Twenty-four teams. Three days. One trophy.
This year’s Speedo Cup featured a myriad of talented swimmers andtop-ranked teams. Though the meet was in Long Beach, Calif., UCIrvine played host to schools from as far east as Denver, and as farwest as Hawaii. From the Beavers to the Banana Slugs, 24 hungryschools gathered in Long Beach last weekend for the annual meet.
Among those teams was SDSU. The Aztecs turned in several goodindividual performances en route to a 10th place finish behind 397total points.
“I wasn’t sure if we’d place so well,” sophomore co-captain MeghanCasillan said. “There were a lot more fast people this year.”
Casillanwas one of the fastest in the backstroke. She earned second-placehonors in the 100- and 200-meter events.
Along with Erin Stenvers, Tara Johnson, and Heather DeFelice,Casillan helped SDSU place 11th in the 200-meter medley relay.
Junior transfer Mariana Luevano also swam well for the Aztecs. Shefinished second in the 200-meter butterfly and eighth in the100-meter butterfly. Showing her versatility, she took 13th in the200-meter backstroke.
Luevano’s old school, Nevada, clearly demonstrated they were thebest team in Long Beach. The 21st-ranked Wolfpack’s 928 total pointswere more than enough to win the Speedo Cup.
Runner-up UCLA, ranked No. 14 in the country, finished with 817points.
Like Nevada, the Bruins were once home to a current SDSU swimmer.Transfer Heather DeFelice came to Montezuma Mesa after two years atUCLA.
The junior swam well against her former teammates by finishingeighth in the 100-meter breaststroke. She also placed 13th in the200-meter breaststroke. In both races she finished ahead of all herformer Bruins teammates.
Despite the nationally ranked competition, several Aztecs freshmencontinued to swim well.
Erin Kilpatrick recorded three top-30 finishes. She placed 15th inthe 400-meter individual medley, 16th in the 200-meter butterfly, and30th in the 100-meter butterfly.
Kara Wright had two top-30 finishes. She placed 17th in the200-meter backstroke and 29th in the 100-meter backstroke.
In the 1,650-meter freestyle, Lisa Beebe took 15th place. She alsofinished 31st in the 400-meter individual medley.
Along with SDSU’s rivals Brigham Young (fifth) and University ofSouthern California (seventh), cross-town foe USD swam at the cup.The Toreros, who placed ninth, edged out the Aztecs by 32 points.
Overall, the team thought they turned in a solid performance.
“We’re all doing really well,” said Casillan. “I was really happyon the times.”
Results
1. University of Nevada — 928.0
2. UCLA — 811.0
3. Oregon State University — 711.5
4. UC Santa Barbara — 600.5
5. Brigham Young University — 576.5
6. University of Hawaii — 559.0
7. USC — 554.0
8. Fresno State University — 492.5
9. University of San Diego — 429.0
10. San Diego State — 397.0
11. University of New Mexico — 360.5
12. San Jose State — 316.0
13. Cal Baptist University — 288.0
14. Unattached — 235.0
15. UC Irvine — 217.0
16. University of Denver — 203.5
17. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo — 142.0
18. UC Santa Cruz — 138.0
19. CSU Bakersfield — 136.0
20. UC Davis — 83.0
21. Biola University — 66.0
22. CSU Northridge — 57.0
23. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps — 38.0
24. La Verne — 34.0
