Pepperdine University’s women’s swimming and diving team competed in a tri-meet against San Diego State and Cal State East Bay on Monday in San Diego. The Waves secured a decisive victory over Cal State East Bay, winning 212.5 to 79.5, but fell to San Diego State with a score of 162 to 128.
Interim head coach Dan Marella led the team for the first time at this meet. “Very proud of this team,” Marella said after the competition. “There has been a lot of change over the last few weeks, and they have been handling it all like pros. From our seniors to our rookies, everyone took care of business today. We will continue to keep our nose to the grindstone for the next few weeks and keep the ball rolling before championships.”
The Waves achieved five event wins during the meet—four in swimming events and one in diving. Jackie Johnson won the 3-meter dive with a score of 281.63, finishing more than 15 points ahead of her closest competitor. In the 1-meter event, Delainey Pisaruk was Pepperdine’s top finisher, placing fourth with a score of 235.65.
Freshman Sophia Blietz claimed first place in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:06.30, while teammate Sophie Ware finished second at 2:07.85. Kylie Taylor earned another win for Pepperdine in the 100 backstroke, clocking in at 57.18 seconds.
Ava Taylor won gold in the 400 individual medley (IM) with a time of 4:38.79; teammates Paige Easton (4:41.81) and Ansley Halbach (4:41.82) also reached the podium in that event.
In the 200 breaststroke, Kiana Fan led four Pepperdine swimmers who topped the standings with her time of 2:23.33; Charli Sunahara (2:24.55), Nora Rabe (2:27.47), and Mollie Cho (2:28.71) followed closely behind.
The full results from all three teams are as follows:
– Pepperdine defeated Cal State East Bay by more than double their points.
– Pepperdine lost to San Diego State.
– Cal State East Bay also lost to San Diego State.
Pepperdine will return home later this week for two meets against Fresno State scheduled for Friday afternoon and Saturday midday.
The Pepperdine swimming & diving program has competed for over forty years, achieving top-five conference finishes in most seasons and winning three conference championships within four years—including its first MPSF Championship in 2025 after joining that conference recently.
To follow updates about Pepperdine swim and dive, fans can visit their social media accounts @PepperdineWSD.
