(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics)
The No. 2 Arizona State men’s swim and dive team ousted Tennessee on the final day of the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, to win the inaugural championship Sunday afternoon. The Sun Devils defeated the Volunteers 37-19 in a rematch of yesterday’s dual meet, going undefeated in the tournament.
The Sun Devils’ No. 18 women’s team fell to fourth place in the tournament, losing to No. 8 Tennessee 21-35. No. 1 Virginia won the women’s tournament, defeating Tennessee
Junior Miriam Sheehan placed in all four of her events for the Sun Devils, competing in three different strokes. Sheehan was the first leg of the 200-yard medley relay; she swam the backstroke in 24.04 seconds in her 50-yard split. Four events later, Sheehan won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 52.55, and she placed second with her team as the third leg of the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Sophomore Julia Ulmann and Sheehan swept the 100-yard butterfly for ASU. Ullmann won with a time of 52.77, and Sheehan trailed behind at 53.04.
ASU junior Ilya Kharun was named Athlete of the Meet, winning the 200-yard butterfly in a record-setting time of 1:37.56. The previous record set by Kharun in 2024 was 1:37.93. Kharun was also a member of two winning relay teams in the 200-yard medley relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay.
“I mostly hit my goals on every swim,” Kharun said while accepting his Athlete of the Meet award voted by the coaches at the tournament. “I’ll try and be better on the later meets.”
Kharun had an outstanding lead in the 200-yard fly. The Olympian was ahead of his opponents by more than three seconds halfway through the race and extended his margin of victory, adding another second to his lead.
ASU graduate Remi Fabiani similarly won the 200-yard freestyle on the previous day. Tennessee freshman Koby Bujak-Upton and junior Nikoli Blackman sprinted the first 100 yards of the race, putting the Volunteers in place for a sweep. Fabiani had endurance on his side and maintained his pace, stroking the water at the same speed throughout the race until the last 25 yards when he sprinted to dwindle the distance between the young Vols and touch the wall first for a personal best time of 1:31.23.
Sophomore Lucien Vergnes won the 100-yard backstroke for the Sun Devils with a time of 45.84. The win was a large improvement from his 46.38 win against USC on November 8.
The long trip to Knoxville was an excellent test for the Sun Devils as they defend their Big 12 championship this season. Head coach Herbie Behm was pleased with how the team responded to the competition Virginia, Michigan and Tennessee brought to the tournament.
“We had some really fast times and were doing it with the uncertainty of when the swims are coming and how many swims you have,” Behm said. “This is a lot more difficult than it is at the NCAA’s, honestly, so this is a really good preparation physically and mentally.”
The men’s team is undefeated this season, improving its record to 6-0. The women’s team is 1-5-1. The Sun Devils’ swim and dive team will travel to Austin, Texas, to compete at the Toyota US Open Championships on December 3-5 at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center.
