
Bruins Take Down Iowa, 179-101
January 09, 2026 | Swimming & Diving
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA swimming and diving team opened the 2026 portion of the season with an emphatic 179-101 win over Iowa at the Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruin divers also had a strong showing on day one of the Bruin Diving Invitational.
In the dual with Iowa the Bruins earned event wins in 13 of 15 events, with Iowa's only wins coming in the 200 IM and 400 medley relay.
The Bruins opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, where Rosie Murphy, Sarah Bennetts, Gizem Guvenc and Claudia Yovanovich combined to finish in 1:40.93.
Applejean Gwinn set the tone in the individual events, taking the 1000 free in 10:15.71. As for the 200 free, Guvenc earned her first individual event win of the day. The senior took the win in 1:50.51, beating the field by over a second.
In the 100 back, Murphy, Claudia Yovanovich, and Erica Jaffe swept the podium places in the discipline, as the Bruins continued to stack quality performances. Sarah Bennetts continued the trend in the 100 breast, touching the wall in 1:02.44 to take the win. The junior beat the field by over two seconds to take the win.
The sixth event of the day was the 200 butterfly. Gwinn continued her strong performances with a second individual event win, taking the event in 2:02.50, while Ashley Kolessar took third in a time of 2:03.65.
Jada Duncan, like much of the squad leading into the meet, were sick but powered through on Friday. The freshman finished first in the 50 free, touching the wall in 23.03, earning yet another win after her stellar performances a week ago in San Diego.
In the 100 free, Guvenc and Anna Wetteland took the top two spots, in 50.86 and 51.07 respectively. Jaffe earned UCLA's ninth event win of the day in the 200 backstroke, touching the wall in 2:01.06, while Catherine Andrews finished second in 2:03.07.
Om the 200 breast Murphy continued her winning ways, taking first place in 2L1.49. In the final distance event of the day Kolessar finished first in the 500 freestyle, touching the wall in 5:01.68. ย
Murphy earned her fourth event win of the meet in the 100 fly. The senior took the title in 54.60, with Fay Lustria finishing right behind her in second place in 54.98, as the Bruins closed the meet strongly to earn the 179-101 win on Friday.
The Bruins also took part in the Bruin Diving Invitational on Friday. Eden Cheng led the way for the Bruins in the 1m competition. The senior finished second in the discipline with an overall score of 580.40.
Cheng and Molly Brasciaeachy qualified for finals in the event, with Cheng taking the top sopt in the qualifying session while Brascia took third in qualifying and fourth overall in the finals.
The Bruins also took part in the team diving event on Friday, placing second. The Bruins had six dives as a team and totaled 278.50 points, finishing just behind Hawai'i in first place in the event.
Up Next: The Bruins host the UCLA quad meet on Saturday morning, along with day two of the Bruin Diving Invitational. The quad meet against Iowa, Utah, and UC Santa Barbara is set to begin at 10 am PT, while the Bruin Diving Invitational will begin at 10:30 am.
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In the dual with Iowa the Bruins earned event wins in 13 of 15 events, with Iowa's only wins coming in the 200 IM and 400 medley relay.
The Bruins opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, where Rosie Murphy, Sarah Bennetts, Gizem Guvenc and Claudia Yovanovich combined to finish in 1:40.93.
Applejean Gwinn set the tone in the individual events, taking the 1000 free in 10:15.71. As for the 200 free, Guvenc earned her first individual event win of the day. The senior took the win in 1:50.51, beating the field by over a second.
In the 100 back, Murphy, Claudia Yovanovich, and Erica Jaffe swept the podium places in the discipline, as the Bruins continued to stack quality performances. Sarah Bennetts continued the trend in the 100 breast, touching the wall in 1:02.44 to take the win. The junior beat the field by over two seconds to take the win.
The sixth event of the day was the 200 butterfly. Gwinn continued her strong performances with a second individual event win, taking the event in 2:02.50, while Ashley Kolessar took third in a time of 2:03.65.
Jada Duncan, like much of the squad leading into the meet, were sick but powered through on Friday. The freshman finished first in the 50 free, touching the wall in 23.03, earning yet another win after her stellar performances a week ago in San Diego.
In the 100 free, Guvenc and Anna Wetteland took the top two spots, in 50.86 and 51.07 respectively. Jaffe earned UCLA's ninth event win of the day in the 200 backstroke, touching the wall in 2:01.06, while Catherine Andrews finished second in 2:03.07.
Om the 200 breast Murphy continued her winning ways, taking first place in 2L1.49. In the final distance event of the day Kolessar finished first in the 500 freestyle, touching the wall in 5:01.68. ย
Murphy earned her fourth event win of the meet in the 100 fly. The senior took the title in 54.60, with Fay Lustria finishing right behind her in second place in 54.98, as the Bruins closed the meet strongly to earn the 179-101 win on Friday.
The Bruins also took part in the Bruin Diving Invitational on Friday. Eden Cheng led the way for the Bruins in the 1m competition. The senior finished second in the discipline with an overall score of 580.40.
Cheng and Molly Brasciaeachy qualified for finals in the event, with Cheng taking the top sopt in the qualifying session while Brascia took third in qualifying and fourth overall in the finals.
The Bruins also took part in the team diving event on Friday, placing second. The Bruins had six dives as a team and totaled 278.50 points, finishing just behind Hawai'i in first place in the event.
Up Next: The Bruins host the UCLA quad meet on Saturday morning, along with day two of the Bruin Diving Invitational. The quad meet against Iowa, Utah, and UC Santa Barbara is set to begin at 10 am PT, while the Bruin Diving Invitational will begin at 10:30 am.
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