Utah Swim and Dive Sits Ahead After Day 1 in Tucson

Utah Swim and Dive Sits Ahead After Day 1 in Tucson

10/25/2024 10:49 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Utes continue tomorrow morning for second day with Wildcats

TUCSON, Ariz. – The University of Utah's swim and dive team finished day one of a two-day duel with the University of Arizona Wildcats with both men and women's teams holding first-place on Friday evening at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center in Tucson, Ariz.

"I'm very pleased about the meet today," said head coach Jonas Persson, " We are in a great position to continue the meet tomorrow and I expect them to fight hard for the win."

With several time drops and seven first-place finishes, both men and women's teams have ended day one in Tucson with new energy.

Time Drops

The women's 200-yard medley relay dropped 1.11 seconds off their time to earn a second-place finish to start the meet for the Utes.
Three Utes dropped time in the women's 1,000-yard freestyle event, junior Chloe Thompson with a 4.36 drop, sophomore Ece Yildirim dropped 11.94 seconds and senior Molly Jacobson dropped 13.23 second for a fifth-place finish.
Four men dropped time in the 1000-yard free: sophomore Nick Chirafisi dropped 22.76, freshman Owen Carlsen dropped 7.53, senior Chance Ricca dropped 8.20 second and freshman Quinn Jones took off 7.74 seconds.
Senior Norah Hay and freshman Alexia Duncan both dropped time in their 200-backstroke, 1.54 and 1.77 seconds respectively.
Graduate Parker McOmber dropped two seconds for a second-place finish in the 200-back, with freshman Nate Decker earning fourth with a .08 time drop.
Sophomore Abby Pope took off 3.15 seconds in the 200-yard butterfly with junior Sydney Even dropping 2.07 and sophomore Teagan Steinmetz dropped 0.49.
Three Utah swimmers dropped time in the 200-fly, junior Evan VanBrocklin (3.75), Jakub Walter (3.01) and Nicholas Kjaeruff (0.70).
Freshman Rylee McColley took off 2.01 in the 200-yard breast, sophomore Ella Derby dropped 2.58 for a third-place finish and senior Krystal Lieu losing 1.93 for fourth.
In the 200-breast on the men's side, freshman Daniel Yi took off 3.36, sophomore Caleb Gallagher dropped 3.13 and senior Baylor Lewis lost 2.80.
To close out the meet, ten Utah swimmers dropped time in the 100-yard freestyle, the most significant of which were freshman Nolan Arnholt with a 1.48 loss and junior Julia Bartell with a 1.03 drop.

Going for the Gold

The men's 200-yard medley relay clocked in a 1:29.39, touching the wall first for the first gold for Utah of the meet.
Chirafisi snagged gold in the 1000-free with a 9:22.72.
Hay earned first in the 200-back after touching the wall at 1:59.20.
Junior Brandon Miller collected gold after a 1:48.95 finish in the 200-back.
For the 200-fly, Pope brought in a first-place finish with 2:04.53.
McColley touched at 2:16.41 in the 200-breast for her first gold of the meet.
Earning the last gold of the evening, junior Milner touched 50.46 in the 100-yard free.

"We had an excellent day in the diving well," said head diving coach Richard Marschner. "We just missed out on a couple of wins by the narrowest of margins, but we dove really well for travelling on the road."

On the Boards

Holly Waxman earned her NCAA Zones Cut with a 316.28 total on 3m, also collecting the silver medal.
Callie Eaglestone grabbed her first career medal with a third-place finish on 3m, a total of 288.83 will take her to NCAA Zones on that event as well.
On the 1m side, Elias Petersen soared over the Zones cut with a 347.78 finish and a silver medal.
Attila Bernatsky earned his first career medal with a third-place finish and a 264.38 total.

Looking Ahead
The Utes head back home to host their first dual meet of the season against UNLV on Nov. 1 in the Ute Natatorium.

Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UTAHswimdive | Instagram: @utahswimdive | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahUtesSwimDive), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360 -- download here.