SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State swim and dive program returns to the pool this weekend when it travels to the desert for the GCU Quad Meet, Oct. 21-22, at Fr Edward A. Reese Aquatic Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
In addition to host Grand Canyon, the Aztecs will battle Loyola Marymount and Seattle U in the two-day event. Friday's session is slated for a 5 p.m. MST/PDT start, while Saturday's competition is set to begin at 11 a.m. MST/PDT.
The quad meet format is one in which each day is scored as its own meet, not one meet scored over two days. As a result, SDSU will participate in six separate duals over the weekend. A total of 13 events will be conducted on each day, including 1-meter and 3-meter diving.
Last season, the Aztecs posted a 6-0 record against the same teams in another quad meet at LMU's pool in Los Angeles. SDSU swept the Lions 132-65 and 159-44, took care of business against GCU with winning scores of 118-76 and 120-79 while emerging triumphant in the program's first two meetings vs. Seattle U 132-65 and 149-47. In all, the Scarlet and Black won 17 of the 22 races contested during the event.
With their victories, the Aztecs maintain unblemished all-time records against those three schools dating back to the 1999-2000 campaign, including an 11-0 streak against LMU, a 5-0 ledger vs. GCU, and a 2-0 mark against Seattle U.
San Diego State enters the weekend having pocketed 38 consecutive dual-meet wins, including two this season after dispatching the University of San Diego 33-24 in a pentathlon meet at home on Sept. 9, followed by an 83-59 decision at Pepperdine on Oct. 6. The Aztecs have not dropped a dual meet since Jan. 8, 2018, a span of nearly five years.
SDSU has been idle since posting a strong second-place finish at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational, Oct. 7-8, in Fresno, California. Landing in the third spot after the first day of competition, the Aztecs surged into the runner-up position with a two-day point-total of 794.33, trailing only UCLA's tally of 962.83 points.
Highlighting SDSU's climb in the team standings were Kristina Murphy (200 breaststroke) and Ximena Lechuga Gonzalez (1-meter diving), who won their respective events. Murphy also anchored the Aztecs' 400 freestyle relay team that finished second, while Lechuga Gonzalez took third in the 3-meter diving competition.
For their efforts, Murphy was named Mountain West Swimmer of the Week for the first time in her career on Oct. 11, while Lechuga Gonzalez was tabbed MW Co-Diver of the Week, earning her eighth conference weekly honor as a collegian.
Following Saturday's results, San Diego State will return home for a dual meet against Utah Tech on Saturday, Nov. 5, starting at 10 a.m. at Aztec Aquaplex.