BYU Swim and Dive Teams Face Off in Thrilling Duel Against Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. — The BYU men’s and women’s swim and dive teams concluded their weekend dual competition at Arizona on Saturday at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center.

Photo credit: Patrick Mulligan

“I was excited to witness our team step up on day two after a sluggish start on day one,” remarked BYU head swim and dive coach Tamber McAllister. “They rose to the challenge and adapted against a very robust and competitive Arizona squad.”

“It was an excellent meet for the divers to prepare for the final segment of the season,” stated BYU dive coach Tyce Routson. “They had to adjust to competing outdoors, and it was fantastic to see the entire team healthy and competing together.”

Men’s Summary

Despite a defeat to Arizona 240-107, Tanner Nelson led the BYU men’s team with eight points, achieving second-place finishes in the 500 free at 4:27.13 and the 400 individual medley at 3:56.82.

Nathaniel Eliason led three Cougars into the top four of the 50 free race, finishing second at 20.26. Asa Frisbee (20.93) and Joshua Reed (20.94) placed third and fourth, respectively. Eliason earned an additional three points with a third-place finish in the 100 fly at 48.36, with Max Kleinman securing second in the event at 47.95.

BYU had three more sets of second and third-place finishes in the 200 back, 200 breast, and 200 free.

Diego Camacho Salgado achieved second in the 200 back with a time of 1:45.83, closely followed by Payton Plumb in third at a season-best 1:49.36. Emerson Edwards and Peter Etzold took third and fourth in the 200 breast, with Edwards timing in at 2:00.23.

Reed claimed second in the 200 free with a time of 1:37.37, while Anderson finished third with a season-best 1:39.12.

The BYU men’s diving team was spearheaded by freshman Ezra Purcell, who achieved a personal-best and finished third in the platform event, improving his previous best by over 31 points to score 297.75. Chase Hindmarsh closely followed with a fourth-place score of 295.65.

Women’s Summary

Despite losing to the Wildcats 217-131, the BYU women’s swim and dive team celebrated winning performances from Alexia Jackson Hansen, Mackenzie Miller Lung, and Lucy Warnick on Saturday.

Jackson Hansen dominated the platform diving event with a score of 261.9, outpacing runner-up Zara Ayazi from Arizona by 28 points. The junior from Mesa, Arizona now boasts three event victories this season. Brooklyn Larson Clouse provided BYU with another top-3 finish in platform diving, scoring 206.93 to secure third place.

Miller Lung triumphed in the 200 breast race with a time of 2:10.17, finishing three seconds ahead of the Wildcats’ Eleni Gewalt. Miller Lung recently set a school record of 2:09.61 in the 200 breast at the Texas Invitational on Nov. 22, and currently ranks 24^th nationally in the event. The junior from Clovis, California now leads the team with seven individual wins this season.

Warnick clocked 4:21.73 to secure victory in the 400 individual medley, finishing over four seconds in front of Arizona’s Joy Felner. This 400 IM win marked Warnick’s third victory of the season.

Victoria Schreiber, Kara Martinson, and Sarah Eliason contributed three additional runner-up finishes for the Cougars on day two in Tucson.

Schreiber achieved second place in the 500 free with a time of 4:55.93, closely followed by Martinson in third at a season-best 4:59.02. Martinson also secured second in the 200 free with a time of 1:52.56. Eliason garnered four more points for BYU with a runner-up finish in the 100 fly at 55.48.

After two weeks off, the Cougars will return to competition on Jan. 10-11, diving at Utah and swimming against UCSB in a dual meet.