USC swim and dive finally broke out its dual-meet boxing gloves for back-to-back short-course faceoffs across Arizona over the weekend, coming up with staggering performances by the women and lackluster displays from the men alongside near-pristine shows of skill from both of the Trojan diving teams. 

The No. 12 women’s team’s success marked another installment in a tour de force of cross-stroke domination, with five of the swimmers and divers already securing NCAA qualifications. Nevertheless, the No. 22 men’s team is still offering some stand-out performances individually, with four NCAA-qualified athletes to its name.

Nov. 7 marked the start of the women’s two-day siege on the Grand Canyon State, as they picked up a 189-109 win against Arizona. The women’s freestyle was as strong as ever, with wins from freshman Alisee Pisane in the 1000, senior Claire Tuggle in the 200 and the 500, and junior Minna Abraham in the 100. Sophomore Lily Dormans also put on a show in the 1000, placing second by four seconds with neck-and-neck splits against Pisane.

However, the rest of the medley had its moment, as each stroke was represented with a win. Senior Ashley McMillan brought her A-game to the breaststroke, taking first in the 200. Abraham and freshman Dora Molnar represented backstroke with wins in the 100 and 200, respectively, while senior Justina Kozan dominated in butterfly in the 100 and 200, as well as in the 400 individual medley. 

When joined together, the women proved tough to beat, with an elite team of Abraham, freshman Bella Brito, Kozan and graduate Nicole Maier winning the 400 medley relay.

The men, on the other hand, suffered a series of close calls and slivered losses against the Wildcats in a 182-118 loss, though they managed to eke out a few wins of their own. Juniors Krzysztof and Michal Chmielewski, graduate Jan Bialecki, and graduate Vaggelis Makrygiannis — Maurer’s pre-season pick for the team’s spirit leader — brought home a win in the 200 free relay.

Krzysztof Chmielewski continues to be the Trojan men’s shining star and another weapon of the USC distance freestyle brigade, clinching wins in the 500 and 1000. Sophomore Junhao Chan cleared the 200 breaststroke by almost a full second, while sophomore Charlie Bufton flaunted his varied prowess by winning the 400 IM. 

Nevertheless, those three were the exception to the rule of missing the mark by milliseconds — like junior Sanberk Oktar narrowly placing second in the 100 breast by 0.05 seconds or Krzysztof Chmielewski missing the win in the 200 fly by 0.06.

On the diving end, sophomore Kate Miller and graduate Moritz Wesemann gave Arizona no room to breathe, with Miller winning the 1-meter and Wesemann taking both the 1- and 3-meter diving events of the day.

The Trojans rinsed their hands in chlorine to wage tougher battles Nov. 8, but this time in Tempe against Arizona State. 

The women had a less cut-and-dry 169-131 win against the Sun Devils, with several of the previous day’s heroes coming out to play for more wins. The same elite medley relay team came back for more, this time taking control of the 200 medley relay, while three out of four of them, alongside Tuggle, clinched the 400 medley relay.

While Tuggle won the 500 free yet again, the sprinters showed out in full force; Abraham took first in the 100 — along with the 100 back — for the second day in a row, while Maier won both the 50 and 200 free events. McMillan and Kozan also had repeat wins, with McMillan grabbing the 200 breast while tacking on the 200 IM for good measure and Kozan repeating in the 200 fly. 

Unfortunately for the Trojan men, their 197-103 loss to the No. 3 Arizona State men was more decisive. Krzysztof Chmielewski was the sole individual winner after grabbing another win in the 1,000 free, adding onto his winning streak with the 200 fly, though junior Ian Pickles had a standout race in the 500, finishing only two seconds behind the Sun Devils’ leader. 

But when in doubt, the Trojan divers always cover their bases and bring home points for the Trojans, with Miller and Wesemann sweeping both the 1-meter and 3-meter events for USC.

The divers will get their turn to shine at the Trojan Diving Invitational running from Nov. 20 to 22 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center, where they can close the fall portion of their season before the Bruin Diving Invitational in January.

Meanwhile, USC’s swimmers will compete next at the Texas Hall of Fame Swimming Invitational from Nov. 19-21 in Austin, Texas, at the Jamail Texas Swimming Center; the women will have a chance to reinforce their force-to-be-reckoned-with status, and the men will have a chance to redeem themselves in shaved milliseconds.