UC San Diego women’s swimming dominated event after event in the Big West Championship from Wednesday to Saturday. After claiming 10 gold medals, the women finished in fourth place. The men finished in third, taking home two champion titles.
Last year, the Triton women fell short to UC Santa Barbara in the conference championship by only 27 points. Landing in Houston last week, UCSD had no intention of letting history repeat itself.
The Tritons set the records for both the 200-yard medley relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay on Day 1 of the Big West Championship last year, but Wednesday did not begin with the same success. Starting the meet with a disappointing disqualification from the 200-yard medley, there was a daunting zero on the board for the Tritons, who had hoped to break their own record in the event.
Junior Asia Kozan, sophomore Sydney Niles, senior Sophia Bell, and sophomore Edana Huang dominated the pool from dive to touch in the 800-yard freestyle relay, finishing nearly six seconds ahead of Hawai’i to claim first place and break their own Big West record. However, their 200-yard medley disqualification set them back on their quest for revenge against the Gauchos, and the Tritons ended the day in sixth place, 30 points behind UCSB in first.
Kozan was fueled by the disqualification, refusing to leave the tournament without another championship title. Though not her forte, she entered the 500-yard freestyle. She flew through the water, winning with a second to spare, followed by her relay partner, Bell, in bronze. The men’s team had identical success in the same event, with freshman Landon Egeland winning and senior Luigi Franco scoring a third-place finish. Both Kozan and Egeland set Big West records.
On Thursday, junior Eva Boehlke won the 200-yard individual medley, becoming the first swimmer of the meet to punch an NCAA ticket. When Day 2 of the championship ended, the women had climbed up to second place — just 18 points behind the Gauchos.
Fully determined to close that gap, the Triton women stepped into Friday with the goal to dominate — and dominate they did. Boehlke closed the 100-yard butterfly with a narrow lead, earning her second gold medal of the meet. On the men’s side, sophomore Hunter Cehelnik set a UCSD record, winning the silver medal.
UCSD finished second behind UC Davis in the 400-yard IM — but it was the team’s last loss of the day. Kozan came out like a bulldozer, winning gold in the 200-yard freestyle and qualifying for the NCAA championships. Senior Chloe Braun followed, dominating the pool in the 100-yard breaststroke and earning the team one last NCAA spot. Next up was sophomore Madison O’Connell, who flew off the wall for the 100-yard backstroke and secured another 20 points for the Triton women.
Breaking that rhythm, its lack of a diving team set UCSD back in points. The title fight shifted; although the Tritons had their sights set on the Gauchos, Hawai’i had risen through the ranks, passing UCSD in team points thanks to its stability in the midfield.
Like Batman responding to the Bat-Signal, Kozan was back on the top step of the podium for the next event. Anchoring Boehlke, Braun, and O’Connell, Kozan and her team won gold in the 400-yard medley and broke a Big West record from 2009 by more than two seconds, ending Friday with a bang. Despite the decisive victory, UCSD sat in third place, trailing behind first-place Hawai’i by 119 points.
Saturday began with platform diving, giving Hawai’i an advantage in the tally. Bell set a personal best in the 1,650-yard freestyle, burning a minute and 24 seconds from her previous time and earning herself second place. Kozan stepped on the block for the 100-yard freestyle. She came in second to Hawai’i — but still holds the record for the event.
Boehlke and Braun claimed titles in the 200-yard backstroke and the 200-yard breastroke, respectively. Boehlke broke her own record by 0.57 seconds.
Although the Tritons were ultimately unable to attain the crown — which was claimed by Hawai’i — they left the Big West Championship with 12 gold medals and 25 podiums across both the men’s and women’s programs.
On Feb. 28, UCSD will return to the pool in a Last Chance meet in Athens, Georgia, hoping to send more Tritons to join Boehlke, Kozan, and Braun in the NCAA championships. The national meet will take place from March 18 to 21 for the women and March 25 to 28 for the men.
