Denver’s Men and Women Sweep Pepperdine and Seattle

Friday, October 23

Malibu, Calif.

5 p.m. MT

University of Denver

137

106

Seattle

Day 2 Results Day 1 Results

Photo by: C. Morgan Engel/Clarkson Creative Photography

10/24/2026 7:05:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Day 2 Results

The Pioneers record their first dual wins of the season ahead of next weekend’s home openers

By: Niko Blankenship

MALIBU, Calif. – The University of Denver men's and women's swimming and diving programs closed out a sweep of Pepperdine (women only) and Seattle on Saturday afternoon at Raleigh Runels Memorial Pool.

Team Scores:
Men's:
Denver 137, Seattle 106

Women's:
Denver 204, Pepperdine 58
Denver 216, Seattle 45

Event Winners:
Women's 200 Medley Relay – Isa Cardenas, Tinkara Novak, Bianca Rayward, Tenaya Winter – 1:42.50
Women's 200 Free – Samantha Synsvoll – 1:48.67
Men's 200 Free – Pierce Bickerton – 1:36.86
Women's 100 Back – Jette Haedicke – 56.29
Men's 100 Back – Quinn Collins – 49.70
Women's 100 Breast – Tinkara Novak – 1:02.74
Men's 100 Breast – Kito Campbell – 54.96
Women's 200 Fly – Sabrina Rachjaibun – 2:01.86
Men's 200 Fly – Viktor Hristov – 1:47.33
Women's 50 Free – Isa Cardenas – 23.56
Women's 100 Free – Isa Cardenas – 50.96
Women's 200 Back – Samantha Synsvoll – 1:59.18
Women's 200 Breast – Lilly Zippel – 2:17.19
Men's 200 Breast – Kito Campbell – 2:00.64
Women's 500 Free – Sabrina Rachjaibun – 4:58.12
Women's 100 Fly – Julia Saxman – 53.34
Men's 100 Fly – Hamish McLellan – 47.24
Women's 200 IM – Samantha Synsvoll – 2:03.50
Men's 200 IM – Nico Morton – 1:50.48
Women's 200 Free Relay – Julia Saxman, Tenaya Winter, Darian Koler, Isa Cardenas
Women's 1 Diving – Lucy Reynolds

How it Happened:
Denver opened the second half of the two-day double dual with a win in the women's 200 medley relay when Isa Cardenas, Tinkara Novak, Bianca Rayward and Tenaya Winter combined for a time of 1:42.50.

In the first individual events of Saturday, Samantha Synsvoll led a Denver 1-2 in the women's 200 free. Synsvoll clocked in at 1:48.67 to take the event title, and Rayward finished second in 1:49.16.

Pierce Bickerton got the Denver men in the win column for the first time on Saturday with his event title in the men's 200 free, clocking in at 1:36.86.

Denver earned its first podium sweep of the day in the women's 100 back. Jette Haedicke led the Pioneer trio with a 56.29. Darian Koler finished second in 56.83 and Maria DelMonte finished third in 57.30.

Quinn Collins gave the men a win in the 100 back with his time of 49.70. Jack Andrew finished third in the event in 50.49.

Freshman Tinkara Novak continued the impressive opening month of her rookie season with a win in the women's 100 breast, reaching the wall in 1:02.74. Winter finished third in 1:03.58 and Lilly Zippel clocked in at 1:04.74 to finish fourth.

On the men's side, Kito Campbell kept Denver's winning ways going with his 54.96 in the 100 breast.

Shifting to the butterfly, Sabrina Rachjaibun got to the wall first in the 200 with her time of 2:01.86. Viktor Hristov made it a butterfly sweep for the Pioneers with his 1:47.33.

In the sprint free, Cardenas won the women's 50 free in 23.56. On the other side of the men's sprint and a break, Cardenas led a podium sweep for the Pioneers in the 100 free with her time of 50.96. Rayward finished second in 51.30 and Winter clocked in at 51.43 to take third.

Hristov and Andrew finished second and third, respectively in the men's 100 free with their times of 44.78 and 45.72.

Synsvoll earned her second individual win of the day, this time with a 1:59.18 in the women's 200 back.

Collins and Kurt Owens finished second and third in the men's 200 back, reaching the wall in 1:50.18 and 1:52.90, respectively.

Zippel got herself in the win column in the 200 breast, getting to the end in 2:17.19. Novak finished second in 2:18.28.

Campbell made it a breaststroke sweep with a 2:00.64 in the 200, getting to the final wall in 4:58.12.

In the distance free race of the day, Rachjaibun got her second win of Saturday's action with a 4:58.12. Genevieve Franklin finished third in 5:00.31 and last night's distance winner Weronika Malolepsza finished fourth in 5:02.30.

Bickerton, Finn Holdredge and Hudson Martz took spots 2-4 in the men's 500 free, reaching the wall in times of 4:31.20, 4:34.30 and 4:34.38.

Julia Saxman got in the win column in the 100 fly with her time of 53.34, while Hamish McLellan swam the event in 47.24 to lead a Denver 1-2 that also featured a 48.11 from Hristov.

Synsvoll's third win of the afternoon came in the 200 IM, leading a podium sweep for the Pioneers. Zippel swam it in 2:04.30 to take second and Sophia Giesecke took third in 2:05.87.

Nico Morton finished off his weekend sweep on the individual medley events when he won the 200 in 1:50.48. Cota Clise took second in 1:52.92 and Mason Bruhn took third in 1:54.16.

Denver's women closed out the weekend with a win in the 200 free relay. Saxman, Winter, Koler and Cardenas swam the event in 1:35.01.

UP NEXT:
Denver will make its debut in El Pomar Natatorium next weekend, starting with the Pioneer women's dual on Friday against Colorado State (12 p.m. MT). Both Denver programs will be in action on Saturday, October 31, when the Pioneers welcome Colorado Mesa to El Pomar. First swim on Saturday is set for 10 a.m. MT.

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