Seven shattered records and three four-time champions highlight day three of the 2008 Big West Swimming & Diving Championships at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach, Calif. UC Santa Barbara continues to distance itself over the competition with the men’s team holding 611 points and the women’s team registering 632. UC Davis men own the second spot with 456, followed by UC Irvine (394) and Pacific (391). The Mustangs of Cal Poly sit in fifth with 261 points and Cal State Northridge rounds out the six-team field with 167 points. While the Gaucho women anchor the top spot in the standings, UC Irvine sits in second with 436 points. Pacific totaled 401 for third place and UC Davis registered 389 points, securing the fourth slot. Cal Poly and Cal State Northridge close out the women’s side with 274 and 123 points.

UC Irvine’s Lyndsay DePaul set two meet records in the third day of competition, increasing her total of records set to three thus far. Her first of the day came in the prelim of the 800 free relay where she posted a time of 1:47.76 on the leadoff leg. The previous 200 free time of 1:48.49 was set by Nevada’s Lise Mackie in 1997. In the evening session, DePaul opened the championship shattering the 400 individual medley meet record by nearly three seconds. Her time of 4:11.68 bested her previous mark of 4:14.25 she set just a season ago. Pacific’s Ja-Neil Bragg secured second place with a time of 4:18.29, while Gaucho Brittany Borowitz grabbed the third spot, touching the wall at 4:21.30.

Krzysztof Zoldak ends his four-year career at Pacific as a four-time champion in the 400 individual medley after capturing his fourth straight victory in the 400 IM tonight with a time of 3:51.56. Cal Poly’s Peter Kline clocked in 3:54.20 to hold down second place and UC Santa Barbara’s Chris Good wrangled in the third slot with a mark of 3:56.58.

The Anteaters picked up their second win of the evening with an impressive performance by Chelsea Nagata in the 100 butterfly. Nagata’s mark of 53.36, topped a trio of Gauchos that finished second-fourth. Leading the UCSB threesome was Naomi Javanifard (54.55), followed by Erin Yamamoto (54.70) and Katherine Ure (55.10). The UC Irvine men’s team mirrored the women’s squad by clinching the top prize in the 100 butterfly with Eddie Erazo registering 47.60. The Gaucho duo of Daniel McClary and Jonathan Kraetsch claimed second and third with times of 48.39 and 48.86, respectively.

UC Santa Barbara reached the top of the podium after finishing one-two in the 200 women’s freestyle. Courtney Bauer brought home top honors with a time of 1:49.09 and Liz Wagner’s mark of 1:49.83 placed her second. Rounding out the top three was Cal Poly’s Gloria Benefield, who posted a time of 1:50.18.

Teammates from UC Santa Barbara - Matthew Bartlett, Scott Vogelgesang and Daniel Morris - grabbed the top three spots in the 200 men’s freestyle. Bartlett’s time of 1:36.41 broke a 13-year-old meet record of 1:36.43 set by Pacific’s Brad Schumacher. Vogelgesang swam a mark of 1:37.26, good enough for second, and Morris earned third place with a mark of 1:38.16,

The records kept falling as Gaucho Katy Freeman swam a meet-best time of 1:00.75 in the 100 breaststroke. Fellow Gaucho Sara Nicponski grabbed second place with a mark of 1:02.01 and UC Davis’ Ashley Cayford closed out the top three, swimming a time of 1:03.31. On the men’s side, Jeffrey Sudbury captured a first place victory in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 55.06. David Dunn’s mark of 55.17 gave Pacific a second place finish and Cal Poly’s Carter Richards was awarded third place after a 55.36 mark.

UC Irvine dominated the 100 backstroke on both the men’s and women’s side, setting new meet records. Nagata, clocking 54.14 to become a four-time champion in the 100 breaststroke, crushed UCSB’s Lindsay Dalonzo’s mark of 54.60 set in 2003. Fellow Anteater Eddie Erazo clocked in a time of 47.98, breaking his own record of 47.99 set last year. Pacific’s Wojciech Betlej finished second at 49.26 and Bradley Matsumoto posted the third fastest time of 49.28. For the women, Gauchos Jessica Cruzat (55.24) and Javanifarnd (55.42) earned the second and third place spots.

Not to be out done, UC Santa Barbara showed its dominance in the 200 freestyle relay, taking home top honors on both sides with record-setting performances. The women’s team of Courtney Bauer, Nadia Dwidar, Naomi Javanifard and Anne Marie May posted 1:31.46, breaking Nevada’s mark of 1:32.18 set in 1997. Gauchos Scott Vogelgesang, Jeffrey Sudbury, Matthew Sullivan and Bradley Matsumoto joined forces to register 1:19.06 in the 200 free relay, topping UC Irvine’s mark of 1:19.82 (2007).

In the lone diving event of the night - women’s 3-meter - UC Irvine’s Jackie Jones picked up her fourth straight title in the event with a top point total of 286.70. UC Davis’ Jamie Flynn and Krysta Chaldekas recorded 268.65 and 257.85 points to secure second and third place.

The final day of the 2008 Big West Swimming & Diving Championships gets uderway Saturday, Feb. 23 at 10:30 with the swimming prelims. The diving prelims and finals take place from 2:00 - 4:30 p.m. and the swimming finals are slated with a 6:00 p.m. start.

Men’s Day 3 Scores
UC Santa Barbara - 611
UC Davis - 456
UC Irvine - 394
Pacific - 391
Cal Poly - 261
Cal State Northridge - 167


Women’s Day 3 Scores
UC Santa Barbara - 632
UC Irvine - 436
Pacific - 401
UC Davis - 389
Cal Poly - 274
Cal State Northridge - 123