The BYU men’s swim and dive team defeated the University of Utah in the Deseret First Duel rivalry, while the women’s team fell on Saturday afternoon in Provo.
The men’s team beat out Utah by a score of 155-145 in a close matchup at the Richards Building pool. The women’s team battled but fell to the Utes 102-198. This was the last home meet for many Cougars on their senior-day, and BYU head coach John Brooks was happy to see their success.
“All of our seniors did an amazing job,” Brooks said. “It’s been a few years since we have beaten Utah. It’s nice to be in the rivalry and to compete. This is one of the most exciting swim meets around, with a high energy level, people racing and a lot of pressure. It was a lot of fun and a great meet for us.”
Many Cougars stood out in the intense rivalry matchup. In the 200-yard medley relay Jake Taylor, Stephen Richards, Rainer Ng and Payton Sorenson clocked a new pool record of 1:29.05, good enough for first place. In the same event the men’s team also took second place with a time of 1:31.56. That team included Preston Jenkins, Nathan Henderson, Luis Ventura and Connor Stirling.
In the 100 backstroke men’s event Taylor took first place with a time of 48.62. Ashlee Spindler taking second place in the women’s event with a time of 57.76.
Anna Dahl won the 100 breaststroke event with a time of 1:04.83. The men’s team also won the event on Richards’ time of 56.24.
The BYU men’s team dominated in the 50 free event. Sorenson, Stirling and Kent Fellows winning first second and third place respectively. The women’s team also performed well in the event. Alexandria Sorensen took first and Katie Smith took second.
Taylor won the men’s 200 meter backstroke with a time of 1:47.23.
Richards finished in first place in the men’s 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:04.69.
The Cougars also had a strong performance in the 100 fly event. On the women’s side Zerlynn Tiang took second and Ellie Thornbrue came in third place. The BYU men’s team took first and second place.
In the 400 free relay to end the meet, the BYU’s women’s teams finished in second and third place. The men’s team took first and third place.
In the women’s 3-meter dive event BYU’s Ali Tippetts-Kottcamp took second place, and Kevin Dreesen took second place in the men’s event.
The BYU dive team will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo. for their next event while the swim team will travel to Monterey Park, California.
