The University of Redlands men's and women's swimming & diving teams opened the 2017 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships on Wednesday at the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center in Commerce. After earning 128 points in today's events, the Bulldog women currently sit second in the standings, while the men own 84 points for fourth place with three days to go.
For the women, the one-meter diving competition concluded with senior Jessica Kolsky (Red Wing, MN) leading the Bulldogs with her ninth-place showing off of 396.90 points. Junior Lindsay Nichols (Arroyo Grande, CA), freshman Sami Scarano (Boulder, CO), and freshman Chloe Cadiz (Paia, HI) put together a tight race for 11th, 12th, and 13th, with scores across an eight-point spread of one another.
In addition, the team collected a pair of third-place finishes in the only swimming competitions of the day to garner All-SCIAC accolades. The quartet of senior Danielle Miller (Hood River, OR), senior Ellie Jaques (Covina, CA), junior Claire Stuhr (Portland, OR), and junior Emily Waddell (Bellevue, WA) combined efforts to finish third with a time of 1:47.03 in the 200 Medley Relay.
Jaques, Waddell, senior Cassidy Cramton (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), and freshman Taylor Cadile (San Jose, CA) repeated this effort in the 800 Free Relay that touched the wall in 7:46.98 for third place to garner the Bulldogs' second All-SCIAC nod of the day.
Furthermore, Miller, freshman Courtney Gray (Yucaipa, CA), sophomore Alden Lovaas (Colorado Springs, CO), and senior Leah Bolin (Oshkosh, WI) put together a third-place effort in the consolation final, earning valuable points for the Maroon and Gray.
In the men's competition, the Bulldogs gained an All-SCIAC performance by the 200 Medley Relay that included sophomore Joe Widuch (Naperville, IL), junior Brian Wright (Kent, WA), senior Eric Bugna (Vancouver, WA), and sophomore Aaron Bauer (Garden Grove, CA). The quartet completed the race in 1:33.19 to take third. In the event's consolation final, Redlands also put together a quality effort to take third with a time of 1:35.51, as senior Will Tyrrell (Portland, OR), freshman Cortlandt Nelsen (Beaverton, OR), freshman Matt Skinner (Lakewood, CA), and sophomore Lucas Ulmer (Camas, WA) joined forces for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs completed the opening day of the SCIAC Championships with a fourth-place finish in the 800 Free Relay. Wright, freshman Michael Talag (Lakewood, CA), Bauer, and Bugna touched the wall in 6:53.24 in a solid final outing.
The second day of the conference finale kicks off at 9 a.m. on Thursday, February 16, with the 500 Free, 200 Individual Medley, 50 Free, and 200 Free Relay. The three-meter diving competition also takes place in the afternoon. Video coverage of the meet is available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sciac/.
