SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Gauchos will be back in the water this weekend against Claremont McKenna College on Saturday, Jan. 24, beginning at 12 p.m. The Blue and Gold will travel back to Santa Barbara to host an invite-only meet with Westmont and Fresno Pacific next week.

Last Time Out

The Blue and Gold went 2-0 in the two home meets last week. UC Santa Barbara defeated UC Davis (160-102) and the University of the Pacific (160-102). The Gauchos strong showing was headlined by Samantha Banos's fourth Big West Athlete of the Week award.

How It Happened

Against UOP, the Gauchos swept first through third place in multiple events. Men's 200 Back was led by Taisei Saito with a winning time of 1:48.83, followed by Lucas Hubbard (1:49.38) and Aneesh Veeravatnam (1:50.51). The Women's 100 Free was all Blue and Gold as well. Eugenie Lanilis finished with a first-place time of 50.30. Miranda Stevenson secured the silver with a time of 51.26, and Alexi Zuckerman clinched the sweep with her time of 51.81. Samantha Banos brought home individual wins in the 200 free () and 500 free () against UOP. Banos was also the winner of multiple individual events against UC Davis, including the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.63) and 200-yard butterfly (2:01.18). Mai Kawahata placed first in the 200 Breast (2:21.23). Ashley Ray won the 100 Breast with a time of 1:04.24.

A Look Ahead

Following this weekend's trip to Claremont, the Gauchos will head back up the coast to the 805. The UC Santa Barbara invite will take place over Jan. 30 and 31. Big West Championships in Houston, Texas, from Feb 11-14.