LOS ANGELES, Calif.- In a day filled with travel and fierce competition, the UC Santa Barbara Women's Swim Team (1-1) faced a challenging matchup, ultimately yielding to No. 23 UCLA with final team scores of 159 for UCLA and 95 for UC Santa Barbara. The Bruins proved to be extremely challenging competition, winning 13 of the meets 14 events.
Big Day for the Relays
Todays meet featured two relays as the first and final races of the day, with the teams racing in the 400 yard medley relay and 200 yard freestyle relay. The Gauchos, consisting of Hazel Derr, Ashley Ray, Tyryn Empremsilapa, and Reagan Nibarger, took third place in 400 yard medley with a swift time of 3:50.48. Santa Barbara also found themselves in the top three in the 200 yard freestyle earning second and third. The second place team showcased the talents of Hannah Joseph, Gretta Callison, Alexi Zuckerman, and Reagan Nibarger (1:35.98), while the third place team displayed the resolve of Grace Endaya, Eugenie Lanilis, Ashley Ray, and Olivia Hovorka (1:36.28).
Derr, Ray, Callison, and Endaya also found individual success throughout the afternoon. Derr and Ray both took second in their individual events, Derr excelling in the 200 yard backstroke (2:03.24) and Ray in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:04.30). Callison and Endaya both earned third in their events, Callison in the 100 yard freestyle (53.38) and Endaya in the 500 yard freestyle (5:14.62).
Other Notable Performances
The victories don't end there; despite the less-than-ideal final outcome, many of the Gauchos displayed tremendous potential by achieving podium positions in multiple events. Sophomore Lucy Huang secured the Gauchos only gold of the day in the 200 yard IM, touching the wall in 2:07.77. Her fellow teammates took home the silver and bronze in the same event, with Tyryn Empremsilapa in second (2:07.78) and Michelle Tekway in third (2:08.70). Empremsilapa earned two more second place finishes in the 100 yard free (53.08) and 100 yard butterfly (57.45).
Next Week
The Women's Swim team will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 28 as they travel to San Jose State.
