Swimming and Diving Teams Open Seasons with Victories
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Oct. 27, 2007) – The long awaited opening meet for the 2007-08 season was a successful one for the Occidental men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams who defeated Chapman 124-55 and 136-63 respectively at Taylor Pool today.
The men took first place in eight of the nine individual events. Senior Dickson Fai led the way with a pair of victories in the 200 yard IM and 100 backstroke. In the 200 IM he finished in 2:05.56, 10 seconds ahead of teammate Jeven Dovey (2:15.41). Additionally, he hit the wall eight seconds in front of his closest opponent in the 100 backstroke, clocking in at 54.35.
The junior trio of David Nelson (1:54.94), Mike Wong (1:55.84) and Toshi Baker (1:58.19) claimed the top three spots in the 200 freestyle. Also sweeping the top three times were Abiel Garcia, Dovey and Will Carlson in the 100 breaststroke. Garcia won the event in 1:05.91 with Dovey and Carlson just behind in 1:06.10 and 1:09.11.
Mike Wade and Carlson touched the wall 1-2 in the 1000 freestyle in times of 11:24.04 and 11:44.25. Baker (57.76) and Wong (1:00.35) swam close in the 100 butterfly, finishing first and second. Sophomore Adam Kantor was victorious in the 50 freestyle, finishing in 22.91. Teammates Cameron Carlson and Derek Monroe came in third and fourth with times of 24.37 and 24.97 respectively. Rounding out the first place finishes for the Tigers on the day was Wong, who placed at the top of the 500 freestyle in a time of 5:18.01.
Both relay teams, the 200 Medley and 200 Free, placed second to Chapman.
For the women freshman Claire Coddington and junior Erin Brinton each won a pair of events in the season opener. Coddington led the way for a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 freestyle finishing in 58.99, just ahead of Audrey Akcasu (59.65) and Sara Ajifu (1:00.04) in her first collegiate meet. She also won the 50 free in 27.32 just ahead of teammate Akcasu (27.70).
Brinton was a pace setter in the distance events, winning the 1000 freestyle in 11:24.04 and the 500 free in 5:42.21. Robin Hamilton (6:08.63) came in behind Brinton for a 1-2 finish. Also finishing first and second were Renae Rykaczewski (1:05.61) and Sara Mendoza (1:10.58) in the 100 backstroke. Sophomore Katie Brush (1:19.74) just edged out teammate Jessica Abenstein (1:20.17) in the 100 yard breaststroke. Kelsey Fuller earned the top spot in the 200 yard IM with a time of 2:28.95.
Rykaczewski, Katie Brush, Fuller and Coddington combined to open the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay. They finished in 2:02.86. Rounding out the meet, Rykaczewski, Akcasu, Nancy Moore and Ajifu defeated Chapman in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:49.73.
The Tigers will welcome back the Alumni for Alumni Relays on Homecoming day, Nov. 3 before jumping back into collegiate action at the Nike Cup. The three day event will be hosted by UC Irvine all day on Thurs.-Sat. Nov. 15-17, 2007.
