in the team score.
Back in the pool the Bruins continued to put the pressure on the visiting Bears. MacEachern and Kolessar took first and third in the 500 free, which set up a tight finish in the final three events for the squads.
Up Next: The Bruins are back in action for the final dual meet of the season on Friday, February 9th when the Bruins host No. 7 USC. The meet will begin at 1 p.m. PT at the Spieker Aquatics Center.
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