Times Drop, Waves Emerge Victorious on Senior Day

Saturday, March 20

Malibu, Calif.

11:00 a.m. PT

Pepperdine University

214

Loyola Marymount

Photo by: Kyle Cajero

3/20/2021 2:50:00 PM | Women's Swim/Dive

Diving results Swim results

By: by Athletic Communications

Malibu, Calif. — With a litany of lifetime-bests, new top-10 times and two thrilling relay wins, Pepperdine swimming and diving showed out on Senior Day and picked up dual-meet victories over Azusa Pacific and Loyola Marymount on March 20.

"Today was a great day. I think it was a much needed ego-boost and they did not disappoint," Pepperdine head coach Ellie Monobe said. "Swimming is such a delayed gratification sport — you swim and train day in and day out, and oftentimes it's only for a miniscule improvement. But I'm very happy with the girls hanging in there and pushing through."

Before the meet, Pepperdine honored seniors Paige Brackett (Folsom, Calif./Granite Bay HS), Audrey Camarillo (Folsom, Calif./St. Francis HS) and Sammie Slater (Sonora, Calif./Sonora HS), all of whom swam their final collegiate races at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool. Fittingly, Slater picked up two wins in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle, plus Brackett made a big improvement in the 200-yard freestyle before swimming a season-best in the 100 free. All three seniors swam on Pepperdine's meet-winning 400-yard free relay team, which swam a season-best 3:33.49.

"Ever since my first day here, the seniors have led by example, Monobe said. "I know they've been the backbone of the team over the past couple of years because they do what is asked of them, they think of the team first and go above and beyond in training. They care about their teammates. Giving them a little bit of authority and a voice to lead a group of women has been very rewarding to see. They've built up a lot of confidence doing this, and you can definitely see that in the water."

The Waves took the positive energy from the Senior Day festivities and channeled it throughout the afternoon. Overall, Pepperdine won 14 of 16 swimming events, which included a pair of victories in the 200-yard medley relays and the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team set new lifetime and season-best performances, plus four swimmers broke into the program's top 10 rankings in their respective events.

Early in the meet, Olivia Kayye (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill HS) put her name in the record book with her 10:32.13 1000-yard freestyle win, which ranks fifth in program history. She and teammate Sophia Anderson (Concord, Calif./Carondelet HS) — who swam a season-best 10:52.89 — finished 1-2.

Three events later, sophomore Emily Morton (Golden, Colo./Lakewood HS) set a new lifetime-best by winning the 100-yard breaststroke in a 1:06.09. Pepperdine swept that event, as Jenna Sanchez (Highland, Calif./Redlands East Valley HS) and Lexi Osleger (Fredericksburg, Va./Stafford HS) finished in second and third, respectively — and both with season-best times.

In the 500-yard freestyle, Slater showed out on Senior Day by picking up her second individual win of the day with a 5:08.65 — the eighth-fastest time in Pepperdine history. The Waves also swept this event, as sophomore Paige Tattersall (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS) and Anderson swam season-bests to finish in second and third place, respectively.

Then in the 100 fly, Haley Bergthold (Fairfax, Va./Woodson HS) took over the race late and emerged out of a tight front pack to win with a 58.26. Bergthold, whose previous best of 58.65 ranked eighth in program history, moved into fifth all-time in the event.

Over on the diving side, all four divers had season-high scores across the board. Paulina Holmberg (Apple Valley, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) led the Waves with fourth-place finishes in both the 1-meter and the 3-meter dives, respectively. Sophomore Olivia Stotz (Western Spring, Ill./Lyons Township HS) made her season-debut in order to finish behind Holmberg in fifth, plus Bri Cannon (Katy, Texas./Katy HS) made her collegiate debut in the 3-meter dive and placed sixth.

WAVE WINS

Pepperdine's quartet of Jasmine Williams (Folsom, Calif./Folsom HS), Morton, Bergthold and Sanchez won the 200-yard medley relay with a 1:46.14.
Kayye won the 1000-yard freestyle with a 10:32.13. This time ranks fifth in program history.
Slater won the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:53.16.
Jasmine Williams won the 100-yard backstroke with a 57.41.
Morton's winning time in the 100-yard breaststroke of 1:06.09 not only was her lifetime best, but also ranks seventh in program history.
Tay Thomas (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park HS) won the 200-yard butterfly with a 2:10.90 — a 10-second improvement from the time she swam in her collegiate debut on Jan. 29.
Morton also won the 200-yard backstroke in a 2:03.44.
Kayye also won the 200-yard breaststoke with a lifetime best 2:25.66.
Slater's 5:08.65 victory in the 500-yard freestyle was not only her lifetime best, but also the eighth-fastest time in program history.
Bergthold won the 100-yard butterfly in a 58.26, which ranks fifth in program history.
Morton's winning time of 2:07.53 in the 200-yard IM was a season best. Morton set the school record in this event as a freshman last year.
Finally, Pepperdine's 400-yard free relay team of Slater, Sanchez Camarillo and Brackett won with a 3:33.49. Both Slater and Brackett swam 52-second splits in their final home race.
As a team, the Waves picked up dual meet victories over both Azusa Pacific and Loyola Marymount.

NEXT UP: The Waves will set their sights on the PCSC Championships, which takes place from April 14-17. Start times and locations have yet to be determined.

FOLLOW: Follow @WavesSwimDive on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to PepperdineWaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.