San Diego State’s swimming and diving team will host its first dual meet of the season on Friday against UC San Diego and Pepperdine University.
SDSU has beaten both teams already this season, most recently in the A3 Invitational that marked the midway point of the season.
The A3 Invitational was a success for the Aztecs, with sophomore McKenna Meyer leading the way and earning A3 Invitational Female Swimmer of the Meet honors.
“We tried a number of our swimmers in different races and I thought it was really helpful in determining what we need to work on going forward,” head coach Mike Shrader said.
As for the meet on Friday, the Scarlet and Black are projected to come out with a win. Along with beating both teams at the A3 Invitational, SDSU also won a dual meet at Pepperdine on Oct. 5. Coach Shrader believes the key to coming away with another win lies in the first couple of events
“I think getting off to an early start with help us a lot. With senior Marina Preiss in the thousand and senior Corinn Casper and sophomore Kassidy Henson in the first individual race it will set the tone for the meet,” Shrader said.
With the first meet after a break, the players themselves stressed the need to get back to the basics.
“The focus on practice this week has been working on our details and making sure each stroke technique is good,” senior captain Alexa Clayfield said.
Despite the break, practice has been the biggest preparation tool for the swimmers.
“We compete hard with each other in practice,” Preiss said, “We get along great and we’re competitive. Practice this week has been hardcore so that we’re ready for the meet coming back from the break.”
As for individual performances, Coach Shrader is looking towards his leadership to show up big on Friday. “Anytime we’re successful it starts with our captains,” Shrader said, “They’re three amazing young ladies and I’m excited to see what they’ll do at this meet and I’m excited about their leadership.”
The Aztecs will face off against the Waves and the Tritons at 2 p.m. Friday at the Aztec Aquaplex.
