Arizona’s women swam their way to victory against Washington State on Friday at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center, sweeping their fellow Pac-12 competitors in all eleven events and winning with a score of 121-76.
“I was really impressed with them,” head coach Eric Hansen said. “Everybody was really clicking today, and I was really happy with that. We just have to continue progress. I know we are headed in the right direction. I think we are on schedule to do the things we want to do.”
The women were led by juniors Margo Geer and Ashley Evans, and freshmen Bonnie Brandon and Emma Schoettmer. Geer picked up right where she left off last week, swimming a national-best time of 48.58 in the 100y-freestyle.
She added another victory to close out Friday’s performance with a 1:46.82 in the 200y-freestyle. Geer won an additional three first place finishes in the meet against UNLV and Denver on Saturday, swimming the 50y-freestyle in 22.87, the 100y-freestyle in 49.83, and anchoring the 200y-medley relay.
Evans came out strong on Friday, securing two first place finishes in the 200y-butterfly and 1000y-freestyle. Brandon placed first in the 500y-freestyle on Friday and excelled on Saturday, earning four first place finishes.
Schoettmer also helped lift the Wildcats to victory, winning the 200y-breaststroke with a time of 2:13.74.
The men’s swim topped UNLV and Denver, winning a combined 24/32 events, with senior Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or and juniors Mitchell Friedemann and Giles Smith as leaders. Bar-Or earned first place finishes in 100y-freestyle, compiling a time of 45.71, and helped the 200y-medely team to victory. Friedemann was part of two first place relays in the 200y and 400y-medley and won the 100y-backstroke, compiling a time of 48.83.
“I think the team swam well and responded well to being split apart,” Friedemann said. “We would like to keep improving on the small details in order to try to get better.”
Smith earned three first place finishes by helping the 200y-medley and 400y-medley teams to victory and won the 100y-butterfly with a time of 48.20.
“Personally, I feel like I swam a lot better this week,” Smith said. “I still think we can improve as a team in closing out our races, but overall, it was much better than last weekend.”