Tigers Claw Past Leopards in SCIAC Swimming & Diving
LA VERNE, Calif. (Jan. 31, 2009) – In the final dual-meet of the season both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams returned home with victories as the Tigers defeated the Leopards 146-80 and 162.5-52.5, respectively.
Of the 13 women’s events, Occidental was victorious in 10 of those, with a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Karie Nickle was the top finisher in the 200 free, swimming the event in 2:06.32 while teammates Eileen McMillan and Sara Mendoza battled for second with McMillan slightly out touching Mendoza 2:09.05 to 2:09.89.
The 100 back was quite possibly the most exciting race of the afternoon as three Tigers touched the wall within five hundredths of a second of each other. Chloe Thulstrup took an early lead before Mendoza began to close the gap. On the last lap Rebecca Hofer was sparked by some late energy which she used to propel herself ahead of her teammates to come out on top at 1:10.70 followed by Mendoza and Thulstrup at 1:10.73 and 1:10.75, respectively.
Nickle added a second victory in the 200 free (58.06) in which McMillan came in second (59.62). Mallory Ryan also turned in a pair of victories today winning the 500 freestyle (5:45.75) and the 400 IM in a time of 5:02.66. Oxy senior Kayla Schott-Bresler was second in the event while turning in a first place swim in the 100 breaststroke (1:17.96) a second ahead of Kelsey Fuller to complete another 1-2 Tiger sweep.
A couple of mishaps on the starting blocks caused struggles for two of the women, but despite going in feet first on the mile, Mallory Kaufman was able to recover and finish in an improved time (17.07 seconds), earning first place points. Eliza Mendoza also slipped on the start of the 50 free, but she was not able to recover, finishing second (26.37), .30 seconds behind the winner.
The Oxy relays also earned top finishes winning the 400 Medley Relay (4:25.53) and the 400 Yard Relay (4:10.72).
On the boards sophomore Marisa Pulcrano was the 1-meter champion with a score of 180.35 while Celeste Faber won the 3-meter event finishing with 223.45 points on her six-dives. Pulcrano placed second with 197.20.
For the men, Occidental won top honors in 10 of the 11 swimming events. Oxy had a 1-2-3 sweep in the 100 backstroke with Zachary Condon swimming a sub one minute time at 59.93 for the victory. Cameron Carlson and Jack Hans were next for the Tigers in times of 1:01.67 and 1:03.86, respectively.
In the 1650 Mike Wong out touched Mike Wade by nearly two seconds after a close race. Wade led early in the mile long event but after swimming dead-even, turn for turn in adjacent lanes during the final half of the race, Wong pulled ahead in the end (18:07.53).
Wong also turned in a first place finish in the 400 IM with a time of 4:40.69, beating out Condon by six seconds, while Wade was victorious in the 500 freestyle (5:16.93) ahead of teammate Austen Oliver.
Jeven Dovey and Adam Kantor each won two events as well. Jovey won the 200 free (1:54.56) and the 100 breaststroke (1:05.34) just ahead of Abiel Garcia. Kantor was the fastest man in the pool today swimming the 50 free in a time of 23.05, also winning the 100 free in 50.62.
The men won both relays as well, swimming the 400 Medley Relay in 3:57.55 and the 400 Freestyle in 3:28.62.
Occidental was at a slight disadvantage today, not only because they have no male divers, but also because Matt Harter was resting his shoulder, therefore leaving no presence in the pool for the butterfly events.
The women enter the SCIAC Championships with a 4-3 SCIAC record as the men hold a 3-4 mark.
Divers will compete in a preliminary event on Saturday and Sunday in El Monte before the Championships at the SCIAC Swimming Championship venue in Long Beach Thursday through Saturday in Long Beach, Calif. Preliminary events will be held at 11:00 a.m. followed by finals at 6:00 p.m. each day.
