Utah Swimming and Diving Heads South for Two-Day Meet with BYU

Friday, February 9

Provo, UT

4 p.m.

University of Utah

BYU

Utah Swimming and Diving Heads South for Two-Day Meet with BYU

2/7/2024 8:08 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Utes look to replicate dual meet sweep from a year ago

SALT LAKE CITY – It is almost time for the final non-conference meet on the schedule for the University of Utah swimming and diving team and this matchup will pit them against the BYU Cougars in a two day meet that will consist of one session beginning on Friday at 4 p.m. and another that will start on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Richards Building Pool in Provo, Utah.

This edition of the annual clash between these two sides will give the Utes the chance to maintain the upper hand they've held over the Cougars in recent years, which includes a dual meet sweep in 2023. In that instance, the list of Utah's top performers included Summer Stanfield, Norah Hay and Evan VanBrocklin, all of whom swam their way into first multiple times, while Holly Waxman, Elias Petersen and Luke McDivitt topped the leaderboard in the diving events.

The Utes will be hoping to earn their first sweep in Provo since Feb. of 2020, while Utah's women's squad will be aiming for their 12th consecutive triumph over their rivals from Provo.

In The Pool
Utah's female swimmers recently put on a strong showing despite suffering a defeat at the hands of the Washington State Cougars and the total points leader in Pullman was Summer Stanfield, who used two first-place finishes and one runner-up showing to log 22 points for Utah's cause. Taylor Kabacy and Cameron Daniell contributed new times to the program record book against WSU, both in the 1000 free. Kabacy clocked in at 9:58.28, which put her fifth in that event in the school record book, while Daniell, who placed second in the race, posted the program's sixth fastest mark in that event at 9:59.69.

Erin Palmer continued her domination of the 50 free by touching first in that race for the fifth time in 2023-24, while Kim Lanaghen's effort in the 100 fly garnered her win No. 1 of the year, as she logged a time of 55.41.

The men's team is returning to action after a meet against Wyoming that saw them collect a 158-96 triumph. Brandon Miller, Will Woodall and Jaek Horner were among the victors in the competition, each swimming into the winner's circle twice. The Utes also scooped up both relays and received wins from Jakub Walter, Marko Kovacic and Nick Chirafisi. The men's side will be aiming to down its third straight opponent after also topping Colorado Mesa on Jan. 5.

"This will be a fun and intense meet," said coach Jonas Persson. "BYU is a good team and we have a great challenge ahead of us. Both teams are excited about it and ready for some fast swimming."

On the Boards
Sydney Kowalski was the star when Utah's divers climbed on to the boards at the Air Force Diving Invitational on Feb. 2 and 3. In the 3m, she snuck in to the final with a 12th-place preliminary finish, then jumped six spots up the leaderboard with a score of 249.80 in the final, her highest point total of the year from the 3m.

One day later, diving off the platform, Holly Waxman and Kathryn Grant placed 1-2 in the prelims, while Kowalski put together another solid showing. Her score of 175.80 landed her in 19th and was good enough to secure a spot at NCAA Zones in March.

"We're feeling pumped and confident for the upcoming BYU meet," said assistant diving coach Gabrielle Logozzo. "We've been absolutely killing it in practice and I couldn't be more excited for us to show off what we've got!"

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).