(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)
TEMPE — ASU swim and dive made its return to Mona Plummer Plummer Center on Friday for its third meet of the season. Both the men’s and women’s teams faced their biggest test yet against the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
Arizona State entered the meet ranked No. 1/No. 21, while North Carolina State ranked No. 4/No. 4. This meant that two of the premier swim and dive programs in the country faced off, as this matchup held the potential to be one of the most competitive NCAA dual meets of the 2023 season.
In the end, the Sun Devils split with the Wolfpack, as the men’s team won 186.5-113.5 while the women fell 169.5-130.5 in a hard fought battle.
Fifth-year swimmer Jack Dolan highlighted the men’s dominant win Friday. He finished the 50-yard freestyle in 19.02 seconds, which is the sixth-best time in school history. Dolan also won the 100 freestyle, finishing in 42.20 seconds. When asked about his takeaways from the meet, Dolan made sure to highlight the competition.
“This is one of the better teams we’ve faced in a dual meet,” Dolan said. “On both sides, it was a really good competition.”
Superstar junior León Marchand won all four of the events he participated in against North Carolina State, including the 500 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay, 100 breaststroke and 200 medley relay. Two swimmers who also won multiple events for the Sun Devils were Sophomore Hubert Kós and Freshman Ilya Kharun. Kós placed first in the 200 backstroke and 200 IM, while Kharun won both the 100 and 200 butterfly.
Although the women’s swim and dive team lost, their performance impressed head coach Bob Bowman, who highlighted their growth.
“I loved the women’s meet today,” Bowman said. “By far, the best meet we’ve had since I’ve been here. They’re stepping up every time. We’re winning some events. We’re fighting these guys, and they are a great team. So I couldn’t be happier with them, and I think this will just give us some more confidence as we move into the next meeting.”
Sophomore Ieva Maluka was one swimmer who stood out for the women’s team. She placed second in the 200 yard IM and was a crucial part of the women’s victory in the 400 freestyle relays. Maluka credited her success in the relay to her teammates on the sideline.
“I would not have been able to do that last relay without everyone cheering me on, and everyone was doing so great,” Maluka said. “We just keep pushing and getting better.”
After the meet, Bowman had nothing but good things to say about his team’s performance. Against top-level talent, the Sun Devils performed well and established themselves as some of the top swimmers in the nation.
“I think that this is our best complete day we’ve had since I came here in 2015,” Bowman said. “Top to bottom, first event to last event. Men, women, freshmen, seniors, fifth-years, the whole thing. Everybody stepped up, and when we needed them to, they came through for the team.”
