Indiana on Top After Day 1 Against USC, UCLA, Texas A&M
The swimming and diving programs from Indiana and Texas A&M have traveled to Los Angeles this weekend to face off against the USC Trojans, with the crosstown UCLA Bruins women’s team also joining the mix for the two-day competition. Unsurprisingly, the Hoosiers have been dominant so far, leading their competitors in each dual meet. The closest competition is on the women’s side where Indiana owns a 98-88 advantage over USC entering day two of racing.
The women’s meet opened with Indiana coming from behind on the anchor leg to take first in the 400 medley relay. Liberty Clark entered with a deficit before recording a 46.88 freestyle split to take the win by more than a second. Mya DeWitt, Jonette Lagreid and Miranda Grana supplied the first three legs for the winning team, with a final time of 46.68.
Grana won the first individual race of the day for Indiana, clocking 50.75 in the 100 backstroke while DeWitt grabbed second. Clark would return to secure the top spot in the 50 freestyle in 22.03, and she was just one hundredth slower leading off IU’s victorious 200 free relay. She was joined by DeWitt, Sze Yeo and Kristina Paegle on that squad, which finished in 1:28.50.
Later in the day, Grana secured first in the 100 butterfly in 51.55, and Clark’s second individual win came in the 200 free. The impressive freshman held off USC’s Minna Abraham by seven hundredths down the stretch, 1:42.43 to 1:42.50, and the result was especially notable given that Abraham has been a top-three finisher in the 200 free at the past two NCAA Championships.
The Trojans picked up a win from Abraham in the 500 free with a time of 4:40.78, and Justina Kozan got to the wall first in the 200 IM in 1:55.44. Kozan later captured first in the 400 IM, her mark of 4:05.15 eclipsing the field by 5.79 seconds. USC’s Kate Miller scored 322.15 points for first place in 3-meter diving.
UCLA’s lone victory came from Sarah Bennetts in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.59).
The men’s meet kicked off with Raekwon Noel, Noah Cakir, Owen McDonald and Mikkel Lee picking up the win for Indiana in the 400 medley relay, the team combining for a time of 3:05.97. Zalan Sarkany, the two-time defending NCAA champion in the 1650 free, dominated the 500 free in 4:11.39 before returning later to go 3:43.75 for first place by more than three seconds in the 400 IM. Teammate Miroslav Knedla led a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 back with a top time of 45.58.
Owen McDonald was dominant in the 200 IM in 1:42.91 while Lee went 19.16 to finish almost six tenths clear of the field in the 50 free. Lee, Vidar Calbaum, McDonald and Smiley were victorious in the 200 free relay (1:18.06). Another 1-2-3 finish followed in the 200 free, with newcomer Brandon Fleck leading the field to the wall in 1:35.50, and Alexei Avakov went 52.22 for first in the 100 breast.
USC’s Michal Chmielewski picked up the top spot in the 100 fly in 45.97 while diver Moritz Wesemann got first on 1-meter (407.80).
