No.23 UCLA swim and dive team saw a strong performance at the McCorckle Aquatic Pavilion at the Ohio State Invitational meet, which spanned from Nov. 18-21.
The relays kicked off the meet on Tuesday, as the 200 Medley and the 800 Freestyles were swum first. Fay Lustria, Sarah Bennetts, Jada Duncan and Claudia Yovanovich were the strong force behind this fierce race, and finished only a mere 0.5 seconds behind 3rd place. University of Louisville took the win for this relay, with an impressive time of 1.33.69 in the final.
Bennetts displayed her stamina on Tuesday as she went on to give her all in the 800 yard freestyle relay after competing in the 200 Medley. Her relay placed a respectable 5th place, with Gizem Guvenc and Rosie Murphy both leaving bubbles behind with times of 1.45 for their 200 yard contribution.
Motivated to move into the podium going into Wednesday, Murphy cleared the competition as she won 1st place in the 400 Individual Medley with a stunning time of 4.06.08. Coming back for revenge from the previous freestyle relay on Tuesday, the UCLA women’s team fought their way to 3rd place and dropped 1.32 seconds, featuring standout swimmers such as Yovanovitch and Bennetts again.
After the first two days of competition, UCLA placed 5th overall in the competition with 485 points.
Diving into Thursday provided a fresh start for the UCLA swimmers, with a drive to place in the top three and confidence backed by their gold from Wednesday. Yovanovich and Murphy went head to head in the 100 yard backstroke, with times of 52.20 and 52.61 respectively. Lustria followed suit with a time of 52.94.
Bennetts demonstrated her breadth of events on Thursday as she took 5th place in the 200 yard breaststroke, as well as being a force in the freestyle events. UCLA moved into 5th place after the third day, but individual swims showed off their grit and speed.
Friday signaled the last day of the grueling competition, and marked out the good from the great. Murphy proved herself as one of the greats, as she stole the gold in the 200 yard Individual Medley at a time of 1.54.89. Murphy emphasized her strength when she took second place in the 200 yard backstroke on Friday, and her domination in the pool is certainly exciting for the future of UCLA’s swim and dive team.
Although UCLA did not take the podium this time, they walked away with strong individual swims and a bright potential in the pool. Their invitational meet against USC on Saturday provides new opportunities for the swimmers, and gives them a chance to fight for the gold this time.
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Featured Image via Daily Bruin Archives
