2023 PCSC Relays
- September 30, 2023
- Long Beach, Calif.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: LMU Athletics
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The LMU Women’s Swim Team opened the 2023-24 season against four Pacific Collegiate Swimming & Diving Conference rivals in a relay competition on Saturday.
In the first of ten events, LMU jumped out to a quick lead by winning the 3 x 100 Butterfly relay and opening up a four-point margin over the 2023 Conference runner-up, Azusa Pacific University. Freshmen Adele Kopis and Hayden Cutler, swimming in their first collegiate race, and senior team captain Abby Shaw contributed to the win. After the victory in the first race, the Lions never looked back, holding on to a small point margin over APU over the remaining nine events of the competition. LMU finished with a point total of 105 to APU’s 102. Concordia finished in third with 83 points, followed by the Masters with 42 and Westmont with 38.
Head Coach Bonnie Adair, commenting on the win, credited the victory to the team’s depth, with nine freshmen and two transfers joining 16 returning swimmers from last year’s squad.
“In today’s competition, each school was allowed to enter three relay teams in each of the ten events, but only two of the relay teams could score points for the team (scoring is 1st – 8th place). We’d been lucky to score our “A” team in past years. But today, in some of the events, there was very little difference between our “A” relay and “B” relay times, as we now have four or more swimmers in each stroke capable of scoring points at our conference meet. As a result, not only did our “A” relays place well, but most of our “B” relays placed in the top five in this competition, and even some of our “C” relays placed in the top 8. Following the impact of COVID-19, we have been aggressively rebuilding our team with the last two recruiting classes, but this large group of newcomers is a game changer. The increased energy and competitiveness in our workouts are palpable, contributing to our victory today. We are excited to watch the team develop further over the next month as we continue to train hard and participate in more competitions before ‘tapering’ for a mid-season invitational in late November.”
The Lions are next in action at the Rodionoff Invitational at Pepperdine on October 13 and 14 in Malibu, Calif.
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Courtesy: APU Athletics
IRVINE, Calif. – Azusa Pacific swimming & diving got off to a strong start in the PCSC Pentathlon and Relays on Saturday to open the 2023-24 season. The Cougars turned in five first place performances in the lanes and finished second place as a team.
Freshman Kya Guikema and returning All-American Montana White were a part of four relay teams that earned first place finishes in the meet. Returning honorable mention All-American Aleena Herrera was also a part of three first place finishes on the day.
“It was a strong start!” said head coach Tim Kyle. “Most to all on the team swam times that were stronger this year than last at this meet! Our freshmen were exciting to see racing at their first collegiate event. Our team rallied around each other today.”
In the 800 free relay, Renee Provencal, Guikema, Herrera and White finished first with a time of 7:46.19. Another big win for the Cougars came in the 500 free relay (50, 100, 150, 200) when Delanie Gearing, Hannah Swailes, Guikema and White turned in a time of 4:39.41.
Herrera, Guikema and White then earned first place in the 3×500 relay with a time of 15:33.42.
In the final events of the day, Azusa Pacific claimed two more first place finishes to round out its competitive first meet. In the 4x100IM, Victoria Alfaro, Amanda Anderson, Marci Yanagawa and Herrera turned in a time of 4:11.41. Then in the 400 free relay, Ellie Sivesind, White, Swailes and Guikema earned a time of 3:37.00,
Azusa Pacific also had two second place finishes on the day. In the 3×100 breaststroke relay, Anderson, Gearing and Yanagawa had a time of 3:30.08, and Connor Herrin, Sivesind, Swailes and Yanagawa finished with a time of 1:42.76 in the 200 free relay.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific returns to the lanes on Saturday, October 14th at the Rodionoff Invitational at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. The meet is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.