Split-second win leads UCLA to victory over USC in dual meet

After 15 events, the Bruins’ final regular-season meet came down to the 400-yard free relay.

No. 19 UCLA swim and dive (2-1) trailed rival USC (0-2) 144-138, with the winning relay group in the final event set to earn 11 points to second place’s four, enough to make the winner of the race the victor of the meet. Trailing a quarter-second heading into the anchor leg of the four-person race, Claire Grover was the only Bruin left to swim.

“I remember I was just standing behind the block in the zone, and I got up on the block and I was just like, ‘I got this,’” Grover said. “I was just saying like, ‘We’re going to win this relay, I’m going to do whatever it takes to win this relay,’ and so I dove in.”

With an anchor split of 48.04 seconds, the junior touched the wall in a personal-best time giving UCLA a final time of 3:15.80, only 0.04 seconds ahead of USC’s 3:15.84, sending the final score to 151-148 to give the Bruins their first win over the Trojans in over 14 years.

“I literally don’t even know what happened during the race, like I barely even remember it, I was just not thinking at all – just like going as fast as I could,” Grover said. “And not only did I get the best time, which is thrilling, I was just so excited to see everyone cheering so loud.”

The two-day dual meet ended 84-84 after the first day of competition with USC winning five events to UCLA’s four. USC was originally disqualified in the meet’s opening event, the 200 medley relay, but the decision was overturned.

For the Bruins, junior Ella Kirschke won the 200-yard freestyle, followed by sophomore Sophia Kosturos winning the 100-yard backstroke on day one. Both Kosturos and Kirschke joined Grover as members of the 400-yard relay.

Freshman Sam Baron – one of five student-athletes to post a season, career or personal best at the meet – said the team was all together on day two to watch the final race.

“It was chaotic, everyone was jumping – it was just a mess, we were celebrating so much,” Baron said. “The entire race was crazy, it was nerve-wracking through the whole way. Everyone was screaming the entire time. When (Grover) touched the wall, it was everything coming to a close, and people were crying in tears. It was a good way to end the meet, especially for the seniors who will never have another dual meet.”

Sweeping the butterfly events, Baron posted wins in the 100- and 200-yard fly while freshman Greta Fanta took first in the 500-yard free to halt a three-race win streak for USC.

In her second year at the helm of the team, coach Jordan Wolfrum – who led UCLA to its best Pac-12 finish since 2014 a season ago – said her team won the culture battle over the Trojans.

“The best thing is that (we didn’t win based on) just one thing, and it wasn’t on talent, it was on culture,” Wolfrum said. “More than anything else, it was, you know, we beat a possibly more talented team, by doing it together and believing in each other and believing in the process and loving the process. So that’s been really fun and I’m really proud.”

Despite an altered schedule with limited meets, a changed season start date and different meet formats due to COVID-19 protocols, Grover said the team has grown closer than ever this year and her skills are the most refined they’ve been in her career.

“I’m the best swimmer I’ve ever been after this year, which is crazy, you know, and I feel like I’ve become the best version of myself,” Grover said. “I’ve grown a lot. And not only myself, but all of us. Just believing in ourselves and believing that opportunity lies within adversity, and something good can come from that adversity.”

With a win in the 50-yard freestyle after day one under her cap, the team leader in event wins sent a message to the team before day two motivating her teammates to seize and savor the opportunity ahead of them.

“Today is another day, another opportunity, another chance to win the moment, another time to go all in, a time that we get to show USC which team rules LA,” Grover said. “We have come such a long way in the midst of adversity, we have conquered so much together. … The energy we have, let’s make it so loud that we show them who owns this day, on what we have built this year, on everything that we have worked for, what we have accomplished and what we are still striving for.”

The Bruins will have a bye week before they compete Feb. 24-27 in the Pac-12 Championships.