The UCSB swim and dive teams defeated visiting UC San Diego in a non-conference dual meet at Campus Pool on Saturday afternoon. The Gaucho women posted a 175.5-118.5 victory over the Tritons while the men edged out their competition, 161.5-137.5.
The meet marked the first this season for the UCSB men and was also the first to feature Gaucho divers. UCSB is phasing in diving after an 11-year absence.
UCSB’s women won 11 of 16 events while the men captured 12 first-place finishes.
The Gauchos got off to a strong start as both the men and women captured first in the 200 medley relay. The UCSB “A” team of Sophia Yamauchi, Paige Bradley, Anne Peanasky and Katie Stover touched the wall in 1:46.13. The men followed suit as Alex Campbell, Kevin Ferguson, Max Horrell and Chris Peterson finished in 1:33.52.
In the 1,000 free, Andrea Ward was the top finisher on the women’s side, posting a mark of 10:12.71, which is the sixth best time in event in the UCSB record books. Garrett Thompson had the men’s top finish, going 9:34.19. He kept his momentum rolling in the 500 and captured first-place again with a mark of 4:39.34.
Freshman Mike London got his collegiate career out to a solid start, picking up his first individual win in the 200 freestyle (1:43.45). Other freshmen event winners were Anne Peanasky in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.78) and Sophia Yamauchi in the 200 breast (2:17.42).
The Gauchos had several double event winners during the meet. Katie Stover captured the top finish in both the 100 backstroke (56.64) and 100 freestyle (52.10). Kevin Ferguson won the same pair of events on the men’s end, going 49.83 in the 100 back and 45.58 in the 100 free.
Evan Simoni won the 200 individual medley in a time of 1:54.80 after winning the 200 fly in 1:55.46. Emma Hunt won the 500 free in 5:05.45 before capturing the win in the next event, the 100 fly, with a mark of 54.59.
Paige Bradley posted the top time in the 200 fly (2:05.05) and also the 200 IM (2:06.52), though she was tabbed as an exhibition swimmer in the latter event.
Rounding out the Gauchos’ individual event winners were Kendall Neely in the 50 free (23.45), Ryan Hanni in the 50 free (20.95), Max Horrell in the 100 fly (51.07) and Ryan Garcia in the 200 back (1:51.17).
UC San Diego’s Anji Shakya won the 200 free (1:53.38) and 200 back (2:07.28) for the Tritons while Nick Kroth won the 100 breast (56.95) and the 200 breast (2:04.75).
UCSB finished up the meet with a pair of wins in the 200 free relays. The women’s team of Neely, Mariah Tharp, Stover and Katie Tomkinson finished in 1:35.72. Shortly thereafter, the men’s team of Thompson, Andrew Latimer, Ferguson and Peterson finished in 1:21.77.
In the Gauchos’ first diving contest in 11 years, Missy Burley finished in third-place on both the 1-meter (166.95 points) and the 3-meter board (164.40) for UCSB. For the men, Trevor Hough was the top finisher on both boards, finishing fourth on the 1-meter (129.98) and on the 3-meter (128.33).
UCSB will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 13 when the Gauchos host Cal Poly in a dual meet at Campus Pool. The action is set to start at 12 pm.
