Sun Devils Face Highs and Lows in Record-Breaking Texas Showdown

(Photo courtesy: Casey McNulty/Sun Devil Athletics)

While the crowd shattered the attendance record at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, Arizona State swim and dive was shattering records in the pool. With 2,331 fans in attendance, the sea of burnt orange watched in horror as the Devils delivered some of the most exhilarating races of the day.

The Sun Devils’ matchup against the Longhorns is the toughest competition the team has seen so far this season. After both highs and lows during day one of the Eddie Reese Texas Showdown, the Devils’ performances established a steady foundation for Saturday’s races.

The meet opened with the 200-yard medley relay, a race where the ASU quartet of graduate student Caroline Bentz, sophomore Miriam Sheehan, senior Iza Adame and freshman Julia Ullmann have delivered several record-breaking performances all season. However, they did not get the chance to break it again, as the squad was disqualified. ASU’s second team of senior Charli Brown, juniors Ginger McMahon and Hannah Hurleman and fifth-year Erin Milligan took eighth place, stripping the Devils of any momentum.

Conversely, the Sun Devil men established an initial tone of dominance with the relay of freshman Lucien Vergnes, junior Andy Dobrzanski, sophomore Ilya Kharun and junior Jonny Kulow. After swimming from behind for the first two legs, Kharun propelled the team into first place. Kulow then anchored the race to touch in a time of 1 minute and 27.77 seconds, which broke the previous pool record held by Alabama.

Moving into the distance events, the ASU women and men fell short in the 500-yard freestyle. While both teams remained in the middle of the pack and made pushes toward the end of their races, junior Deniz Ertan claimed fifth overall, while senior Daniel Matheson claimed fourth place for the men.

The women performed well in the 200-yard individual medley, where Brown and sophomore Sonia Vaishnani claimed fourth and sixth place, respectively. Both women also achieved new career bests with their times.

The individual medley was a different story for the men, as this race was the team’s weakest performance of the morning. However, Vergnes, who displayed incredible versatility during his first season as a Sun Devil, managed to take fourth place and achieve a new personal best of 1:45.15.

As the morning session ended, the men and women defended ASU’s title as the “sprint university.” Bentz claimed fourth place for the Sun Devils during the 50-yard freestyle, while Sheehan, Milligan and Ullmann each secured new season bests. Kharun and Kulow seized the top two spots for the men, and Kulow simultaneously achieved a new season best and continued to be their strongest sprinter.

Kicking off the second half of the day, the women began with a fourth-place finish and new best time of 1:28.06 from Bentz, Sheehan, Milligan and Ullmann in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

The men picked up right where they finished session one, with the quartet of Kharun, junior Tommy Palmer, freshman Tolu Young and Kulow achieving a best time as a team and a first-place finish with their time of 1:14.06.

In the 400-yard individual medley, Brown delivered a strong performance. She secured fourth place and simultaneously broke the ASU school record with a time of 4:07.58.

While the women fell short in the 100-yard butterfly, Kharun continued to dominate as he achieved a first-place finish and a season best time of 43.90. Sophomore Filip Senc-Samardzic claimed fourth place for the Devils and achieved a season best time of 45.47.

The men narrowly fell short of first place in the 200-yard freestyle, but senior Patrick Sammon delivered a powerful performance and secured second. Senior Tiago Behar claimed third for the Devils.

The women struggled in the 100-yard breaststroke, but Adame managed to claim fifth place and plow through her personal best with a time of 59.49. Dobrzanski secured third overall, tallying up another top-three finish for the Sun Devil men.

Bentz and Sheehan took sixth and seventh, respectively, for the Sun Devil women during the 100-yard backstroke. Bentz’s time of 51.79 shattered another ASU school record. Vergnes continued to shine as a strong asset for the men’s team, claiming third place in the event for the Devils.

The most nail-biting event of the meet was the 400-yard medley relay. The men’s quartet of Vergnes, Dobrzanski, Kharun and Kulow put on a show for all to see. After being behind for the first two relay legs, Kharun stepped on the gas in the butterfly and brought the Devils back up into contention for first place. It was all down to Kulow for the freestyle, and the junior performed in a way that the Texas fans didn’t enjoy. He sprinted into the finish to touch at 3:01.18, beating out the Longhorns during the final event of the night.

The Sun Devils struggled with consistency during the first day of the invitational. Both teams delivered middle-ground performances, ranging from disqualifying missteps to record-breaking races. If the Sun Devils want to fulfill the prophecy of success and assert initial authority in a new rivalry against Texas, they must dial in their focus and refine their endeavors going into the second day of competition.