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Arizona State VS. UNLV
- October 4, 2024
- Tempe, AZ
- 25 yards (SCY)
- Scores:
- Men: ASU – 217, UNLV – 83 (ASU power ranking: #7)
- Women: ASU – 236, UNLV – 64
- Full Results
Arizona State University kicked off the competition season with a bang, breaking records and hitting NCAA cuts as both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams posted victories over UNLV in a home dual meet on Friday.
The double victory suggests a promising season for the Sun Devils, as it was their first meet under the guidance of new head coach Herbie Behm and the opening meet of the NCAA champion title defense for the men.
One thing to note is that at least ASU appears to have been suited up for this meet, which will play into the times a bit.
Women’s Meet
ASU’s women won by no small margin in their competition, closing out the meet with a score of 236 to the Rebels’ 64.
The Sun Devils made a splash right from the first event by breaking a five-year-old school record in the 200 medley relay. The team of Miriam Sheehan, Iza Adame, Julia Ullmann and Caroline Bentz threw down a time of 1:37.05, bettering the previous standard of 1:37.26 set back in 2019.
In addition to racing on the record-breaking relay, sophomore Sheehan went on to win the 100 back by just .01 in a time of 55.67. A transfer from NC State, the meet against UNLV marked her first meet with the Sun Devils and demonstrated what an asset to the team she will be. Originally from Iowa, the Puerto Rican swimmer competed at the Tokyo Olympics and was a 2019 World Juniors finalist, three-time Iowa state record holder and 2024 All-American while at NC State.
Building upon their early win, the ASU women’s team won all 14 of the swimming events, and it was not uncommon to see the Sun Devils sweep the top three or four places in each race.
Despite ASU depth across the board, UNLV managed to prevail in one of the diving events. Vika Yanovska, a fifth-year Rebel, emerged victorious in the 1-meter springboard, scoring 267.45 to win by over 20 points. The Sun Devils were lacking some depth in the diving events, a remnant of ASU still struggling to rebuild its diving program after dropping it entirely during COVID.
Notable Results
- ASU freshman Ullmann, originally from Switzerland, won the 100 fly in a time of 52.77, handing her her second victory in her collegiate debut. Her performance also marked the 7th-fastest time in program history.
- In addition to her victory in the 1-meter, Yanovska posted a runner-up finish in the 3-meter springboard with a score of 236.18, just ahead of 3rd-place teammate Chelsey Dorosh (235.28).
- UNLV sophomore Ava Olson turned in the Rebels’ highest finish in a swimming event, taking second in the 1000 free with a time of 10:01.77.
- ASU grad transfer Bentz proved to be a strong asset to the Sun Devils, winning the 200 back (1:55.29) and contributing to two relay victories; she raced the free leg of the 200 medley relay, splitting a 21.64, and led off the 400 free relay in an opening split of 49.22.
Men’s Meet
Seemingly continuing their prowess from last season, ASU’s men, who are the defending national champions, turned in a resounding victory. The men won 217 to 83 under the direction of their new coaching staff.
Canadian Olympian Ilya Kharun proved to once again be a significant asset for ASU in his second season with the Sun Devils. The 19-year-old won three individual events during the night, leading the way in scoring for his team.
Kharun won the 200 fly (1:39.47), 100 fly (44.57) and 200 IM (1:44.57), as well as contributing to ASU’s victory in the 200 medley relay. His performance in the 200 fly secured him an NCAA ‘A’ cut, sliding under the standard of 1:40.05.
Not far off of his personal bests, these times are notably fast for this time of the season. Kharun already seems to be ahead of the game with his races, as the top times last October in the 100 and 200 fly were 45.26 (Kharun) and 1:39.65 (Leon Marchand).
These results come just weeks after an intrasquad meet where Kharun blasted a 45.00 in the 100 fly and came within .12 of his personal best in the 100 free (42.30), and his improvement against UNLV shows just how he is adapting to the new coach and shaping up for the season already.
The 200 medley relay saw ASU land an early lead over UNLV, as the Sun Devils posted a 1-2 finish in the event.
The winning relay team of Jack Wadsworth, Andy Dobrzanski, Kharun and Jonny Kulow posted a time of 1:23.54, which landed them an NCAA ‘A’ cut in the event. The back half of this relay proved a force to be reckoned with, as Kharun and Kulow both posted the fastest splits in the pool in their respective strokes.
Racing the fly leg, Kharun was the only competitor to go sub-20 seconds; he threw down a 19.38, which is faster than the 19.47 he split on the relay at NCAAs in March. Kulow anchored the relay in an 18.54 and was one of only two swimmers to go sub-19 (teammate Filip Senc-Samardzic split an 18.91).
The Rebels fared slightly better against the men than they did the women, managing to secure victories in three events. Diving was a huge asset for UNLV, as they won both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events and placed multiple divers in the top three.
Notable Results
- UNLV posted a 1-2-3 sweep in the 3-meter springboard event; Alejandro Vazquez won with a score of 303.83, while Ronan Robinson scored 265.05 and Dima Tereschchenko scored 258.38. Vazquez and Tereschchenko also went 1-2 in the 1-meter (341.78 and 302.55).
- Landing UNLV its sole victory in a swimming event was graduate student Daniel Nicusan, who won the 100 breast in a time of 55.22. His performance marked the second-fastest time in program history and was just .08 off of the school record.
- Nicusan was also the runner-up in the 200 IM and posted UNLV’s seventh-fastest time in program history with his time of 1:46.94.
- In his collegiate debut at ASU, freshman Lucien Vergnes won the 200 breast in a time of 1:55.67 and posted a 3rd-place finish in the 100 breast with a time of 52.93.
Up Next
The Sun Devils will be back in action next weekend, hosting an all-Arizona quad meet with the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and Grand Canyon University on October 12. The Rebels return to competition in two weeks when they face off against Simon Fraser October 18-19.