MALIBU, California – The second annual Rodionoff Invitational came to a close on Saturday, as the Pepperdine women's swim and dive program garnered the most points among Division I opponents at
Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
The Waves racked up 408 points over two days, while San Diego accumulated 228 on Saturday and PCH Cup rival Loyola Marymount scored 183 on both Friday and Saturday.
Three freshmen took up the top four spots on the diving leaderboard, while three additional freshmen took first in three events against the Toreros and Lions.
MEET RECAP
Scoring for this meet was done by division and Pepperdine, LMU and San Diego were the only three Division I teams competing today. Biola, Concordia University Irvine, Azusa Pacific, Cal Lutheran, Westmont and The Master's competed against each other in separate competition.
The women's 1-meter diving competition began the day. Three Pepperdine newcomers claimed the second through fourth spots on the leaderboard. Freshman
Ava Langheim (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) took second with a score of 240.65, while fellow freshman
Delainey Pisaruk (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) followed closely behind with a 231.10 performance. A third freshman,
Amanda Wong (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS), continued her strong weekend with a fourth-place finish after a 226.25 showing.
In swimming, a relay team and three individuals placed first among the Division I competition. The 200 medley relay team of
Kylie Taylor (Eugene, Ore./Churchill HS),
Charli Sunahara (Chino, Calif./Ruben S. Ayala HS),
Lexie Deitemeyer (Golden, Colo./Golden HS) and
Alexandra Browne (Arlington, Va./Washington-Liberty HS) kicked off the meet with a time of 1:49.43. In the 400 IM, freshman
AJ Adams (Castle Rock, Colo./Valor Christian HS) paced the D1 field with a 4:43.20 time. Another freshman,
Lexi Haymart (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Ponderosa HS) swam the 200 free in 1:56.24. Finally, in the 200 breast, Sunahara crossed the line first among DI opponents in 2:26.17.
Browne also took second in the DI field in the 50 free, completing it in 24.32. Haymart added a runner-up finish in the 500 free (5:11.01). Additionally, the 400 free relay team of
Anna Ryan, Browne,
Lexi Fok (Moraga, Calif./Campolindo HS) and Haymart wrapped up the meet with a 3:35.69 time.
QUOTABLE
Head coach
Ellie Monobe said: "I am very pleased with the diving and racing that the Waves brought today. Freshmen
Ava Langheim took the lead for our divers placing second on 1-meter, showing a lot of consistency and determination for our dive squad.
"Our medley relays kicked off the swimming portion and posted some very strong times and a lot of relay options for our program moving forward. Standout freshman
Charli Sunahara had the best swim of the day, dominating the 200 breast, as well as
Alexandra Browne showing a lot of speed in the 50. We have a lot of confidence in our sprint group.
"I am very pleased with these last few days of racing and think we are set up for a strong October ahead."
NEXT UP: Pepperdine stays in Malibu to host a pair of dual meets next weekend, October 14 and 15, against Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference rival Cal State East Bay. Friday's meet will begin at 3 p.m. while Saturday's will start at 11 a.m. Both meets will be streamed live on the WCC Network.
FOLLOW: Follow @WavesSwimDive on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
