Feb. 28, 2009
Complete Results
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Junior Scott Weltz won his third consecutive conference title and fellow junior Heidi Kucera hit the first NCAA A-cut time in program history to highlight the final day of the Big West Swimming and Diving Championships for UC Davis and lead their respective teams to second-place finishes.
UC Santa Barbara swept the team titles for the second consecutive season with point totals of 880 on the women's side and 849.5 on the men's. The Aggie men were just 17 points shy of earning their first conference crown with a point total of 832.5 while the women scored 745 points.
Weltz won his third straight conference title and sixth of his career with an NCAA-consideration time of 1:54.91 in the 200-yard breaststroke. The time was also a meet, conference and school mark and left him just 0.66 seconds off the A-cut standard.
Kucera finished second in the women's 200 breast but became the first Aggie to hit an A-cut time with her school-record mark of 2:09.41, which shaved nearly five seconds off her previous school record. Kucera won conference titles in the 100 breast and 400 individual medley.
In the men's competition, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara went back-and-forth with the lead throughout the night. The Aggies lead by 14 points heading into the final two events, but the Gauchos placed four in the finals of the 200 butterfly and won the 400 freestyle relay to repeat as champions.
Senior Alex Arbios capped a solid showing in the distance free events with a second-place finish in the 1,650 in a school-record time of 15:22.46. The time was over eight seconds faster than the old school record. Arbios won the 500 and 1,00 free during the championships. Sophomore Adam Borchard was second in the event in 15:23.94.
Junior Daniel Donnelly was third in the 200 fly with a B-cut and school-record mark of 1:46.54, which is the first sub-1:47 time in school history.
On the diving side of the competition, Kendra Hughes was a runner-up on the women's 3-meter board in 262.75. Sophomore Paul Navo was third on the 1-meter board with a score of 272.45.
UC Davis ended the championships with second-place finishes in the 400 freestyle relay in school-record fashion. The women's team of Amanda Holman, Amber Bonds, Linda Hermann and Kayleight Foley went 3:24.11. The men's team of Weltz, Trent Richardson, Alex Daneke and Russ Underwood finished in 2:56.97.
It marks the season-ending event for the UC Davis swimming and diving teams. However, along with Kucera, several Aggies will likely earn trips to the NCAA Division I Championships in March.
Big West Conference Championships
Final
TEAM SCORES:
Men - 1. UC Santa Barbara, 849.5; 2. UC Davis, 832.5; 3. UC Irvine, 636.5; 4. Pacific, 426.5; 5. Cal Poly, 363; 6. Cal State Northridge, 219.
Women - 1. UC Santa Barbara, 880; 2. UC Davis, 745; 3. Pacific, 529; 4. Cal Poly, 526; 5. UC Irvine, 417; 6. Cal State Northrdige, 239.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Event winner and UC Davis scorers only):
Women's 1,650 Freestyle - 1. Lacey Buck, Cal Poly, 16:34.55... 8. Kathryn Jovino, 17:44.10; 11. Jodi Hanson, 17:58.12.
Men's 1,650 Freestyle - 1. Matthew Lundy, 15:19.10; 2. Alex Arbios, 15:22.46; 3. Adam Borchard, 15:23.94.
Women's 200 Backstroke - 1. Jun Huang, 1:58.49... 8. Katelyn Griffin, 2:04.63 (2:04.46); 10. Rebecca Koch, 2:07.19.
Men's 200 Backstroke - 1. Chris Good, 1:45.40... 4. Jordan Lager, 1:47.51; 11. Jimmy Fong, 1:53.90 (1:53.13).
Women's 100 Freestyle - 1. Anne Marie May, UCSB, 48.91... 3. Kayleigh Foley, 50.15; 6. Amanda Holman, 51.31 (51.23); 7. Amber Bonds, 51.60; 8. Emily Medved, 52.75; 13. Linda Hermann, 52.27 (52.15); 16. Buffy Ajimura, 53.81 (53.34).
Men's 100 Freestyle - 1. Kevin Kuhn, UCSB, 43.74... 8. Russ Underwood, 44.91 (44.79); 10 Trent Richardson, 44.69; 13. Alex Daneke, 45.04; 15. Evan Kraus, 45.49.
Women's 200 Breaststroke - 1. Katy Freeman, UCSB, 2:09.12; 2. Heidi Kucera, 2:09.41; 8. Alyssa Britt, 2:24.39.
Men's 200 Breaststroke - 1. Scott Weltz, UC Davis, 1:54.91; 4. B.J. Scoggan, 2:01.70; 6. Kyle Anderson, 2:02.97 (2:01.96); 7. Keegan Groot, 2:03.07; 14. Arie Van Gemeren, 2:06.19.
Women's 200 Butterfly - 1. Erin Yamamoto, UCSB, 2:00.96... 4. Mary Struempf, 2:02.17; 11. Jenah Dawson, 2:08.00.
Men's 200 Butterfly - 1. Tom Randall, UC Irvine, 1:43.63... 3. Daniel Donnelly, 1:46.54; 8. Ed Morrison, 1:52.29 (1:51.24); 10. Reid Hartz, 1:51.38.
Women's 400 Freestyle Relay - 1. UCSB (Nadia Dwidar, Naomi Javanifard, Courtney Bauer, Anne Marie May), 3:18.76; 2. UC Davis (Amanda Holman, Amber Bonds, Linda Hermann, Kayleigh Foley), 3:24.11.
Men's 400 Freestyle Relay - 1. UCSB (Kevin Kuhn, Bradley Matsumoto, Kevin Ferguson, Scott Vogelsang), 2:54.93; 2. UC Davis (Trent Richardson, Alex Daneke, Russ Underwood, Scott Weltz), 2:56.97.
Men's 1-Meter Diving - 1. Miles Smith, UC Irvine, 323.45... 3. Paul Navo, 272.45; 4. Michael Androus, 250.65; 7. Jason Andrade, 228.10; 8. Mark Alger, 212.60; 9. William LaBarge, 186.60; 9. Tristan Kaiser, 182.15.
Women's 3-Meter Diving - 1. Melanie Grosvenor, UC Irvine, 277.60; 2. Kendra Hughes, 262.75; 6. HIlary Bruner, 208.50; 6. Shiree Segev, 171.70; 7. Ericka Stricker, 164.15; 9. Mia Herman, 169.40.
