Preview: Big West Conference

California Polytechnic State University
Coach:  Tom Millich
Conference Finish:  Men: 5th  Women: 6th
NCAA Finish:  Men: n/a  Women: n/a

Cal Poly hopes to improve upon last year’s finish at conference.  Returning for the women will be Stacey Sorenson.  Sorenson set school records in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events.  Helping Sorenson will be returning conference scorer Christina Shilling and Alyssa Rogers.  Losing Julie Demers to graduation will hurt the Mustangs, thus they will be looking to both upperclassmen as well as freshman Melody White to contribute.

The Mustang men will depend on Chris Mcentee to repeat on his Big West Champion performance in the three meter.  Additionally, Corwin Didio will need to improve on his scoring swims last year in the distance events as will Kellen Ranahan in the butterfly.  Daniel Lara also contributed valuable points in the diving events and will need to do so again.  


California State University, Northridge
Coach:  Barry Schreifels
Conference Finish: Men: 6th  Women: 5th
NCAA Finish:  Men: n/a  Women: n/a

This sesaon the Matador Women will be led by Shannon Colavito.  Last year Colavito finished up her freshman year scoring in numerous finals at the Big West Championships.  Losing Diana Daltorio and Melanie Culpitt to graduation will leave a hole, but Robyn Johnson looks to return for her senior season and improve on her conference scoring performances from last season while Olesya Senicheva looks to improve on a successful freshman outing.

The Matador Men will be  led by senior Emre Celik.  Last season Celik broke the school records in both backstrokes and finalled in both events as well.  CSUN will need Celik to continue to improve if they want to get out from sixth place.  Matthew Silkevich will also need to contribute as he did last season, scoring in the distance freestyle events.  Clark Henson scored valuable points last year and will need to help lead the team this season as well.  While the Matador Men had good individual swims last season, if they hope to break out from the bottom, they will need an entire team effort this year.

University of California, Santa Barbara
Coach:  Gregg Wilson
Conference Finish:  Men: 2nd  Women: 1st
NCAA Finish:  Men:  33rd  Women:  n/a

The UCSB Women look to repeat last year’s conference championship.  Unfortunately they will have to do so without NCAA qualifier and last year’s Senior Captain Jennifer Schwalb who finished up her eligibilty.  Luckily for the Gauchos, one of their strengths is depth.  Anne Marie May completed an outstanding freshman campaign by qualifying for nationals and earning Big West Freshman of the Year honors.  Liz Wagner and Katy Freeman both were victorious last season and will have to repeat their performances from last year as well.  The Gaucho Women have a large talented incoming freshman class and plenty of leadership so a repeat Championship is a strong possibiltiy.  

For the UCSB Men, the loss of Pat Cary to graduation will be hard to fill.  Cary was the lone NCAA scorer for the Gaucho Men as well as a key leader.  Chris Good, Brooks Felton, and Daniel McClary all contributed important points for the UCSB Men and will need to improve this year if the Gauchos want to make a run for the title.  Scott Vogelgsang is coming off a fantastic freshman year, garnering conference freshman of the year honors as well as scoring in numerous events and will be looked to for leadership and points.

University of California, Davis
Coach:  Men:  Peter Motekaitis  Women:  Barbara Jahn
Conference Finish:  Men: 3rd   Women: 4th
NCAA Finish:  Men: n/a  Women: n/a

The Aggie Women hope to improve on their fourth place finish from last year.  To do so, they will be looking to Heidi Kucera and Jill Olsen to lead the way.  Both scored well during last year’s conference championships and will be depended upon to provide experience and leadership.  Krysta Chaldekas will need to repeat last season’s performance as well if UCD wants to move up in the rankings.

The UCD men finished in the top three last year and hope to continue their climb towards the title.  Led by Scott Weltz’s school and conference record breaking performances last season, the Aggies will try to improve.  Weltz will need to continue his success, but it can’t be a one man show.  Alex Arbios contributed critical points as did Russel Taylor and Kyle Leto.  The Aggies have the depth and talent they need to make a run at the title, but they will need an entire team effort.


University of Pacific (California)
Coach:  Greg Meehan
Conference Finish: Men: 4th  Women: 2nd
NCAA Finish:  Men: n/a  Women: n/a

The Pacific Women came in second last year and are hungry for a taste of the title.  Fortuantely for the Tigers, they return their top scorers.  Led by NCAA qualifier Ja-Neil Bragg, as well as conference finalists Jun Huang, Sarah Gutierrez, and Kristin Okazaki.  This core, along with a talented group of upperclassmen and a strong recruiting class  may be enough to finally claim the title.

The Tiger Men will be led by Wokckech Betlej and Krzysztof Zoldak, both contributing key points last year.  David Dunn returns for his senior year after last year’s Big West Inidividual title.  Matt Lundy contributed critical points in the distance freestyle and will be looked to do so again.  Coupled with a strong incoming class, the Tiger upperclassmen may have what it takes to break in to the top three this season.

University of California, Irvine
Coach:Brian Pajer                                                                                                                    Conference Finish:  Men: 1st   Women: 3rd
NCAA Finish:  Men: 25th  Women: 33rd

UCI had a successful season last year, qualifying two women for NCAA’s.  This year, both those women return.  Chelsea Nagata returns for her senior year coming off of an eighth place finish at Nationals last year.  Lyndsay DePaul completed her freshman year last year by qualifying for NCAAs and hopes to continue her improvement this season.  The Anteaters have enough depth and talent to make a run at the title this season if they can pull together and make a team effort push.

Last year proved to be a great one for the UCI Men as they claimed their first Big West Team Title.  The Anteater Men, like the women, return their strongest swimmers.  Both Eddie Erazo and Randall Tom return for their senior years following last season’s NCAA scoring swims.  Diver Eric Nugent and swimmer Will Wollam both contributed major points to the Anteater’s success.  The loss of Eric Reilly and Dan Simonsen will leave a gap in the relays, but the strong incoming