UCLA Solid at the 2021 Ohio State Fall Invite

DAY 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The UCLA swim team recorded five separate top-10 finishes to highlight the first day of action at the 2021 Ohio State Fall Invitational.

The Bruins opened up the finals session on a strong note, earning a third-place result in the 200 free relay. The UCLA A's finished that race in a season-best 1:29.23, dropping nearly four seconds off their previous time. Junior Sophia Kosturos swam the anchor leg in 22.09 to record the best individual split of any UCLA swimmer in that relay.

Freshman Paige MacEachern was the Bruins' top finisher in the 500 free, going a personal-best and NCAA B-Cut 4:46.59 to take 14th place. Junior Stephanie Su also qualified for the 500 free finals, finishing the race in a season-best 5:01.64 (40th place).

UCLA had five swimmers place in the top-20 of the 200 IM finals, led by senior Ella Kirschke who came in at 1:59.35 for eighth place. She was one three Bruins to log a B-Cut in the race, joined by sophomore Sam Baron (1:58.33, personal best, 12th place) and senior Delaney Smith (1:58.69, 14th). Freshman Eva Carlson also notched a personal-best in the finals at 2:01.99, while sophomore Bailey Herbert (2:00.60) and freshman Ana Jih-Schiff (2:01.00) logged PBs in prelims.

Senior Claire Grover and junior Rachel Rhee each qualified for the A Final of the 50 free, and both recorded NCAA B-Cuts and season-best times en route to top-10 finishes. Grover was fifth at 22.42 while Rhee was seventh at 22.65. Junior Gabby Dang placed 13th in the finals and notched a personal-best and B-Cut in prelims (22.71). Other personal-bests in the 50 free came courtesy of Rhee (22.52 in prelims) and sophomore Maddie Wright (23.00).

The Bruins closed the first day of competition with a fifth-place finish in the 400 medley relay, as the A squad of Kosturos, Carlson, Dang, and Rhee posted a time of 3:35.97.

UCLA continues at the Ohio State Fall Invitational on Friday, with prelims scheduled to start at 5:30 a.m. PT and finals at 2:30 p.m. PT. Scheduled events include the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, and 800 free relay.

Follow @UCLASwimAndDive on Twitter for updates all weekend.

DAY 2

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The UCLA swim team had another solid collective performance at day two of the 2021 Ohio State Fall Invitational.

The Bruins opened up the evening finals session by recording a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay at 1:38.57 (Sophia Kosturos, Eva Carlson, Sam Baron, Gabby Dang). It was UCLA's second top-three relay finish of the weekend. The UCLA B's (Mia Chang, Bailey Herbert, Crystal Murphy, Brooke Schaffer) also secured a top-10 finish, posting a time of 1:40.34 to take 10th.

Freshman Paige MacEachern was the second-place finisher in the B Final of the 400 IM, notching a personal-best and NCAA B-Cut time of 4:12.35 to earn 11th. Senior Delaney Smith also qualified for the B Final, taking 16th at 4:18.21.

UCLA had an extremely strong showing in the 100 fly, as three Bruins made the A Final led by Baron who went a 52.74 to take fourth and record an NCAA B Cut. Gabby Dang (52.80, fifth) and Kosturos (53.44) also recorded B Cuts, with the latter serving as a new personal best. Dang was the third-place finisher in the morning prelims with a personal-best time of 52.46.

Junior Rachel Rhee (1:47.88, eighth) and senior Ella Kirschke (1:48.59, ninth) were UCLA's two A-Finalists in the 200 free. A pair of Bruins in junior Lindsey Stenstrom (1:49.61) and freshman Taylor Schaffer (1:53.34) logged new personal bests during the morning prelims in the 200 free.

The Bruins had two more A-Finalists in the 100 breast, as Carlson (1:01.06, eighth) and Herbert (1:01.14, ninth) both placed top-10 and recorded B Cuts. Baron went a personal-best 1:01.19 for a 13th place result and B Cut in the B Final. Herbert (1:00.85) notched a new personal best in prelims, alongside Ana Jih-Schiff (1:01.87).

Kosturos was UCLA's top racer in the 100 back, taking ninth-place at 54.21. Chang qualified for the B Final and ended up 16th at 54.90. Kosturos went 53.63 in prelims, a season-best and NCAA B Cut.

The Bruins wrapped up day two with a fifth-place finish in the 800 free relay, as the UCLA A's (Rhee, Smith, Kirschke, Maddie Wright) posted a time of 7:15.87.

DAY 3

COLUMBUS, Ohio – UCLA had a trio of A-Finalists and a fourth-place finish in the meet-closing 400 free relay as part of the third and final day of the 2021 Ohio State Fall Invitational.

The last finals session of the weekend started with the 1650 free, a race that saw junior Stephanie Su (16:56.29) place 22nd and freshman Taylor Schaffer (17:07.78) drop 52 seconds from her previous personal-best en route to a 27th place finish.

Junior Lindsay Stenstrom was the Bruins' top finisher in the 200 back, taking 18th with a time of 1:59.79. UCLA placed the top-four swimmers in the C Final of the 200 back, as Smith (1:57.42), Kirschke (1:58.46), Howard (1:58.48), and Chang (1:58.53) all finishing within quick succession of each other.

The Bruins had a pair of A-Finalists in the 100 free, headlined by an NCAA B Cut time of 49.39 from Kosturos that earned her seventh place. Rhee was right behind her at 49.77 for ninth place, and Grover also got in under the 50-second mark at 49.90 (15th place).

Herbert went a personal best 2:11.72 in the 200 breast to take eighth place and notch an NCAA B Cut. Carlson also had a B Cut at 2:12.87 to take 12th. Herbert recorded PBs in back-to-back swims, as she posted a team-best 2:12.23 in prelims to earn a spot in the A Final.

The 200 fly was highlighted by a B Final win from Baron (1:58.15), whose time was good for an NCAA B Cut. Murphy (1:59.61) finished under the 2-minute mark for the first time in her career to take 13th place. MacEachern won the C Final with a time of 2:00.51.

The Bruins closed out the invitational with a solid showing in the 400 free relay, as the quartet of Grover-Rhee-Dang-Kosturos posted a time of 3:18.77. The UCLA B's (Smith-B. Schaffer-Wright-Kirschke) weren't far behind at 3:19.97, good for seventh place.

FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. Ohio State - 2,258
2. Kentucky - 2,198
3. Indiana - 2,023
4. Notre Dame - 1,429
5. UCLA - 1,355
6. Virginia Tech - 938
7. Pitt - 834
8. Navy - 789
9. Cincinnati - 193
10. Miami - 159