As the meet was underway, energy was bright as the Pepperdine’s Women Swim and Dive team kickstarted their dual-meet against Westmont College’s Women’s Swim team, concluding with a dominant overall score of 194-75.
Competing in a total of 14 events, Pepperdine showcased their versatility in their athletes’ ability to dominate throughout the meet.
Head Coach Ellie Monobe said the team’s attitude against Westmont was focused on growth and applying a learning curve for the match.
“It was just really applying what we’ve been doing in training and adapting it to our races. Westmont has been a program on the rise,” Monobe said. “They’re now Division II, so it’s been fun. It gives them opportunities to push themselves, as well.”
The Waves set the tone fast in the first event, the women’s 400-yard medley relay, coming in first with a total time of 3:58.62. The relay lineup consisted of junior backstroker/individual medley swimmer AJ Adams, freshman breaststroker Mollie Cho, freshman freestyler/butterflyer Natalie Do and senior breaststroker/freestyler Alexandra Browne.
Browne, who won two events, said her mindset going into the match against Westmont centered around being in the moment.
“I feel like just getting out there and having fun, especially at our home pool. This is my senior year, so I don’t have that many home pool meets left,” Browne said. “Just getting out there and having fun with my teammates, making the most of it.”
However, Westmont didn’t let up in the second event, the women’s 1650-yard freestyle, as they quickly took the lead for the heat. Westmont swimmer, senior distance freestyler Olivia Garrison came in first with an impressive time of 17:49.65. Pepperdine came in a close second as junior freestyler Ava Wiley finished with a time of 18:08.43.
Pepperdine dominated the exhilarating events, as athletes competed against the time and one another in their heats. In the women’s 100-yard backstroke, senior freestyler/backstroker Lindsay Hemming and freshman butterflyer/backstroker Sophia Ware competed neck-to-neck, with Hemming coming out on top with a time of 59.74 and Ware with a time of 59.93.
Monobe expressed her contentment with the team’s performance, especially taking on the sprint events.
“The consistency in our sprint-free was really impressive to me. I’m happy to see the group kind of improving week after week,” Monobe said. “Lindsay Hemming putting together a pretty awesome backstroke event today, I felt like was pretty good.”
In the individual events, Pepperdine Swim collected a total of 11 wins, along with nine second and third-place finishes.
Adams highlighted the importance in execution in their performance throughout the meet.
“We’re definitely at a really high training point in the season,” Adams said. “To see the really clean execution, starts, turns just kind of owning our home pool and making everything look clean. The speed will come later.”
In the women’s 100-yard backstroke event, Hemming, Ware, and senior butterflyer Lexie Deitemeyer excluded the Warriors, as they all secured the podium with the times of 59.74, 59.93, and 1:01.68.
The result was no different in the women’s 50-yard freestyle, as Browne, senior freestyler/butterflyer Eleanor Mashkovich, and junior freestyler Elliot Easton, showcased the Waves’ power with their respective times of 24.24, 24.99, 25.95.
Adams carried the women’s 500-yard freestyle from the start with a visible gap from her competitors. The fierceness in her strokes became apparent as she finished first with an impressive time of 5:15.68.
Despite the high performance, Browne expressed the challenges that are occurring within the team’s performance.
“I feel like right now in the season, it’s hard to see the times because they’re not going to be the best times right now,” Browne said. “That’s a little bit of a mental block, but it’s just trusting the process, trusting the coaches. Again, just executing the details and just focusing on the bigger picture.”
Anticipation was high as the meet concluded with the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay. The lineup consisted of Browne, sophomore freestyler/butterflyer Layla Busquets, Hemming and junior free Anna Ryan, securing first with a time of 1:38.32.
Monobe celebrated the high performance while acknowledging the aspects that are in need of improvement.
“We’re working on executing our race strategies and making sure that we are pushing ourselves when we’re tired and not being afraid to attack the front half of our races. I felt like they did exactly what we’d asked for today,” Monobe said. “From a culture standpoint, not being afraid to push it a little bit more and not being fearful of failure in some regards are some things that I think we can improve on.”
Riding the win, the Waves’ Women’s Swim and Dive team will resume competition next week, hosting a double dual-meet against the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of California, San Diego at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool on Nov. 16.
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Contact Christine Park by email: christine.park@pepperdine.edu
