MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – In the wake of one of the best seasons in recent memory by the UC Santa Barbara men's and women's swim teams, the Gauchos head to East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championship Meet this week.
The men (7-0, 4-0) will seek their third MPSF team title in the last four years, having won in both 2017 and 2018. The women (7-1, 5-0) will be looking to earn the first MPSF championship in program history, having been members of the conference since it added swimming in 2010. Both teams will be looking to improve on last years' result, when UCSB's men finished in second place and the women ended up in third.
Head coach Matt Macedo has high hopes for the meet and is excited about the experience brought by this team. "While this is always an exciting meet, something feels different about this year's MPSF Championship preparation due to the experience we have with 19 graduating seniors," said Macedo. "It is going to take some big swims and relays to finish where we want, but that's to be expected with a championship meet."
The men's team completed this season undefeated in dual meets for the first time since the 2011-12 season, without the final scores of any meets being particularly close. The women's team ended the season on a tear, winning their final seven dual meets after dropping the first of the season at UCLA. Seven is the most dual meet wins for Santa Barbara's women's squad since the 2010-11 season. Additionally, both teams went undefeated in conference matchups.
In addition to their dominance in dual meets, neither the men nor women finished outside of first place at any of their full-team invitational meets, having attended the CSUB Sprint Classic, Roadrunner Invitational, and Pepperdine Winter Invitational.
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Swimmers to watch on the men's side are seniors Joe Lastelic and Doug Nogueira, as well as sophomore Justin Nguyen. Lastelic played a major role in the men's 2017 and 2018 MPSF team championships, and in 2019 was a part of the Gauchos' 800 Free Relay team which holds the all-time MPSF meet record. The Huntington Beach, Calif. native is already the owner of two MPSF championships, six MPSF first-team selections, and one second-team selection. This season, Lastelic has continued to be a leader in the pool for the Gauchos, especially at the Roadrunner, Pepperdine, and Husky Invitationals where he combined for four first-place wins and set season and personal bests.
Nogueira looks to contribute to another championship for the Gauchos and will return to the MPSF Championships after sitting out as a redshirt last year. Along with fellow senior Lastelic, Nogueira was a key piece on the 2017 and 2018 championship teams. Nogueira holds an individual MPSF championship in the 400 IM from 2018 and has been named to the MPSF first-team six times. In back-to-back weeks this year (Oct. 16 and 23), Nogueira was named the MPSF Male Athlete of the Week following standout performances in a dual meet against Utah and at the Sprint Classic and Roadrunner Invitational.
Nguyen will pursue his first-career MPSF team championship, having already distinguished himself as one of the Gauchos' fastest swimmers as a sophomore. Along with Lastelic, Nguyen was a part of the MPSF meet record 800 Free Relay team. Additionally, Nguyen was a part of both the MPSF champion 200 Free and 400 Free Relay teams last year. His performance earned him an MPSF first-team selection for the 100 Free and second-team selections for the 50 Free, 100 Back, and 200 Medley Relay. Nguyen has continued to impress this season, setting the school record in the 100 Free twice within 24 hours at the Husky Invite (43.03 and 42.93).
On the women's side, all eyes will be on seniors Heaven Quintana and Emily Boggess, as well as standout freshman Zoe Cosgrove. Quintana has had one of the most distinguished careers in program history and is one of the Gauchos most decorated swimmers ever. In addition to earning MPSF Freshman of the Year award, she boasts three MPSF individual championships, as well as eight first-team and two second-team selections. The only honor which alludes her is MPSF Team Champion, which she will look to earn next week. Quintana holds school records for the 100 IM and is also second all-time in the 100 and 200 Fly, as well as fourth in the 100 Breast. The Granite Bay, Calif. native missed time at the beginning of the season due to injury, but returned as strong as ever, exemplified as she swam a lifetime best in the 100 Breast at the Pepperdine Invitational.
Boggess, who will graduate after this year despite redshirting her junior year, won the 2017 championship in the 500 Free and has been named to the MPSF first-team five times. This season, Boggess has dominated distance freestyle events, consistently taking first place in both the 1000 and 500, and often 200 Free. At the Roadrunner Invitational, Boggess won all three of these events, while also swimming the leadoff leg for the first-place 400 Free Relay team. At the Husky Invitational, she finished first in the 200 and 400M Free, and also picked up a third-place victory in the 100M Fly.
Just beginning her career is Cosgrove, who is having a historic freshman season and has made a strong bid to be Santa Barbara's first MPSF Freshman of the Year since Quintana in 2017. Cosgrove already holds three UCSB records, all set on the same day at the Pepperdine Winter Invite, including the 50 and 100 Back, as well as the 200 IM. On the next day of the meet, Cosgrove improved her 100 Back another half second. At the Sprint Classic and Roadrunner Invitational, Cosgrove combined for four individual wins, and was also the only Gaucho to earn a first-place finish in the dual meet loss at UCLA, winning both the 100 and 200 Back.
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The Gauchos are at the head of the pack in MPSF competition this year, with the men having beaten Cal Poly twice, as well as UC San Diego and Pacific. The women also defeated Cal Poly twice, while picking up additional wins against UC San Deigo, Pacific, and Davis.
Hawaii, whom the Gauchos did not face this season, have been strong competition for the Gauchos over the last couple of years, as they swept the men's and women's titles last year, while in 2018 their women took home the trophy and their men finished in second behind the Gauchos.
BYU is another team making a push for the title, as their men and women finished third and fourth respectively last year and will return hungry to climb in the rankings.
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Macedo is excited for what the week has in store, saying "The staff is excited to see all of the hard work this group has put in this season pay off. I know they'll leave it all in the pool which is all we can ask for."
The MPSF Championships will run this Wednesday through Saturday at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park. Tickets will be available at the event. Click here for a schedule of events. Live results will be available on the Meet Mobile app and a livestream will be available here (subscription required).
