ST. GEORGE, Utah – Winning its third conference championship in four years, the Pepperdine swim and dive team came out on top at the 2025 MPSF Championships.
 
In the final day of competition, the Waves closed out their victory with one more school record and 13 top-8 finishes in the individual events.
 
In total, Pepperdine set five new school records, won five MPSF event championships and had 43 top-8 individual performances this week.
 
MEET RECAP
PRELIMS
In the 200 back, Lindsay Hemming (Orinda, Calif.) clocked a 2:03.20 to finish in third and qualify for the finals. Her time was also the fourth fastest time in program history. Other finals qualifiers in the event include AJ Adams (Castle Rock, Colo.) and Sophia Ware (Allen, Texas) who finished in 6th and 10th, respectively.
 
Alexandra Browne (Arlington, Va.) came out and set another school record in the 100 free in the prelims with a time of 51.16. Anna Ryan (Alamo, Calif.) swam a 51.75 in the event, which puts her tied for 6th on the Waves all-time top-10 list, while Elliot Easton (Tampa, Fla.) also qualified for the finals as she finished in 10th.
 
In the 200 breast, Kiana Fan (Irvine, Calif.) and Mollie Cho (Frisco, Texas) posted respective times of 2:20.44 and 2:20.73 to earn the third and fourth spots on the Waves all-time top-10 list and make the finals. Charli Sunahara (Chino, Calif.) and Nora Rabe (Wayzata, Minn.) also qualified for the finals after finishing in 2nd and 7th, respectively.
 
Jessica Calderoni (Los Altos, Calif.) finished the 200 fly in 2:07.64 to claim the 10th spot on the Waves all-time list and earn her a spot in the finals. Other swimmers that made the finals were Emme Spevak (Austin, Texas), Lexie Deitemeyer (Golden, Colo.) and Madeline Wheeler (Chino Hills, Calif.) who finished in 2nd, 5th and 10th, respectively.
 
FINALS
In the 1650 free finals only event, Ansley Halbach (Watkinsville, Ga.) earned a third place finish with a time of 17:23.90 - which was also good for the fourth fastest time in program history. Wheeler finished in 7th with a time of 17:51.38 and Calderoni came in 11th as she swam the event in 18:27.46.
 
Hemming and Adams notched respective times of 2:03.97 and 2:05.61 in the 200 back, which earned them 4th and 7th place finishes. Ware also finished in the top-10 in the 200 back as she completed her swim in 2:05.74.
 
Coming off the fastest time in program history in the 100 free prelims, Browne broke the school record for the second time in one day as she clocked a 51.05 in the sprint on Saturday evening - good for third place in the event. Ryan also finished in the top-8 with a time of 51.79, while Easton took 13th after finishing the 100 free in 52.59.
 
In the 200 breast, Sunahara, Fan, Cho and Rabe all earned spots in the top-8 as they posted respective times of 2:19.99, 2:20.11, 2:21.35 and 2:22.04. They finished in 3rd, 4th, 7th and 8th.
 
Spevak improved her spot in the record books as she moved up to second on the Waves all-time list in the 200 fly with a time of 2:05.53 - good for a second place finish at the championships. Deitemeyer and Calderoni also earned spots in the top-8 as they finished in 6th and 8th, respectively, and clocked times of 2:08.99 and 2:12.23.
 
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Pepperdine 853
2. San Diego 841.5
3. Pacific 706.5
4. Incarnate Word 507
 
QUOTABLES
"What a way to end a season," head coach Ellie Monobe said. "We faced so many things that were out of our control and so much adversity throughout the season, it's a true testament to our leaders and our captains who did a phenomenal job this year and got the job done in the pool today. We had huge swims from Alexandra Browne, setting a school record in the 100 free and ending her career on such a high note. Also, Ansley getting third in the mile gave us a huge boost going into the final session. Big shoutout to our freshman Emme who's been putting the pieces together and really stepped it up and attacked her race like a seasoned veteran as a freshman. It's been a phenomenal meet, one that I'll remember for a very long time. We left it all in the pool, the divers won the diving championship, the swimmers won the swimming championship and Pepperdine got to walk away with the MPSF championship, the first in its history."
 
NEXT UP
Five Waves swimmers - Alexandra Browne, Layla Busquets, Ansley Halbach, Charli Sunahara and Sophia Ware will head to Ocala, Fla. for the National Invitational Championship on March 13-15, while Pepperdine diver Vivian Vallely will compete in the NCAA Zone diving competition on March 10-12 in Federal Way, Wash.
 
FOLLOW
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