Teams: UC Davis (4-2) at Missouri Invite
Where: Mizzou Aquatic Center — Columbia, Mo.
When: Thursday to Sunday
Who to watch: In UC Davis’ 178-117 win over Nevada, freshman Marissa Brown battled Nevada’s Jojo Mi in the 1,000 freestyle, touching in at 10:06.97. Brown surpassed senior Linda Hermann’s school record by almost 6 full seconds.
With that time, Brown has taken over the conference lead, more than 11 seconds faster than UC Santa Barbara’s Heren Alanis (10:18.04). In addition, Brown holds sixth place on the 500 Freestyle list with a time of 5:00.14. Expect a thrilling and solid freestyle performance from Brown at the invite.
Did you know? Two years ago at the Texas Invitational, the Aggies posted strong results with a sixth-place finish. Current senior Heidi Kucera and junior Liliana Alvarez both recorded two additional NCAA “B” Consideration Standard times. Kucera finished third overall in the 200 breaststroke to solidify the Aggies’ sixth-place spot.
Kucera clocked in with a time of 2:14.01 while Alvarez accomplished a season-best time of 2:14.21.
This marked the third top finish for Kucera and the second for Alvarez. Both teammates had successful weekends, as Kucera earned six NCAA “B” Consideration Standard times while Alvarez picked up four.
Preview: Halfway through their season, the swimming and diving team will look to end their fall schedule with a strong performance at the Mizzou Invite. The Aggies strive to determine the improvements they must make for the upcoming championships and capture season-best times.
The team has displayed solid performances thus far, with a recent victory over Nevada. The Aggies dropped a meet at home against San Jose State University, but were able to redeem themselves at the USC Trojan Invite.
Alvarez won both breaststroke events while junior Samantha Shellem captured the 500 Freestyle to highlight UC Davis swimming’s first dual win. The Aggies defeated Washington State 139-119 but subsequently fell to UCLA by a similar 136-119 score.
Next, the Aggies won six individual events and a relay to claim wins over Loyola Marymount and San Diego in women’s double dual. UC Davis has improved to 3-2 in dual competition.
Based on these performances, the prospects are bright for the swimming and diving team.
“We’re halfway through our season,” said Coach Barbara Jahn. “We’re looking forward to a strong second half. We also have two home meets in January and we’re looking forward to it.”
— Veena Bansal
