February 28, 2009

UC Irvine Men Finish Third at Big West Championships; Women Fifth

Feb. 28, 2009

Results

LONG BEACH, Calif. - The UC Irvine men’s swimming & diving team finished third and the women took fifth after the final day of the Big West Championships at Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool.

Senior Randall Tom (Wailuku, Hawaii/Seabury Hall) won the 200 fly with a UC Irvine and Big West Conference record time of 1:43.63. Sophomore diver Miles Smith (Carmichael/Capital Christian HS) completed the diving sweep as he won the one-meter competition with a score of 323.45. Junior Eric Nugent (Whittier/La Serna HS) took second in one-meter diving with a score of 278.50. Freshman Julian Lawrence (La Cañada HS) finished seventh in the 1650 free with a time of 15:43.42. Freshman Avelino Enriquez (Pasadena/La Salle HS) finished ninth in the 200 back (1:50.57). Senior Will Wollam (Riverside/Rubidoux HS) took second in the 100 free with a time of 43.93. Junior Chris Rosales (Diamond Bar/Valencia HS) finished second in the 200 breast (1:59.14) and freshman Jowan Qupty (Jerusalem, Israel) finished third with a time of 2:00.35. UCI concluded the meet with a third place finish in the 400 free relay with a NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 2:58.34.

On the women’s side, junior diver Melanie Grosvenor (Mission Viejo HS) completed the women’s diving sweep as she won the three-meter title with a 277.60 points. Freshman Carissa Lewis (San Clemente HS) took third with 252.50 points. Freshman Jessie Rogers (Danville/Monte Vista HS) finished 10th in the 1650 free with a time of 17:54.24. Freshman Michelle Teets (Austin, Texas) finished fourth in the 200 back with a time of 2:01.51. Senior Nicole Flacco (Calabasas HS) had UCI’s best finish in the 100 free (55.41) to finish 18th. Sophomore Stephanie Gabert (Newport Beach/Arizona) finished sixth in the 200 breast (2:21.66). Junior Jessica Schlitz (Turlock HS) finished eighth in the 200 fly with a time of 2:05.13. The ‘Eaters concluded the meet with a fifth place finish in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:36.02.

The season is now over for most of UCI’s swimming and diving teams, but a few will now focus on the NCAA Zone ‘E’ diving regionals and the NCAA Championships.  

Final Standings

Women’s
1. UC Santa Barbara                  880
2. UC Davis                               745
3. Pacific                                   529
4. Cal Poly                                526
5. UC Irvine                                417
6. Cal State Northridge               239
 
Men’s
1. UC Santa Barbara                  849.5
2. UC Davis                               832.5
3. UC Irvine                                636.5
4. Pacific                                   426.5
5. Cal Poly                                363
6. Cal State Northridge               219