SANTA BARBARA, CA – Samantha Banos was named Big West Athlete of the Week for the fourth time this season. Banos competed in two dual meets this weekend along with her Gaucho teammates. Sunday, Jan. 18, Banos tallied three individual first-place finishes and a fourth, including her relay participation. On Monday, January 19, she followed that strong performance with two more individual first-place finishes.

In the Gaucho victory over Big West opponent UC Davis, Banos secured gold in the 200 Free with a time of 1:50.63 to start off her strong weekend. In the 200 Fly on Sunday, she placed first with a time of 2:01.18; to wrap up her individual performance against the Aggies, Samantha Banos swam a time of 4:22.24 in the 400 IM. She also helped the 200 Medley Relay bring the first-place finish back home with a split of 23.06, swimming the Butterfly leg.

Following Sunday's strong showing, Banos backed her weekend up with two more first-place finishes against the visiting University of Pacific. She won gold in the 200 free for the second day in a row with a time of 1:47.99. Banos dominated the 500 Free on Monday with a time of 4:50.35, which was seven seconds faster than the next finisher.

Banos and the Gauchos will be back in action against Claremont McKenna College this next weekend on Jan. 24.