Fresno Pacific Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. – The 11th-ranked Fresno Pacific women's swimming & diving team defeated Cal State East Bay 172.5-111.5 in a dual meet on Friday at Sunnyside Aquatics Center. The Sunbirds battled rainy and windy conditions to win 12 events and take down the Pioneers.
"Overall we were pretty mixed in our performances," said head coach Josh Christensen. "We had some really strong swims and some that weren't what we're capable of. East Bay has some strong athletes and they raced us tough. It was nice to come out on top against a conference opponent."
The Sunbirds opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:46.38. The team of Bavindeep Basra, Daria Belova, Madison McGinnis and Olivia Hynes set the tone with the victory.
Kaylee Cooper won the first individual swim of the meet, going 10:46.69 in the 1000 freestyle, while Hannah Freeman finished with a season-best time of 10:55.49 in third.
Belova highlighted the evening with three individual victories, the first coming in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.61. The junior also won the 200 breaststroke (2:20.99) and the 100 fly (57.35).
Basra swam 2:06.38 in the 200 fly to earn a win, while Hynes continued her strong season in the 50 free with a winning-time of 24.44. Samantha Woo also picked up a win for the Sunbirds, touching at 52.80 in the 100 free. Freshman Laura Fornshell earned the last individual win for FPU in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:09.67.
Paige Le delivered important points on the boards, winning the 1-meter event (214.28) and 3-meter event (179.32). The scores were season bests for the freshman.
FPU has a quick turnaround as the Sunbirds travel to Bakersfield to face CSU Bakersfield on Saturday in a dual meet at noon.
"Tomorrow will be a real challenge," noted Christensen. "I'm excited to see how we respond. It's a great opportunity to exhibit some mental toughness and get better as a team."
