Cheers erupted from Bruin fans in the stands above Spieker Aquatics Center as sophomore Claudia Yovanovich touched the wall of the pool – 21.63 seconds after she dove in.

Freshman Jada Duncan, junior Sarah Bennetts, senior Fay Lustria and Yovanovich handed the Trojans a defeat in the first event of the crosstown rivalry meet, finishing the 200-yard medley relay in 1:35:15.

And, down with the Trojans, went a school record.

“There is just a really good connection between the girls that are in those relays,” coach Jordan Cordry said. “We’ve known that that 200 medley relay especially could be really good all year, and those girls have made it their personal mission to make it great, and do it for each other.”

UCLA swim and dive (2-4-1, 1-1-0 Big Ten) came up short against its rival, No. 11 USC (7-3, 1-1), on Friday in a 174-126 battle in Westwood, setting two new school records in the process. The Bruins then defeated Nevada (4-2, 2-1 Mountain West) 163-80 on Saturday in their final dual meet of the season that honored UCLA’s 10 seniors.

The Bruins won six events in their dual meet versus the Trojans – an improvement from last year’s crosstown meet in which USC swept every event. Underclassmen Duncan and Yovanovich propelled UCLA to its improved performance.

“We really showed up with a lot of confidence,” said senior Rosie Murphy. “We took some wins where we weren’t supposed to. I’m really, really proud of how we showed up.”

The Bruins’ second school record came in the 400 freestyle relay, during which redshirt senior Gizem Guvenc, junior Alexis Schaffer, Yovanovich and Duncan combined to finish in 3:13.56.

Duncan won the 50 freestyle in 21.98, while Schaffer finished third in 22.68. Duncan – who set a school record in the 100-yard butterfly last week against No. 3 Stanford with a time of 51.06 – won the event in 51.91 on Friday, and Lustria finished in third with a 53.63 mark.

Murphy – who broke a school record in the 200-yard backstroke last week against then-No. 7 California in 1:51:59 – took the 200-yard backstroke in 1:51.84. Yovanovich, Lustria and Murphy closed out the 100-yard backstroke podium, touching the wall in 52.28, 52.43 and 52.83, respectively.

“We always talk about getting the momentum from the first relay. Whenever we have a great first relay out of the gates, that helps build energy and momentum throughout the whole meet,” Murphy said. “When we had that first medley relay, I knew it was going to be a good meet.”

UCLA won 10 events in its second meet against Nevada, including a 1-2 finish in the 1650 free. Freshman Applejean Gwinn won the event in 16:53.67, and senior Beril Bocekler notched a personal-best 16:58.38 for second.

“She (Bocekler) had a mile earlier this season that wasn’t where she wanted it to be,” Cordry said. “For her to go there and just swim it so brave and with such courage and such power, and then finish the way she did … that’s what we were looking for.”

UCLA’s diving squad – lacking junior Molly Brascia and 2020 Tokyo Olympian Eden Cheng, who competed in the British Diving National meet Thursday through Sunday – failed to win a single event across both dual meets.

Junior Laura Fisher took second against Nevada in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dive with scores of 243.85 and 240.02, respectively. She finished third in the 3-meter against USC in 240.20 and fourth in the 1-meter in 243.85.

“We invest in these athletes as full human beings, which means their goals are our goals,” Cordry said. “It’s painful to not have her (Cheng) here for a close meet for senior day. But this is important to her, and so it’s important to us.”

The Bruins will have a nearly three-week break before competing in the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis from Feb. 18 to 21.

The team plans to reduce its training volume in preparation for the conference championships, Murphy said. The Bruins will also follow more individualized training plans in the coming weeks, Cordry added.

“We’ve carried our energy so well throughout the season,” Bennetts said. “We’re going to have fun. We’re going to do the best we can.”