(Photo courtesy: Casey McNulty/Sun Devil Athletics)
As the top teams dove into Texas’ home base for the last races of the weekend, Arizona State put up its best fight to represent the Sun Devils. The Devils were able to creep their way up to second place overall and produce show-stopping performances throughout the meet.
With the bar set high, the Sun Devils pushed to prove their abilities during Saturday’s session. In the end, ASU was able surpass the University of Virginia and North Carolina State, but it fell to Texas.
Day two opened up with the 200-yard backstroke, an event that did not go smoothly for the Devils. Senior Charli Brown managed to squeeze her way into eighth place, just behind Sun Devil freshman Jordan Greber. Senior Jack Wadsworth produced a fifth-place finish, with freshman Lucien Vergnes following in eighth place.
To turn things around, graduate Caroline Bentz swam to a third-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.27 seconds. Fifth-year Erin Milligan had a fast swim to produce a time of 49.33 and take eighth overall. On the men’s side, the 100-yard freestyle was stacked with talent. Junior Jonny Kulow and senior Patrick Sammon represented ASU in that event, with Kulow putting up a strong fight against Texas senior Chris Guiliano. In the end, Guiliano was no match for Kulow, as the junior gained about a half-second lead by the final lap and touched first in a time of 41.11
To continue the Devils’ momentum, junior Andy Dobrzanski put on a show in the 200-yard breaststroke. Dobrzanski was in the middle of the pack during the first 150 yards of the race. However, the junior turned on the jets in the final two laps and achieved another first-place finish for the Sun Devil men.
In the 200-yard butterfly, sophomore Ilya Kharun had a dominant first-place finish by over three seconds. In typical Kharun fashion, the sophomore got himself ahead of the competition quickly. He was in the lead after the first 50 yards and did not slow down throughout the entirety of the race. On the other hand, the women couldn’t gain the same momentum as Kharun, as sophomore Sonia Vaishnani touched in seventh place.
To finish the individual events, junior Deniz Ertan was the standout for the Devils in the 1650-yard freestyle. Ertan was sandwiched between swimmers from Texas and Virginia, but maintained a steady pace throughout the race to take third. Senior Daniel Matheson fought through the entirety of the race to earn a solid fifth place.
In the final event of the session, the Sun Devils kicked into high gear for the 400-yard freestyle relay. The women fought their hardest, yet were only able to place fifth overall. The squad consisted of Bentz, Milligan, Brown and freshman Julia Ullmann. However, Bentz’s relay lead-off time of 47.97 was good enough for a new school record in the 100-yard freestyle. The stars of the last event were the Sun Devil men’s relay team of Kharun, junior Tommy Palmer, Sammon and Kulow. The Devils shifted into overdrive and had nearly a 15-yard lead by the final lap to claim first.
The Sun Devils were able to regain momentum on the second day of the meet, but ultimately fell to the Longhorns. ASU overcame the tough races from Friday and had a remarkable display of hard work and grit. That being said, the Devils must use this loss to the Longhorns as fuel to move forward come championship season.