Beavers Win Five Events in Opener

Corvallis, Ore. – Sammy Harrison, Megan Lam and Czsarina Isleta all won events on Saturday as the Oregon State swim team fell 109-94 to Arizona State at the Osborn Aquatic Center in its annual Dam Cancer meet.

OSU coach Larry Liebowitz said the Beavers made great strides from the Sept. 26 Orange & Black Intrasquad meet in their first conference and regular-season opener.

“We were much better than last week,” he said. “I was very impressed. This is an early meet and I don't think we've won that many events against Arizona State in years.”

Harrison prevailed in spirited races against ASU standout Anna Olasz to capture the 1,000-yard (10:14.34) and 500-yard (5:01.67) freestyle titles. The shorter race came down to a sprint in the final 25 yards and Harrison, a 2015 All-American, touched out Olasz by .15 seconds.

“Olasz is the best distance swimmer ASU has,” Liebowitz said. “Last year Sammy won every 1,000 [race] against every school so she wants to keep that going.

“She was sick this week, so she's not as fast as we would have hoped for her,” but she had more than enough to top Olasz, who took eighth in the 1,650 freestyle at the 2015 Pac-12 Championships, six placed behind Harrison, the conference runner-up in her signature event.

A freshman from Sunset High School in Beaverton, Lam edged Kat Simonovic by .21 seconds to win the 200 butterfly in 2:05.98 for her initial collegiate victory. She also placed second in the 200 individual medley (2:08.95).

“She's going to be a really big help to us,” Liebowitz said of Lam, who swam for the Tualatin Hills Swim Club. “She really knows how to race. She splits her races in a way I can get excited about.”

Isleta led the 200 breaststroke from start to finish, staved off a finishing kick by runner-up Cheyenne Degraff and prevailed in 2:21.60. Corrine Shigeta was less than a second behind (2:22.52) and took third.

“She (Degraff) caught me up a bit at the end but I'm glad I scored some points for my team, that's the most important thing,” Isleta said. “It's early in the season.

“We're still training hard and just getting into things. After four weeks of practice we've all been doing so well, everyone is toughing up.

“Everyone improved from the intrasquad. Everyone dropped times today. I think it's because of the hard practices, and the captains (Harrison and Young) are making us excited about the meets.

“Also it's our Dam Cancer meet,” which benefits the Corvallis Clinic's Project H.E.R., a comprehensive breast health services program available to women in Benton, Linn and Lincoln counties. “We were all excited about that.”

Sophie MacEwan placed second in the 50 free (24.28); Amani Amr was second in the 200 backstroke (2:05.48), and the 200 medley relay foursome of Amr, Isleta, Andrea Young and Anni Hecker was second in 1:47.15.

Young was third in the 200 individual medley (2:10.53); Brooke Meyer was third in the 200 butterfly (2:09.07), and the 200 medley relay team of MacEwan, Shigeta, Lam and Claire McLaggan was third in 1:48.01.

OSU also won the 400 freestyle relay as Harrison, Constance Toulemonde, Tair Maimon and Meyer finished in 3:38.86. ASU's top team finished in 3:28.77 but swam the event as an exhibition.

“Overall we did better than what we are hoping for right now,” Liebowitz said. “I think we're in a good place.”

The Beavers return to action Oct. 15 with dual against Vanderbilt and San Diego State in San Diego.