Feb. 20, 2010
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The UC Davis men's and women's swimming and diving teams are Big West Conference champions after both teams won the team title Saturday at the Belmont Olympic Pool in Long Beach, Calif.
It was the first championship for either team and the fourth team championship ever in any sport for UC Davis as an institution since joining the Big West Conference.
The women's team outlasted four-time defending champion UC Santa Barbara and finished with a total of 864 points to the Gauchos' 852. Cal Poly finished third with 620 points while Pacific (466.5) and Cal State Northridge (347.5) completed the standings.
The Aggie men celebrated with the hardware after amassing 958.5 points, the most points ever by a winning team in a five-team Big West set up. Second place belonged to UC Santa Barbara, the two-time defending champion, with 896.5 points, while Cal Poly came in third with 635 points. Pacific (464) and Cal State Northridge (256) completed the men's standings.
"The girls just did a great job," said head women's coach Barbara Jahn. "They swam faster and faster as the meet went on and they never doubted themselves. It was just lifetime best after lifetime best and it was a total team effort. We didn't have one or two stars. Instead everybody gave an incredible effort and I couldn't be prouder."
"This is the hardest working team in the Big West and I am really proud of them," said men's head coach Pete Motekaitis. "These guys really went for it and all of their hard work absolutely paid off. The divers did an amazing job. I have a great respect for that team and they have a great head coach and they really had a solid weekend. We had some great performances from Scott Weltz and Danny Donnelly and we did a great job in the distance events. I'm thrilled and I'm just so proud of this team."
Entering Saturday, the UC Davis men led UC Santa Barbara by a mere ten points while the women trailed the Gauchos 601-554.
Jason Andrade won his first-ever Big West Conference individual title with a win in the three-meter diving event. He scored a total of 277.05 to edge fellow Aggie Paul Navo who finished second with a score of 263.45.
Matt Herman, Adam Borchard and Reid Hartz all placed in the top four of the men's 1650 freestyle to significantly extend UC Davis' lead over UC Santa Barbara. Herman led with a second place finish in an NCAA "B" Consideration time of 15:30.78. Borchard clocked in at 15:43.25 to finish third while Hartz's time of 15:48.50 was good enough for fourth place.
Jordan Lager and Alex Daneke then placed second and third, respectively, in the 200 backstroke to give the Aggies an even greater advantage. Lager's time of 1:48.47 was a season-best while Daneke clocked in at 1:48.95. His prelim time of 1:48.64 was a season-best. The men earned additional points in the event from Jimmy Fong who finished seventh with a time of 1:51.10.
The Gauchos made up ground however as six swimmers placed in the top eight of the 100 freestyle. Derek Baldwin was the lone Aggie to finish in the top eight as he placed sixth with a time of 45.30.
Scott Weltz claimed his third individual championship of the weekend with a win in the 200 breaststroke. His NCAA "B" Consideration time of 1:56.14 edged UC Santa Barbara's Tim Freeman who finished second with a time of 1:56.86. Kyle Anderson picked up an extra 12 points with a seventh-place finish in a time of 2:03.78.
Daniel Donnelly earned an NCAA "B" Consideration time in the 200 butterfly as he clocked in at 1:47.75 to narrowly finish second behind UC Santa Barbara's Danny McClary who won the event in a time of 1:47.41. UC Davis still maintained a steady lead entering the final event.
In diving, Jennifer Meyer topped Cal Poly's Natasha Nelson to win the women's one-meter event and to give the Aggie women a 640-601 advantage over UC Santa Barbara. Meyer earned a score of 224.65.
Bridget Bugbee started strong for the Aggie women in the swimming events with a fourth-place finish in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:56.19, which set a UC Davis record. The previous mark of 17:00.20 was set in 1983 by Jamie McLellan. Grace Benefield finished sixth, clocking in at 17:08.91. The strong Aggie finishes gave UC Davis an even greater advantage over the second-place Gauchos heading into the 200 backstroke.
Linda Hermann finished second in the 200 back with a time of 2:01.06 while
Katelyn Griffin clocked in at 2:05.81 to finish seventh. With three top-eight finishes however, UC Santa Barbara was able to close the gap and pulled to within 30 points of the Aggies.
