Sun Devils gain valuable experience in long course exhibition against NC State

(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)

TEMPE — After what head coach Bob Bowman called ASU swim and dive’s “best complete day” against NC State on Friday, the Sun Devils raced the Wolfpack in a long course exhibition style meet Saturday.

Saturday’s races may not have been about the scoreboard but Bowman was still hunting for the energy after a short turn around from Friday to Saturday’s competitions.

“I think considering (the turn around) they did a pretty good job,” Bowman said. “There’s definitely some people I think could have done a little bit better but overall solid efforts, and it was a good experience racing in the long course.”

Though there weren’t any eye popping performances in Saturday’s exhibition, there were a few swimmers that stood out above the rest. After swimming in four events Friday, sophomore Zoe Summar took first in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes, 37.41 seconds.

The second-year swimmer has made large improvements this season, exemplifying the overall development on the women’s team. With the improvements, there is a feeling that this ASU women’s squad is on the rise.

“I think with (competing against) a No. 4 team and only losing by 40 points yesterday was a really big (sign that) ASU women’s team is on the come up,” Summar said.

Excitement is high for the Sun Devil women. It’s evident from their camaraderie on the pool deck just how much this team culture has contributed to their success.

“Last year we weren’t ranked,” Summar said. “This year we came up 12 spots on the ranking (in) preseason, and our group chat went crazy. We were so proud of each other,” Summar said. “I think (yesterday’s meet) was a really big deal and our group chat last night was just so happy because we came in here ready to fight.”

Although Friday’s meet counted as a loss on the official record, there was a moral victory for the ASU women as they prepare for a bout with UCLA on Nov 3.

There’s no doubt it’s tough to swim back-to-back days in short course and long course, but when it comes to an exhibition meet, there has to be an element of balance with the seriousness of competition while also having fun in a scoreless race.

“It’s a bit of both,” sophomore Andy Dobrzanski said. “You want to have fun but also, it’s get down to work and still attack the details and everything within the swims.”

Similarly to Summar, Dobrzanski won the men’s 200m breaststroke Friday with a time of 2:17.25, completing the men’s and women’s sweep in the event.

Despite all the great swimming for the two ranked teams for Arizona State, there’s always improvements to be made for the Sun Devils to reach their true goals of a national championship. With a long season still ahead, Bowman emphasized that it’s important for his team to use these exhibition meets to hone in on the details.

“Right now we’re looking for technical improvements,” Bowman said. “What these time trials this morning and last night really point out are where we can do things better and a lot of that is around the turns and starts and things like that.”