Skip to main content

Sun Devils Hit the Golden State For Pair of Matchups at Stanford, Cal


January 19, 2022

seniorday

TEMPE, Ariz. – Both Sun Devil Swimming teams will head to the Golden State this weekend to pay visits to top programs in Stanford and Cal, marking their first regular season competition since early November. The Sun Devils will see the Cardinal on Friday at 3 p.m. and the Golden Bears on Saturday at 1 p.m. Live streams and live stats will be made available to fans on the day of each meet.This weekend will be a terrific test for a Sun Devil program that jettisoned up national rankings following the November NC State Invite. Both Stanford and Cal's men's and women's squads were ranked in the CSCAA's Top 25 polls released on January 19.CSCAA RANKINGSNo. 2 – Cal MenNo. 4 – Stanford WomenNo. 6 – Sun Devil MenNo. 7 – Cal WomenNo. 11 – Stanford MenNR – Sun Devil WomenFriday's meet at Stanford will be just the second regular season competition for the men's team (0-1) after a season-opening loss to USC in November. The women's team (2-1) has already tallied two wins in conference play against Washington State and UCLA.PREVIEWING THE CARDINALThe Sun Devils are already familiar with this year's Stanford program, given that the two schools both competed at the NC State Invite. The Cardinal women's squad (2-0) finished second of seven schools in the November meet. Tenth-year head coach Greg Meehan oversees the women's team, while three-year head coach Dan Schemmel manages the men's program (3-0).Meehan was the 2020 U.S. Olympic Women's Swimming Head Coach, where he was also joined by a trio of Cardinal in graduate student Brooke Forde and now-freshmen Torri Huske and Regan Smith. Forde earned a silver medal in the 200 free relay and Huske currently leads the team in five separate events, three of which are A-cut qualifiers for the NCAA Championships (200 free, 200 IM, 100 fly).The Cardinal are fresh off a second-place finish at last year's Pac-12 Championships, and could very easily repeat as championships with their current three-headed monster of Forde-Huske-Smith.Schemmel's squad finished second at the Pac-12 Championships a year ago and 14th nationally. The Cardinal also had a terrific showing at the NC State Invite, as freshman Olympian Andrei Minakov set a school record in the 100 free. Minakov has posted times in two events (100 fly and 100 free) that currently qualify him for the A-cut race at the NCAA Championships, as has Daniel Roy in the 200 free.PREVIEWING THE GOLDEN BEARSThe Golden Bears are the reigning Pac-12 champs, as both their men's and women's teams were victorious at the conference championship a season ago. It was the fourth consecutive title for the men's team. Fifteenth-year head men's coach David Durden and 29th-year head women's coach Teri McKeever are poised to make another run at conference and national championships this spring.Last spring, the men's team was the runner-up at the NCAA Championships and the women's team finished fourthSenior Isabel Ivey is a terrific force for McKeever's squad and was recently named the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Month for December after racking up top-4 times in the nation in three separate events.The men's team is powered by Reece Whitley, one of the most dominant and decorated swimmers in the country. Whitley has been a part of three Pac-12 team championships and once NCAA championship in his Cal tenure. He's a 14-time CSCAA All-American, a nine-time Pac-12 champion and was once named the conference's Freshman of the Year.Back-to-back days of competition against the best in the Pac-12 serves as a great opportunity for Bob Bowman's Sun Devils, many of whom didn't make their collegiate debuts until the start of this season.LAST TIME OUTThe Sun Devils salvaged their Senior Day after the cancellation of the January 14 meet against Utah with an intrasquad instead. The lack of an opponent hardly deterred the Sun Devils, as Lindsay Looney set a new school record in the 200 fly (1:54.17). Léon Marchand added a trio of wins in the 200 free, 200 back and 200 IM. Jack Little and Alex Colson each added a pair of first-place finishes, as did Nora Deleske and Erin Milligan.UP NEXTAfter the Sun Devils' weekend getaway, all that remains on the regular season schedule is a February 5 showing in Tucson against in-state rival Arizona. The Pac-12 Championships will be held weeks after in Seattle from February 23-26.FOLLOW THE SUN DEVILSFans can keep up with Sun Devils via the team's Twitter account @ASUSwimDive and Instagram @sundevilswimdive.