Pepperdine University’s women’s swimming and diving team secured a win against the University of San Diego, ending a streak that dated back to 2021. The Waves finished with a score of 945–817, taking first place in thirteen out of nineteen events during the meet held in Malibu.
“It’s really hard to put today in perspective. This group, time and time again, just gets it done,” said interim head coach Dan Marella. “We had three school records today, and a number of lifetime bests coming off some really tough practices and lifts. Looking forward to pushing the envelope even further over the next couple of weeks before we start to come down for championships.”
Jackie Johnson led Pepperdine on the diving boards by winning both the one-meter and three-meter events. Johnson set a new program record in the one-meter dive with a score of 271.20, adding to her existing record in the three-meter event.
Freshman Maile Sullivan also broke a school record by winning the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.88 seconds. Sullivan contributed additional wins in the 50 free (23.73), as well as being part of victorious relay teams in both the 200-yard (1:34.43) and 400-yard freestyle relays (3:26.82). She was joined by Paige Easton, Kylie Taylor, and Anna Ryan in the 200-yard relay, while Aliyah Fan, Paige Easton, and Anna Ryan completed the lineup for the 400-yard relay.
Anna Ryan took first place individually in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.21.
The third program record was set by Ansley Halbach in the 400 individual medley, finishing second with a time of 4:27.03, surpassing a previous mark from 2020.
Nora Rabe won two events: she finished first in both the 200 breaststroke (2:19.99) and the 200 individual medley (2:07.38).
In butterfly events, Aliyah Fan won the 100 fly (55.17), while Mollie Cho claimed victory in the 200 fly (2:04.85).
Both medley relay teams saw similar lineups; Kylie Taylor, Ava Taylor, Aliyah Fan, and Maile Sullivan won gold in the 400 medley relay at 3:45.62, while Sullivan anchored their win in the shorter distance at 1:43.31.
The Waves will finish their regular season next Saturday at home against Azusa Pacific University at 11 a.m., where they will honor graduating seniors during Senior Day.
Pepperdine’s swimming & diving program has been active for four decades and has consistently placed among its conference’s top five teams for most seasons since its inception. The team has recently achieved three conference championships within four years—including its first MPSF Championship after joining that conference—and boasts several individual champions along with an Olympian alumnus.
