Arizona State Faces Steep Test Against Stanford On Senior Day

The Arizona State Sun Devils swim team will host on the Stanford Cardinals in Tempe. Here is the FloSwimming preview.

Jan 20, 2017

Arizona State Faces Steep Test Against Stanford On Senior Day

Heading into a pair home dual meets on Saturday, the Arizona State men's and women's swimming teams match up more evenly with Stanford this year than they have in quite some time.

The No. 12 Sun Devils men's squad is coming off a hot season a year ago and is looking to keep its momentum rolling on Senior Day in Tempe, AZ, against the visiting eighth-ranked Cardinal. The unranked ASU women face a difficult task in No. 2 Stanford, which has one of the best teams in decades, highlighted by Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel team. Below we take a look at some of the swimmers you will want to keep an eye on as this meet goes down in the desert.

5 Arizona State Swimmers to Watch

Richard Bohus

As a senior, Bohus is having a career year for the Sun Devils. The sprint specialist had a mid-year performance surprisingly highlighted by a quick 1:41 in the 200-yard backstroke. Look for him to contribute on relays as well as in the 100 and possibly 200 events.

Cameron Craig

The 2016-17 star child of Tempe, AZ, Cameron Craig, has made an immediate impact on the recent success of this team. With event capabilities ranging from the 50 freestyle to the 200 IM, Craig will need to come away with two or more event wins if the Sun Devils men have a chance at winning. His winter invite performances in the 200 freestyle and 200 IM have attracted the attention of swim fans across the country, but we'll see if he can continue to compete throughout the remainder of the year.

Alysha Bush

A sprint leader and senior on the Sun Devils, Alysha Bush has been the head of the 50/100 free combo for a few seasons now. No stranger to being in tight races, Bush will need to win one or both of the short sprints to keep these Sun Devil women in contention.

Kat Simonovic

Coming off of Rio, Simonovic is prepped and ready to have one of the best seasons of her career. The 500/200 freestyler will have her hands full going up against the duo of Manuel and Ledecky, but the international racing experience will help keep the nerves at ease.

Marlies Ross

The South African IM/breaststroke specialist brings much-needed stroke depth to the Sun Devils women. Likely to swim the 200 breast/IM combo, Ross will play an important part in tackling this talented Stanford team.

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5 Stanford Swimmers to Watch

Katie Ledecky

Ledecky has dominated this season and is having one of, if not the, greatest collegiate seasons of all time. American records have fallen, team records have been destroyed, and we're only halfway done with her freshman year. Although we don't expect Ledecky to come in and drop an American record, she's one to keep an eye on as every time she hits the pool...she's going to give it her all.

Simone Manuel

After the summer season of her life in Rio, Manuel has come back down to NCAA swimming and continued to impress. Just looking at her times at the Ohio State Invitational (see below) she is on track for a killer year... 50 free: 21.78, 100 free: 47.37, 200 free: 1:41.90.

Sam Perry

The sprint star for the Stanford men's squad showed up in a big way at the Texas Invite earlier this year. He cranked out an 18.86 50 freestyle on the tail end of the 200 medley relay, elevating the relay team to a second-place finish in the event. He's going to be tough to handle for the Sun Devils in the 50/100 distances.

Tom Kremer

Kremer, who actually trained at ASU this during the 2015-16 season, is a 200 specialist. The 1:33 200 freestyler ranges out into the 200 butterfly, 200 IM, and some of the shorter distances including the 50 and 100 freestyle as well. The versatility he brings to the table plays a key role in dual meet success as some swimmers need to be moved around depending on the situation.

True Sweester

Sweester had a great winter invite in Texas, popping off a 1650 freestyle time of 14:35.03, which was an A qualifying standard and solidified his spot at the NCAA Championships this year. He will definitely have an impact on the mid to distance freestyle events against the Sun Devils.

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