The score doesn’t always tell the full story and that was the exact case in Utah men’s swimming team’s loss to USC in last week’s swim meet.
Utah, which was undefeated coming into the meet, suffered its first loss of the season in a close contest which saw the Trojans come out on top, 158-139. Despite the loss, Utah head coach Joe Dykstra was happy with the effort his team put forth.
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“I couldn’t have been more pleased,” Dykstra said. “It was a tremendous duel meet across the board. It’s the time of the year where we have to swim a lot sharper and we did.”
The two-day duel meet was swam at the Ute Natatorium and was the men’s senior day meet. Five seniors closed out their careers at home in the loss, but Utah won eight events over the two days. Alex Brown, Graham Charlton, Alex Fernandes, Robby Miner and Nick Soedel were the five seniors being honored at the meet.
On day one, junior Bence Kiraly won the 1,650-yard freestyle. He was also able to place first in the 500-yard freestyle, touching in at 4:28.17. Utah took second place in the 200-yard medley relay, as the team of Kristian Kron, Jack Burton, Fernandes and Soedel finished with a time of 1:29.00.
Soedel also took first in the 100-yard freestyle as he touched in at 43.28. He earned high praise from Dykstra.
“Those are ridiculous times to be putting up in a duel meet,” Dykstra said of Soedel.
Kron claimed the 200-yard backstroke by a slim margin over USC’s Cary Wright, where Kron outtouched his competition and ended with a 1:48.77.
Junior David Fraser won the 200-yard butterfly and Fernandez placed first in the 100-yard butterfly. Fernandes also had a strong finish in the 50-yard freestyle, placing third with a time of 20.68.
Freshman Jack Burton won both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke events, touching in at 56.13 and 2:01.36, respectively.
“In my races, I could have probably finished my race a bit better and had more confidence going into it,” Burton said. “Right now, I’m focused on recovering well and getting my mind straight.”
Burton said that he thought the team swam really well against a great opponent and that they put up a good fight.
The men’s team has a break until it travels to the Pac-12 championships that will be held in Washington at the King Aquatic Center from March 3-7.
Dykstra said that he’s focused on qualifying his swimmers for the NCAA championships heading into this meet.
“It’s the most exciting time of the year. It’s really fun for all the athletes and coaches,” Dykstra said. “You know the goal is to qualify people for NCAA’s. The team finish is what it is and i think we will hold our own in that regard.”
However, Burton, not only wants to get qualifications for NCAA’s, he wants his Utes to create some havoc at the meet and upset a few higher-ranked teams along the way.
Unlike the men’s team, the women’s team will be in action this weekend as they travel to their Pac-12 championship meet, which is also held at the King Aquatic Center.
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