Chuk GawlikHeading into their match-up with No. 20 Hawaii on Friday, the San Diego State swimming and diving team looked to recover from a recent losing streak. The Aztecs had been held without a win since a No. 19 triumph over Northern Colorado. Unfortunately, the heavily favored Rainbow Wahine put in a strong showing and held off SDSU.
The Aztecs were outmanned in many events, leading to their 173-103 defeat. However, the day was not without bright spots for the team, as 12 personal records were achieved.
Junior Samantha Peters set season-high times in three events, the 50- and 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard freestyle.
Although Hawaii was dominant in the meet, SDSU did manage to keep several races very close. Peters continued to be one of the best athletes on the team, pushing eventual winner Jaclyn Rosen hard during the 100 backstroke competition before falling only one second behind.
In both the 100 backstroke and the 100 breaststroke events, the Aztecs were able to take three of the top four spots, although they failed to take first in any event.
SDSU’s highly touted freshmen divers, Joelle Felton and Kathleen Heuring, both fell short on Saturday, as well. The 3-meter dive was completely dominated by standout QiongJie Huang of Hawaii, who finished with an outstanding 345.55 points, besting second place finisher Miranda Maas (275.30) by 70 points. Heuring finished a distant third with a score of 250.80.
The Aztecs will continue their difficult non-conference schedule on the 28th when they travel to Loyola Marymount University for a meet against LMU and Pepperdine. SDSU then travels to Northern Arizona before taking part in the Mountain West Conference Championships at the end of February.