The UC Davis women would then get a huge boost from Ashley Chandler and Kayleigh Foley who went one-two in the 100 freestyle. Foley earned an NCAA "B" Consideration time of 49.45 to best the UC Davis record she previously owned while Chandler's time of 50.42 was a lifetime best. Samantha Capozzo turned in a time of 52.29 to finish eighth. Despite the strong finish, however, UC Santa Barbara swept the next five places and found themselves a mere 17 points behind the Aggies.
Morgan Lee, Julie Peri and Alyssa Britt turned in strong performances in the 200 breaststroke to add to UC Davis' score. Lee came in fourth with a time of 2:18.74 while Peri was fifth, clocking in at 2:19.54. Britt finished eighth with a time of 2:21.08.
UC Santa Barbara would pull to within 20 points again, however, as Jenah Dawson was the lone Aggie to finish in the top-eight of the 200 butterfly. She clocked in at 2:04.25 to finish sixth. Jodi Hanson added an extra seven points to UC Davis' total score with a tenth-place finish in a time of 2:07.28.
UC Santa Barbara swept both the men's and women's 400 freestyle relays.
2010 Big West Swimming & Diving Championships
Long Beach. Calif.
Day Four
Team Scores
Men: 1. UC Davis, 958.5; 2. UC Santa Barbara, 896.5; 3. Cal Poly, 635; 4. Pacific, 464; 5. Cal State Northridge, 256.
Women: 1. UC Davis, 864; 2. UC Santa Barbara, 852; 3. Cal Poly, 620; 4. Pacific, 464; 5. Cal State Northridge, 347.5.
Individual Results (Top finisher and UC Davis only)
Women's 1650 freestyle: 1. Lacey Buck, Cal Poly, 16:39.63; 4. Bridget Bugbee, 16:56.19; 6. Grace Benefield, 17:08.91; 10. Kathryn Jovino, 17:45.61.
Men's 1650 freestyle: 1. Matt Waggoner, Cal Poly, 15:21.18; 2. Matt Herman, 15:30.78; 3. Adam Borchard, 15:43.25; 4. Reid Hartz, 15:48.50; 6. B.J. Scoggan, 15:58.84; 12. Alex Rossbach, 16:21.30.
Women's 200 backstroke: 1. Katie Stover, UC Santa Barbara, 1:58.93; 2. Linda Hermann, 2:01.06; 7. Katelyn Griffin, 2:05.81.
Men's 200 backstroke: 1. Peter Kline, Cal Poly, 1:44.85; 2. Jordan Lager, 1:48.47; 3. Alex Daneke, 1:48.95; 7. Jimmy Fong, 1:51.10.
Women's 100 freestyle: 1. Kayleigh Foley, 49.45; 2. Ashley Chandler, 50.42; 8. Samantha Capozzo, 52.29; 10. Jen Cadmus, 52.78; 12. Buffy Ajimura, 53.32; -- Bridget Bugbee, X52.11.
Men's 100 freestyle: 1. Chris Peterson, UC Santa Barbara, 44.33; 6. Derek Baldwin, 45.30; 10. Russ Underwood, 45.83.
Women's 200 breaststroke: 1. Angie Haven, Cal Poly, 2:14.26; 4. Morgan Lee, 2:18.74; 5. Julie Peri, 2:19.54; 8. Alyssa Britt, 2:21.08; 11. Lisa Bender, 2:22.33.
Men's 200 breaststroke: 1. Scott Weltz, 1:56.14; 7. Kyle Anderson, 2:03.78; 9. Dustin Luchini, 2:03.83; 11. Keegan Groot, 2:04.68.
Women's 200 butterfly: 1. Yulia Gavrilova, Cal State Northridge, 2:00.90; 6. Jenah Dawson, 2:04.25; 10. Jodi Hanson, 2:07.28.
Men's 200 butterfly: 1. Danny McClary, UC Santa Barbara, 1:47.41; 2. Daniel Donnelly, 1:47.75; 6. Ed Morrison, 1:52.46; -- Alex Rossbach, X1:55.71.
