ASU Swim and Dive: Sun Devils take road trip to ranked USC and UCLA

(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)

On Friday, ASU’s men’s Swim and Dive team will face off against Pac-12 foe, the No. 17-ranked USC Trojans. The women’s team will also take on the No. 8-ranked Trojans on Friday and compete against the No. 20-ranked UCLA Bruins on Saturday.

So far this season, the Trojans have competed against solid opponents, including UC San Diego, Hawaii, and No. 19/21 Auburn.

On the women’s side for USC, there were several standout performers at the USC Invitational in October. Freshman Justina Kozan placed first in the 500 freestyle with a time of four minutes, 41.9 seconds. In addition to Kozan, fifth-year Isabelle Odgers came in first place in the 200 IM with a time of 1:56.88. Other significant performances came from junior Kaitlyn Dobler, who took first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.30 seconds, and the 400 medley relay team that won with a time of 3:31.91.

The men’s team also saw multiple first-place finishes in USC Invitational. Sophomore Chris O’Grady won the 200 IM with a time of 1:45.85, and sophomore Artem Selin took first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 19.70 seconds. With both teams ranked inside the top 20, Friday’s meet will likely be a hard-fought battle on the men’s side.

In addition to competing against the Trojans, ASU’s women’s team will compete against UCLA on Saturday. So far this season, UCLA is undefeated. They took first at the Fresno State Invitational to start their season and have won dual meets against UC Santa Barbara and Utah.

A Bruin swimmer to look out for is fifth-year Claire Grover. Grover has placed first in the 50 freestyle in all of UCLA’s meets, with her fastest time being 22.57 seconds at the Fresno State Invitational. 

Sophomore Ana Jih-Schiff has also performed well and is one of UCLA’s top swimmers this season. She performed well against UC Santa Barbra meet, finishing the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.52. She also stood out against Utah in the 200 breaststroke, finishing with a time of 2:15.28. 

Additional athletes to look out for from UCLA are sophomore Paige MacEachern and freshman Ashley Kolessar. They’ve put up solid times and placed well in many of their events so far this season, helping the Bruins stay undefeated.

With spots in the CSCAA Top 25 Polls at stake, This weekend’s meets will test all three squads, with all teams hoping to come out victorious.

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