STOCKTON, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara men's and women's swim teams won overwhelming victories against University of the Pacific in a conference dual meet in Stockton Friday evening. The men (6-0, 3-0) remained undefeated, winning by a score of 160-94, while the women (5-1, 3-0) won their fifth straight dual meet by a score of 166-87. The Gauchos won first in all of the first 22 events before making all remaining races exhibitions.
Head Coach Matt Macedo commended the team's dominant performance depite the cold weather. Additionally, he was impressed by multiple swimmers, saying "Freshman Will Schodorf had a strong weekend winning both the 500 and the 1000 tonight. Senior captain Marcello Quarante had one of the best dual meet swims I can remember as he dominated the 200 breaststroke."
Key events for the women were the 100 Back, 200 Fly, 50 Free, and 200 Back in which they claimed all the top four spots, as well as the 100 Free in which they took the top three. The men finished in each of the top three spots in the 100 Breast, 100 Free, and 500 Free.
Critical performances for Santa Barbara's women's squad came from senior Emily Boggess, who finished first in the 200 Fly (2:01.19), 500 Free (4:59.42), and second in the 1000 Free (10:25.50), along with freshman Zoe Cosgrove who took first in the 100 Back (56.42) and 200 Back (2:02.87). Rachel Forbes touched first in the 1000 Free (10:17.59), as well as earning second place in the 200 Free (1:53.73) and 500 Free (5:01.36). Other first place finishers for the women were Heaven Quintana (100 Breast, 1:03.00), Emily Ward (200 Free, 1:52.40), Bryn McGowan (50 Free, 24.31), and Jacqueline Harris (100 Free, 53.02), along with Brittney Straw, who finished first in the 200 Breast (2:20.46) and third in the 100 Breast (1:06.57).
On the men's side, Zach Dietz, Schodorf, and Quarante came up big, each finishing in first in two individual events, Schodorf in the 1000 Free (9:37.20) and 500 Free (4:36.61), Dietz in the 100 Back (52.80) and 200 Back (1:54.59), and Quarante in the 100 Breast (56.79) and 200 Breast (2:01.87). Other first place finishers were Riley Ferguson (50 Free, 21.18), Theo Andrews (200 Free, 1:42.35), and Timothy Lee (100 Free, 46.58), along with Kian Brouwer who took first in the 200 Fly (1:52.04) as well as second in the 100 Free (46.63) and third in the 500 Free (4:47.83).
To round out the effort for the women, Lexi Fusari earned two second-place wins and Gillian Flath and Elena England had second and third-place wins, while Maya Lee finished second in the 200 Fly (2:06.08). Additionally, Lucy Fellner piled on two third-place finishes, and Dora Seggelke, Haley Herzberg, and Nicola Churchill each added third-place finishes of their own.
For the Gauchos' mens' team, Jake Rollo contributed two second-place finishes, Jackson Mason second and third-place wins, and Zach Shenkin, Ethan Archer, and Dan Marella second-place finishes. Fischer Basham added two third-place wins of his own, while Christian Martinez and Quinn Neamand supplied one third-place finish each.
The Gauchos return to action tomorrow morning as they continue the road trip against UC Davis in what will be another MPSF matchup for the women. The meet will begin at 11:00 a.m. at Schaal Aquatics Center on Davis' campus.
