LOS ANGELES, Calif. - After just one day at the USC Invitational, the Gauchos are off to a hopeful start. UC Santa Barbara faces stiff competition from USC, UC San Diego, and Hawai'i swim teams, but their determination remains unwavering.

TOP THREE FINISHES
In the first ten events of the invite, the Gauchos secured two top-three finishes. Taber daCosta clinched third place in the men's 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:27.94, while Hazel Derr triumphed in the 100-yard backstroke, earning a third-place finish with a time of 55.53.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES
Other noteworthy individual performances came from Junior, Matthew Driscoll, in the men's 100 backstroke where he took fourth (48.68). Freshman, Jack Hendrick, also showed an impressive performance in the men's 500 freestyle where he finished fifth (4:28.93). 

Regarding team achievements, the men's 400 medley relay, including Matthew Driscoll, Corban McIntosh, Zachary Tamusaitis, and Austin Sparrow, secured a commendable fourth-place finish, clocking in at 3:14.57. 

LOOKING TO TOMORROW
Tomorrow's schedule is packed, with events starting at 9:30 a.m. and continuing through the afternoon. Stay tuned for more thrilling performances and victories by the Gauchos.

FOLLOW ALONG
The invite will be streamed through PAC-12+. Links to the live stream can be found on the schedule page of the swim teams. Additionally, fans can download the Meet Mobile app for live event updates.