The UC San Diego men's and women's swimming and diving teams continued a dominant run of dual-meet successes with three more combined victories on Senior Day at Canyonview Pool on Saturday afternoon.
The third-ranked Triton women and fifth-ranked men each improved their dual records to 7-2 on the season. The men took down a pair of opponents in 23rd-ranked Canadian side Simon Fraser (169-119) and Riverside's California Baptist (180-113). The women took care of business against Cal Baptist (1-7), 183-103.
In Saturday's other match-up, the CBU men (4-3) defeated Simon Fraser (3-4) for the second straight day, 152-128.
UCSD student-athletes produced the top marks in 23 of the 32 combined events, including 13 of 16 in the women's competition.
Winners of multiple individual events for the Tritons included juniors Erika Rodman and Anji Shakya and freshman Rosa Bebi for the women, and underclassmen Kyle Nadler and Dane Stassi alongside senior diver Tyler Runsten for the men. Shakya and Stassi each also aided in a top-finishing relay.
Rodman swept the distance freestyle events of first the 1000 (10:31.58), followed later by the 500 (5:06.50), followed in byDari Watkins (5:13.07) in the latter. Nadler duplicated Rodman's feat in the men's competition, swimming 9:43.95 and 4:45.30 to complete a difficult double of his own, just ahead of freshmen teammates Paul Li (9:44.59) and AJ Zavala(4:46.49). It was Zavala's first collegiate 500.
Shakya was fastest in the 100 back (58.09), leading the first of five 1-2-3 Triton sweeps on the day ahead of fellow juniorSandy Hon (58.55) and Sierra Robbins (1:02.16), and also the 200 back (2:06.68) in front of Hon (2:10.07) again andLindsay Oosterhouse (2:14.66).
Bebi swept the breaststroke distances in 1:08.12 and 2:26.18, the latter ahead of fourth-year senior Casey Adams (2:27.55). Stassi touched first in both butterfly races, timing 1:51.60 and 51.33.
Runsten swept the men's diving events, achieving an NCAA qualifying score of 316.87 on the three-meter springboard. The fourth-year Triton was already assured of competing on both boards at the NCAA meet's dive-in, having posted a qualifier from one meter last weekend at Canyonview. He scored 284.77 to win the one-meter Saturday.
Sophomore Megan Lee produced her first career dual victory in going 4:39.73 in the 400 IM. She also swam 2:31.82 for fourth-place in her first collegiate 200 breast.
Amber Tan raced 24.12 to get her hand on the wall first in the 50 free ahead of Shakya (24.17), while fellow fourth-year senior sprinter Katherine Tse was UCSD's top finisher in second in the 100 (52.43) and fourth in the 50 (24.44).
Other individual victors for UCSD were Alex Merrill (200 free, 1:43.96), Michael Leung (100 back, 52.09), Nicholas Korth(100 breast, 55.57), Naomi Thomas (200 fly, 2:05.75), Natalie Mouzooni (one-meter diving, 199.12) and Jaclyn Amog (100 fly, 57.52).
The 400 medley relay of Hon, Amog, senior co-captain Beth Dong and Tse opened the meet with a first-place time of 3:55.90 for UCSD, while Shakya, Colleen Daley, Tan and fourth-year senior Olivia Fountain were fastest (1:36.87) in the 200 free relay to close. Korth, Stassi, fourth-year senior co-captain Julius Espiritu and Reid McCallum produced the top time in the men's 200 free relay (1:24.95).
Patricia Hapsari won the 100 and 200 freestyle races for the Cal Baptist women.
A total of 16 Triton seniors, nine men and seven women, were recognized prior the meet on Senior Day. They were Adams, Bethany Dong, Olivia Fountain, Mishka Hulka, Mercedes O'Brien, Tan, Tse, Julius Espiritu, Mark Guyler, Paul Guzman,Jacob Lammott, Adam Rice, Runsten, Jeremy Smith, James Sonu and Adam Yen.
The Triton men and women all travel to San Luis Obispo for dual meets against Division I Cal Poly next Saturday, Jan. 26, beginning at 1 p.m. The UCSD women do have one final home date remaining, against crosstown rival University of San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 2, beginning at noon at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
Triton Notes: The Tritons will assuredly see Cal Baptist again in February as fellow members of the Pacific Collegiate Swimming & Diving Conference (PCSC), with the potential existing of seeing Simon Fraser there again as well with the Clan applying to become a member in time for this year's PCSC Championships (Feb. 13-16) ... The UCSD men and women both exhibitioned the final two events of the afternoon ... Howie Chang, Mishka Hulka, Cole Heale and Amber Tan were back in action for the Tritons after missing last weekend's meets ... During the first of two diving breaks, the festive and annual Triton Athletes' Council (TAC) Swim Relay was held, with the men's and women's crew programs taking a fifth and third consecutive title, respectively, in the two races.
