USC Swim and Dive Hosts UCLA, Utah and Hawaii to Wrap Regular Season
The USC men's and women's swimming and diving programs return to action this week as the Trojans welcome Utah, UCLA and Hawaii for competition starting this Friday (Feb. 12) at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
The two-day meet will kick off Friday at 11 AM with the diving program, as they host UCLA and Hawaii. The Women of Troy will take to the pool at 1 PM against UCLA, followed by the Men's team and Utah at 3:30 p.m. Saturday will feature diving and men's swimming against Utah at 11 AM, and women's swim against UCLA at 1:30 PM.
Seniors Nikola Miljenic, Mario Koenigsperger, Maggie Aroesty, Marta Ciesla and Jemma Shlicht will be recognized prior to the meets start on Saturday (Feb. 13) as part of USC's Senior Day celebration.
Through two meets, the Trojans have secured 14 NCAA B-cuts and 1 NCAA A-cut. Against Cal (Jan. 29), freshman Kaitlyn Dobler secured USC's only NCAA A-cut, posting a 58.31 to win the 100y breast and set a Spieker Aquatics Complex record.
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So far this season:
The Women of Troy opened the season with a two-day tri-meet against UCLA and Arizona (Jan. 22-23), where the Trojans swept all four relays and won six individual events.
In her Trojan debut, freshman Kaitlyn Dobler posted a pair of wins (100y free – 50.40, 100y breast – 1:00.41) to lead USC. Junior Isa Odgers claimed three events during the season opener, taking both the 200y (2:00.16) and the 400y IM (4:17.91) and the 200y breast (2:12.43.)
The men's team kicked off the season with an intra-squad meet that was full of competition. Newcomers Billy Cruz Zuniga (50y free – 20.67), Harry Homans (200y back – 1:46.72), and Justin Lum (200y breast – 2:03.41) all posted individual wins during their Trojan debuts.
2020 CSCAA All-American Alexei Sancov dominated the 200y free, finishing in 1:37.54 while junior Jackson Odgers took the 400 IM in 4:06.87.
Against Cal (Jan. 29-30) Dobler posted a 58.31 to win the 100y breast, secure an NCAA A-cut and set a Spieker Aquatics Complex record.
Two Trojans posted wins in the 400y IM against the Bears, Odgers won the 400y IM in 4:11.16 for the Women of Troy, and Homans won in 3:51.12 for the men.
Other wins against Cal included Sancov's 200y free (1:33.79) and Miljenics 100y free (43.05.)
The USC diving program opened their 2021 season against Cal Friday (Jan. 29), winning three out of four total events.
Sophomore George Korovin won both the men's platform (383.63) and 3-meter (382.50) competition. Freshman Tatsuya Machida was second on platform with 255.60 and third on 3-meter with 247.50.
On the women's side, Nike Agunbiade led a Trojan sweep on platform with 291.90. Freshman Farrah Volpintesta was second with 244.35 and Savannah Stocker third with 239.70. On 1-meter, Agunbiade was second with 298.20, and Stocker was third with 274.50.
Season Outlook:
Women's: Captains for the Women of Troy are senior Jemma Schlicht and junior Makenna Turner. On the diving side, junior Alyson Tam leads the squad.
USC returns six All-American swimmers and two divers this season. Defending Pac-12 champion in the 100-yard and 200-yard free, Laticia Transom, is primed for a stellar junior year campaign. Other All-Americans returning for the Trojans include Schlicht, seniors Marta Ciesla and Maggie Aroesty , junior Isa Odgers and sophomore Aela Janvier.
Sophomore divers Nike Agunbiade and Savannah Stocker, both Pac-12 finalists and NCAA qualifiers, also return for the Trojans.
Freshmen Kaitlyn Dobler (Portland, Ore.) and Anicka Delgado (Laguna Hills, Calif.) are among the women's swim team's top newcomers. Also joining the squad this season is All-American and SEC finalist Hallie Kinsey, who transferred to USC after two seasons at the University of South Carolina.
The diving program welcomes newcomers Allison Ward (Westlake, Texas) and Farah Volpintesta (Bethel, Conn.) who will contribute significant talent on both boards.
Men's: Captains for Troy are senior Nikola Miljenic and junior Ariel Spektor. On the diving side, sophomore George Korovin leads the squad.
Miljenic, a five-time Pac-12 finalist and NCAA relay scorer, along with redshirt senior and 2019 NCAA scorer Mario Koenigsperger are among the key veterans returning for the Trojans. Junior CSCAA All-American swimmer Alexei Sancov and sophomore diver George Korovin also return for USC.
Joining the program this season is sophomore All-American and SEC finalist Harry Homans, who transferred to USC after a season at the University of Georgia. Troy also picked up junior and four-time 2019-2020 NJCAA All-American Billy Cruz Zuniga (Montreal, Canada).
Other top newcomers include Danny Syrkin (Glendale, Calif. - fly/free) and Tatsuya Machida (La Canada, Calif. - diving.)