Bruins Fall to No. 4 Stanford, 169-119

LOS ANGELES – The UCLA swim and dive team recorded three event wins but suffered a 169-119 loss to No. 4 Stanford on Friday afternoon at Spieker Aquatics Center.

The Bruins (3-3) received individual event wins from freshman Eva Carlson (100 breast), junior Hannah Butler (1-meter diving), and freshman Paige MacEachern (500 free) and had a number of other notable performances throughout the meet.

UCLA's team score was the highest of any team to face the Cardinal (5-0) so far this season.

The Bruins opened the meet with a tight runner-up finish in the 200 medley relay, as the UCLA As (1:40.26) finished just over a half-second behind Stanford's winning squad.

In the next event, UCLA was bested in a one-on-one 800 free relay, with Stanford clocking in at 7:25.60, ahead of the Bruins' 7:36.74.

Senior Brooke Schaffer was UCLA's top finisher in the 200 free relay, taking fifth place at 1:50.77. Fellow senior Ella Kirschke (1:51.08) also scored, finishing one place behind Schaffer.

Junior Sophia Kosturos (55.10) and freshman Mia Chang (56.31) both scored in the 100 back for UCLA, finishing 3-4.

UCLA had its best collective effort of the day in the 100 breast, with the Bruins placing 1-2-4. Carlson (1:02.34) touched first in that race with freshman Ana Jih-Schiff (1:02.78) and Bailey Herbert (1:04.72) also scoring key points for UCLA.

In the ensuing race, sophomore Sam Baron went a 2:01.55 to finish runner-up in the 200 fly. 

In the final event before the first break, Claire Grover (22.94) placed third in a photo finish 50 free. She was just .02 seconds behind the runner-up and .16 seconds behind winner Anya Goeders.

Grover secured a second consecutive top-five finish once the meet resumed, going a 50.72 in the 100 free to take fourth.

Mia Chang (2:01.07) swam a strong race in the 200 back to finish runner-up, with senior Delaney Smith (2:02.57, fifth) also scoring.

UCLA followed up its strong showing in the 100 breast with a standout performance in the 200 breast, placing three of the top-four finishers in that race, led by Jih-Schiff (2:16.32) and followed by Carlson (2:18.28) and Herbert (2:21.09).

The Bruins picked up a win in the first individual distance event of the afternoon, with MacEachern posting a 4:58.00 to take first in the 500 free.

UCLA had another 2-3-4 finish in the 100 fly, led by junior Gabby Dang's 54.78. The Bruins' other scorers included Cash (55.40) and Baron (55.59).

Kirschke went a 2:02.19 to record UCLA's best time in the 200 IM.

The meet concluded with another close relay battle, as Stanford's As (1:31.62) edged the Bruins' (1:32.52) top 200 free relay squad of Kosturos, Dang, Schaffer, and Grover.

On the diving side, UCLA received a win in 1-meter diving from Hannah Butler, who posted a mark of 294.15. That scored eked out the win for Butler over Stanford's Carolina Sculti (294.08). It was Butler's first official win in 1M this season (she had the top score in the UCSD dual meet but was marked as an exhibition). Freshman Zoe Jespersgaard was UCLA's top finisher in 3M with a score of 297.08.

UCLA is right back in action on Saturday afternoon, taking on No. 7 California starting at 12:00 p.m. PT at Spieker Aquatics Center. Follow @UCLASwimAndDive on Twitter for live updates.