Upcoming Event: Men's Swimming & Diving versus Alumni Meet on October 11, 2025 at 10:00 AM
10:00 AM
Men's Swimming & Diving
vs Alumni Meet
Friday, February 10
Los Angeles, CA
2:00 PM
University of Utah
139
at
161
USC
Photo by: Hunter Dyke/Utah Athletics
USC Tops Men's Swim and Dive, 161-139
2/10/2023 9:49 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Focus for Utah now shifts to Pac-12 Championships
LOS ANGELES – The University of Utah swimming and diving team collected eight total wins, including two by Andrei Ungur, but fell just short of victory against the USC Trojans on Friday, falling 161-139 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
"[We did] really well today," said head coach Jonas Persson. "There was a lot of fast swimming from both teams and Southern California was just a little bit better today, but I am very pleased about our swims and we had a lot of personal bests. The divers did really well on the boards, especially on the 3m."
In The Pool
Ungur's triumphs were two of six individual wins the Utes pocketed on Friday and the senior from Romania came out on top in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. In the former event, he was just over half-a-second off his all-time record time of 45.05, finishing in 45.65. His 47.19 was a personal-best in the 100 fly, moving him up to seventh all-time in the Utah record book.
In the 1000 free, no one was faster than Brandon Miller, who raced to the finish in 9:11.35, the sixth-fastest mark ever by a Ute. Jaek Horner collected the top spot in the 100 breaststroke, touching in 53.02 and Evan VanBrocklin added to his team's point total by winning the 500 free in 4:27.07. One more personal best came from Marko Kovacic in the 200 fly, with his 1:44.95 improving on a mark that already ranks fourth-best in Utah history.
The Utes also snagged wins in two relays, first in the 200 medley relay, which was won by the quartet of Ungur, Horner, Marko Kovacic and Finn O'Haimhirgin in 1:25.53. In the 400 free relay, O'Haimhirgin, Ungur and Horner teamed up with JP Hynes for a time of 2:53.66 that put them atop the podium.
"This is a really good sign for conference coming up in about two-and-a-half weeks," said Persson. "It was a pretty close meet and we only lost by 22 points. It shows that our training and our coaching and our culture is really working and even though the guys are disappointed that they lost, they're also really excited that we're moving forward in the right direction."
On The Boards
Elias Petersen put forth a top-notch effort in both diving events, starting with the 1m, where his 331.25 points put him in second and well above the NCAA Championship qualifying standard.
In the 3m, Petersen was even better, putting up a score of 365.08 that proved unbeatable, earned him first place and was just shy of his personal best. It was also yet another NCAA qualifying mark for the freshman.
"Elias did really well to earn a win on 3m against some very tough competition," said diving coach Richard Marschner. "He was steady throughout the day and came through big for the team. We're looking great as a team and are ready to go for Pac-12's."
Looking Ahead
The next stop for the Utes is Federal Way, Wash., the site of the 2023 Pac-12 Diving and Women's Swimming Championships, which will take place on Feb. 22-25.
Follow the Utes!
For fans of the Utah men's/women's swimming and diving programs, follow the Utes on Twitter (@UTAHswimdive), Instagram (@utahswimdive) and Facebook (@UtahUtesSwimDive).
"[We did] really well today," said head coach Jonas Persson. "There was a lot of fast swimming from both teams and Southern California was just a little bit better today, but I am very pleased about our swims and we had a lot of personal bests. The divers did really well on the boards, especially on the 3m."
In The Pool
Ungur's triumphs were two of six individual wins the Utes pocketed on Friday and the senior from Romania came out on top in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. In the former event, he was just over half-a-second off his all-time record time of 45.05, finishing in 45.65. His 47.19 was a personal-best in the 100 fly, moving him up to seventh all-time in the Utah record book.
In the 1000 free, no one was faster than Brandon Miller, who raced to the finish in 9:11.35, the sixth-fastest mark ever by a Ute. Jaek Horner collected the top spot in the 100 breaststroke, touching in 53.02 and Evan VanBrocklin added to his team's point total by winning the 500 free in 4:27.07. One more personal best came from Marko Kovacic in the 200 fly, with his 1:44.95 improving on a mark that already ranks fourth-best in Utah history.
The Utes also snagged wins in two relays, first in the 200 medley relay, which was won by the quartet of Ungur, Horner, Marko Kovacic and Finn O'Haimhirgin in 1:25.53. In the 400 free relay, O'Haimhirgin, Ungur and Horner teamed up with JP Hynes for a time of 2:53.66 that put them atop the podium.
"This is a really good sign for conference coming up in about two-and-a-half weeks," said Persson. "It was a pretty close meet and we only lost by 22 points. It shows that our training and our coaching and our culture is really working and even though the guys are disappointed that they lost, they're also really excited that we're moving forward in the right direction."
On The Boards
Elias Petersen put forth a top-notch effort in both diving events, starting with the 1m, where his 331.25 points put him in second and well above the NCAA Championship qualifying standard.
In the 3m, Petersen was even better, putting up a score of 365.08 that proved unbeatable, earned him first place and was just shy of his personal best. It was also yet another NCAA qualifying mark for the freshman.
"Elias did really well to earn a win on 3m against some very tough competition," said diving coach Richard Marschner. "He was steady throughout the day and came through big for the team. We're looking great as a team and are ready to go for Pac-12's."
Looking Ahead
The next stop for the Utes is Federal Way, Wash., the site of the 2023 Pac-12 Diving and Women's Swimming Championships, which will take place on Feb. 22-25.
Follow the Utes!
For fans of the Utah men's/women's swimming and diving programs, follow the Utes on Twitter (@UTAHswimdive), Instagram (@utahswimdive) and Facebook (@UtahUtesSwimDive).
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