Sun Devils Turn Up the Heat in State of Arizona Showdown

(Photo: Casey McNulty/Sun Devil Athletics)

It was a thrilling Saturday in Tempe as Arizona State hosted its in-state rivals for its breast cancer awareness meet. The University of Arizona, Grand Canyon University and Northern Arizona University all journeyed to Mona Plummer Aquatic Center to compete in a historic matchup of unconventional swimming events.

The Sun Devils opened the meet with victories in the women’s and men’s 400-yard medley relay. The Sun Devil women placed first in 3 minutes and 34.09 seconds and second in 3:39.03. The men’s team followed with their own pair of dominant performances, as their speed helped them put up a time of 3:05.89 for first and 3:08.62 for second.

The Devils were also on fire in the distance events, as the sophomore duo of Alexa Reyna and Deniz Ertan contributed to the Devils’ winning performances. Reyna picked up the victory in the 600-yard freestyle, while Ertan touched second. The Sun Devils continued their distance success on the men’s side, as sophomore Reece Grady demonstrated his prowess in the 600-yard freestyle to take first, while freshman Michael Hochwalt fought his way to a second-place finish.

In addition to their dominance in the distance events, the Devils proved they could dabble in the sprint events, too. In the 150-yard freestyle, senior Patrick Sammon and junior Jonny Kulow took first and second, respectively. For the women, senior and freshman powerhouses Elli Straume and Julia Ullmann managed to out-touch fifth-year Amalie Mortensen of Arizona to claim the top two spots.

The Sun Devil women especially shined in the 300-yard individual medley, a race where swimmers swam three laps of each of the four strokes. Sophomore Sonia Vaishnani had quite a race and secured first by over three and a half seconds. Senior Charli Brown and sophomore Ella Guilfoil touched behind Vaishnani to round out second and third for the Devils.

During the second half of the meet, freshman Lucien Vergnes had a surprise performance in the 50-yard backstroke. Despite usually swimming breaststroke, the freshman beat out seniors Jack Wadsworth and Jono Adam to claim the win with a time of 21.75 seconds. Ertan also showed out in the second half, as she built off her second-place finish in the 600-yard freestyle to touch first in the 150-yard butterfly. Sophomore Ilya Kharun was the men’s victor in the 150-yard butterfly, which was his second of four first-place finishes on the day.

The Sun Devils closed the meet with wins in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The squad of graduate student Caroline Bentz, sophomore Miriam Sheehan, junior Indigo Armon and fifth-year Erin Milligan finished first for the women and were 0.01 seconds away from tying the school record. In the men’s race, the Devils snagged the top two spots ahead of rival Arizona, whose fastest relay took third.

While the Devils have excelled in the comfort of their home pool for their opening meets, their surroundings will look slightly different in two weeks. Soon, the Devils will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to take on North Carolina State University in what could be their first real test of the season.