The University of Redlands swimming & diving teams participated in their first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) meet on Wednesday, December 3, taking on the Caltech Beavers in the inaugural night competition at the Thompson Aquatic Center. After the completion of 26 events, the men defeated the Beavers by a score of 119-98, while the women prevailed in a solid showing, 197-21.
Overall, the Bulldog women won half of the events and ranked among the top three on 23 additional occasions. The Redlands men landed atop the podium in six events and earned 17 second- or third-place finishes.
The men got off to a strong start in the pool by finishing second, third, and fourth in the 200 Medley Relay. The quartet of sophomore Will Tyrrell (Portland, OR), freshman Harlan Long (Orland Park, IL), sophomore Eric Bugna (Vancouver, WA), and freshman Spencer McMaster (Newberg, OR) put together the Bulldogs' fastest performance with a 1:42.11-showing for second place.
Freshman Nick Gambatese (Corvallis, OR) took home the gold in the 1000 Free after clocking a time of 10:56.10, while senior Jeff Depew (Naperville, IL) cranked out a winning time of 2:00.18 in the 200 IM, out-touching all other competitors by nearly four seconds.
Senior Eric LoPrete (Beaverton, OR) finished second in the 100 Free, missing out on a first-place finish by one-hundredths of a second. Junior Patrick Fink (San Pedro, CA) finished shortly after in third with a 49.79-mark.
Freshman Brian Wright (Kent, WA) finished in the top spot for the 100 Back with a time of 57.32, while freshman Corey Winter (Ripon, CA) and sophomore Hunter Wilson (Mercer Island, WA) followed closely behind in second (57.38) and third (59.44) place, respectively.
Bugna and senior David Sekula (LaGrange, IL) completed the 500 Free with a Bulldog one-two showing, posting times of 4:58.77 and 5:06.06, respectively.
Finally, Long gained another individual event-win for Redlands by grabbing the top spot in the 100 Breast with a time of 1:04.59.
The Bulldogs completed the night competition with another strong performance in the relays, as the quartet of freshman Nicolas Reed (Los Altos, CA), Sekula, Gambatese, and Fink joined forces for the winning time of 1:30.26 during the 200 Free Relay. In addition, Depew, Bugna, LoPrete, and junior Nelson Glendinning (Philadelphia, PA) fired off a second-place effort of 1:33.47.
The women started the meet off strong as well, with the 200 Medley Relay of freshman Danielle Miller (Hood River, OR), sophomore Jessica Rivers (Renton, WA), freshman Alex Amaro (Sugarland, TX), and freshman Emily Waddell (Bellevue, WA) uncorking a time of 1:58.84 to take first place.
The Bulldogs swept the podium in the 50 Free, as sophomore Ellie Jaques (Covina, CA), freshman Olivia Rock (Boulder, CO), and Rivers finished in order. Jacques' time of 25.32 tied her seed-time going into the event, while Rock and Rivers touched the wall in 26.56 and 26.71, respectively. The freshman trio of Claire Stuhr (Portland, OR), Emily Mabrouk (Aurora, IL), and Melissa Knell(Pleasanton, CA) mirrored the Maroon and Gray's showing in the 50 Free by taking all three top spots in the 200 IM. Stuhr won the event with a time of 2:19.51, while Mabrouk (2:21.86) and Knell (2:29.56) quickly followed.
Waddell and junior Lauren Robeznieks (Tigard, OR dominated the 100 Free competition, earning a one-two showing with respective sub-minute efforts of 55.73 and 55.96.
Redlands continued to roll with impressive performances in the 100 Back, 500 Free, and 100 Breast, as Bulldog swimmers finished among the top two or three in each race. Freshman Rachel Haney (Redmond, OR) won the back with a time of 1:01.10, while sophomore Cassidy Cramton (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) fired off a first-place time of 5:42.28 in the free and Jaques finished atop the competition in the 100 Breast (1:10.62).
On the diving board, freshman Lindsay Nichols (Arroyo Grande, CA) won the one-meter event after tallying 192.2 points. Junior Akari Matsumoto (Redmond, WA) followed in second place with a 159.55. Sophomore Jessica Kolsky (Red Wing, MN) dominated the three-meter board by raking in 214.3 points for first place.
The Bulldogs look forward to competing in the 2014 Collegiate Winter Invitational in the city of Commerce from Friday, December 12, to Sunday, December 14.