Pepperdine University
San Diego State
Waves Travel to San Diego State on Friday
1/28/2021 2:07:00 PM | Women's Swim/Dive
MALIBU, California – For the first time this season, the Pepperdine women's swimming and diving team will compete on the road against San Diego State this Friday, Jan. 29.
Friday's meet, which will be held at the Aztec Aquaplex in San Diego, Calif., is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. PT. The meet will not be livestreamed officially, nor will live stats be available.
LAST TIME AGAINST SDSU
The Waves opened up their season with a dual meet against San Diego State on Jan. 15, in which the Aztecs won six of the ten events en route to a 95-83 win. However, Pepperdine won the 200 free relay and picked up individual wins thanks to efforts from Jenna Sanchez (Highland, Calif./Redlands East Valley HS), who won both the 50 free and 100 IM; plus Emily Morton (Golden, Colo./Lakewood HS), who won the 400 IM.
In addition, the teams' first meeting was the Pepperdine coaching debut for head coach Ellie Monobe, plus assistant coaches Kristyn Deckard and Kaeden Cogbill.
WINNING WAYS
A 300-plus day pause between competitions, lack of a fall season and extended time away from the pool didn't derail the Waves from their award-winning ways, as Morton and junior diver Paulina Holmberg (Apple Valley, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) swept the PCSC Athlete of the Week honors for the week of Jan. 11-17.
In back-to-back meets, Morton won three individual events and helped the Waves win the 200 medley relay against LMU and USD on Jan. 16. Holmberg, meanwhile, won the 3-meter dive on Jan. 16, then placed second in the 1-meter dive at the same meet.
As a team, Pepperdine also earned CSCAA Scholar All-America Team Honors for the twelfth-straight semester. The Waves averaged a 3.59 GPA in fall 2020.
NEW WAVES
Going into the season, Pepperdine needed to find replacements for several key relay legs in order to improve on the four new school records set last season. Yet freshmen Tay Thomas (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park HS) and Ellie Hendren (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista HS) have looked the part so far, as both have earned spots on at least one of Pepperdine's A-team relay squads.
"Ellie [Hendren] has a lot of raw potential," Monobe said after the first San Diego State dual meet. "I think when she really starts to hone in on those details and gets comfortable racing in a collegiate environment, she's going to really take off. And I'm really impressed with Tay Thomas. She's a very strong swimmer technically, and she is learning about getting up and pushing her limits."
But Pepperdine's newcomers aren't strictly freshmen. Junior Audrey Camarillo (Folsom, Calif./St. Francis HS) — who was swimming on an area club team before joining the Waves this season — has also made notable contributions to the team thus far. She has not only been one of the Waves' consistent finishers in both the 50 and the 100 free, and has already a lifetime PR in the 100 free during the Waves' Jan. 16 meet.Â
"That was really exciting to see early on," Monobe said of Camarillo's 100 free. "There's lots of room for improvement, but she's going to have a spectacular year."
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Through the first two weeks of the season, Pepperdine swimmers have the PCSC's top times in several events, according to SwimCloud.
As it stands, Haley Bergthold (50 fly), Sanchez (100 IM), Jasmine Williams (50 back) and Morton (200 IM) have the conference's fastest times in an individual event. All four currently have spots on at least one of Pepperdine's relay teams — three of which are the fastest in the conference so far.
Relay-wise, Pepperdine's 200 and 400 medley relay teams are the best in the conference thus far. Pepperdine's 200 and 800 free relay teams won PCSC titles last season; right now, they are second and first in the PCSC, respectively.
Senior captain Sammie Slater (Sonora, Calif./Sonora HS) has the second-fastest times in the 100 free, 200 free and the 500 free, while also swimming on the conference's current fastest 400 free relay team. Williams (Folsom, Calif./Folsom HS) also has the second-fastest 100 back time, while Bergthold (Fairfax, Va./Woodson HS) trails only her teammate Sanchez in the 100 IM.
FOLLOW: Follow @WavesSwimDive on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to PepperdineWaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
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Players Mentioned
