(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)
Fresh off earning the No. 1 spot in the CSCAA poll, ASU Men’s Swim and Dive welcomed No. 12 Stanford to Mona Plummer Aquatic Center for the Sun Devils’ first meet of the new year.
In its return to the pool, ASU (5-1, 2-0) defeated the Cardinal (2-1, 1-1) 186-114 Friday afternoon. Since falling to Georgia in the season opener 46-44, ASU has won five straight meets.
Freshman Zalan Sarkany made his ASU debut Friday, winning his first two individual meets. In his first race, he shattered the ASU 1000-yard freestyle record, winning the race in eight minutes, 50.56 seconds. He broke the 39-year-old record by seven seconds and defeated the rest of the field by over 13 seconds.
“We’re super excited about Zalan,” head coach Bob Bowman said. “He’s only been here about a month; he came at the [beginning of the] semester. He has a good training background in these distance events, and that’s why we really wanted to bring him in. Now we know he’s a great racer.”
Sarkany also won the 500 freestyle, taking the race in 4:17.83. Joining the top-ranked program in the country, Sarkany has lofty goals for himself and his teammates.
“I talked to my coach, and he said, ‘We have to break this record now,’ and when I did it, I was super happy,” Sarkany said. “…I want, of course, [to] have the team get to the NCAA top spot, and I definitely want to [have the] best times …”
Sophomore Léon Marchand has been unstoppable in his second year in Tempe, and his impressive efforts continued against Stanford. Marchand won three individual events, moving to a perfect 16-16 in individual events this season.
Marchand won the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. He won the 100 breaststroke by one second, the 200 breaststroke by over six seconds and the 200 IM by nearly six seconds.
After the meet, Bowman noted that Marchand’s prestigious work ethic plays a role in his success at ASU and the international level.
“He trains on another level,” Bowman said. “He’s done a few things in training that even Michael Phelps didn’t do. He’s very consistent. He’s able to come in and improve technique consistently. He has very clear goals, and he’s working toward them.”
In addition to Marchand’s victories, the Sun Devils finished 1-2-3 in the 200 IM and 200 breaststroke. In the 200 breaststroke, Junior David Schlicht placed second with a time of 1:55.69, and freshman Cale Martter placed third with a time of 1:55.80.
ASU had even more success in the 200 IM, notching the top four placements in the race. Freshman Hubert Kos placed second (1:44.53), Schlicht took home third (1:45.21), and freshman Owen McDonald finished fourth (1:47.17).
Senior Grant House continued his stellar season, winning both the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle on Friday. In the 100, House won by just over three-tenths of a second, defeating freshman Jonny Kulow and junior Jack Dolan. The 100 freestyle was one of four events in which Arizona State swept the podium.
House was victorious in the 200 freestyle by over two seconds, earning his fourth win in the race this season.
As the oldest member of ASU’s swim and dive team, House recognizes that his experience will be invaluable for the Sun Devils down the stretch.
“It’s just about empowering [the underclassmen],” House said. “Just giving them as much experience and guidance along the way, keeping your emotions level, not too high, not too low, being a confidant for them and helping guide them as well as I can.”
The men’s team created energy early in the 1000 freestyle. In addition to Sarkany’s record-breaking finish, sophomore Daniel Matheson made an improbable comeback in the last few laps, squeaking by Stanford sophomore Matt Fenlon for second place. Matheson finished the event in 9:04.05, defeating Fenlon by .01 seconds.
The crowd erupted as both swimmers finished, and the scoreboard confirmed Matheson’s second-place finish.
Junior Alex Colson also had a successful meet, winning the 200 butterfly in 1:40.99 and placing second in the 100 butterfly. ASU dominated the 200 butterfly, securing the top three finishes, as junior Andrew Gray took second and Kos took third.
Both Dolan and senior Max McCusker won one event while competing in key relays for the Sun Devils. Dolan defeated Stanford senior Leon MacAlister by 0.5 seconds, winning the 100 backstroke, while McCusker narrowly beat Stanford sophomore Andrei Minakov in the 50 freestyle.
ASU’s nation-leading relays continued their success in the second and last races of the dual. Dolan, Marchand, McCusker and House combined for a 1:22.60 finish in the 200 medley relay to open the meet, and Dolan, Kulow, McCusker and House finished the meet with a 1:16.12 finish in the 200 freestyle relay.
On Saturday, ASU will play host to No. 3 Cal, the defending Pac-12 and NCAA Champions, in the Sun Devils’ most important meet of the regular season. Cal has two individual returning national champions, junior Destin Lasco, who won the 200 backstroke, and senior Hugo González, the winner in the 400 IM. Additionally, Cal returns three of last season’s four swimmers in its NCAA-winning 400 medley relay.
“Cal is the standard in the PAC-12 and has been for a while in men’s swimming,” Bowman said. “They’re the defending national champions. We just try to compete as well as we can with them. We’ve done a little better every year. They have an amazing coaching staff and lineup, and I’m excited to see what we do when we go toe-to-toe with them.”
On the women’s side ASU (1-7, 1-3) fell to No. 3 Stanford (4-0, 3-0) 175-122 in Friday’s meet.
Despite the loss, junior Lindsay Looney continued her successful season, notching two wins and a second-place finish. Looney won the 200 butterfly in 1:53.48, defeating Stanford freshman Claire Curzan by 0.6 seconds. Looney’s 100 freestyle win was narrower, as she defeated freshman Ieva Maluka by less than two-tenths of a second.
“Lindsay Looney continues to swim exceptionally,” Bowman said. “Lindsay works exceedingly hard, and she’s just like Léon. She continues to raise the bar.”
Sophomore Iza Adame added two more wins to her ASU career in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 breaststroke. The Sun Devils dominated the 100 breaststroke, claiming the top three finishes. Adame won in 1:00.71. Freshman Isabella Krantzcke placed second with a time of 1:02.32, and freshman Zoe Summar notched third place with a 1:02.79 finish.
In the 200 breaststroke, Adame finished with a time of 2:12.82, and sophomore Emma Gehlert finished behind her in 2:13.85.
Sophomore Charli Brown added three top-three finishes Friday, including the 200 individual medley, 200 freestyle and the 200 backstroke. Brown placed second (1:58.99) in the 200 IM,two-hundredths of a second behind Maluka, and second in the 200 backstroke, completing the event in 1:56.54.
Brown was the fastest ASU finisher in the 200 freestyle, placing third by 0.8 seconds to Stanford sophomore Torri Huske, one of the Pac-12’s most accomplished swimmers.
ASU women opened and closed the meet with second-place finishes in the 200 yard medley relay and 200 yard freestyle relay. In the 200 medley, Brown, Adame, junior Jade Foelske and sophomore Erin Milligan failed to complete a miracle comeback, finishing 0.4 seconds behind Stanford. Maluka, Milligan, Looney and junior Natalia Fryckowska completed the 200 freestyle in 1:32.47, narrowly ahead of Stanford’s third-place relay.
Despite the outcome, Bowman says that he was happy with everyone’s performance today. The Sun Devils will look to rebound on Saturday when another challenging competitor, No. 11 Cal, pays a visit to Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
