Pepperdine Women Pull Ahead Of Biola On Day 2 Of PCSC Championships

2021 PCSC SWIM & DIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, April 14 – Friday, April 16, 2021
• William Woolet Jr. Aquatics Center
• Irvine, California
• Short Course Yards (SCY)
• Championships Site
• Results Available On Meet Mobile Under “2021 PCSC Swim  and Dive Championships”
• Day 1 Recap

On day 2 of the PCSC Championships, swimmers contested the 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 200 medley relay, 800 free relay, women’s 1-meter dive, and men’s 3-meter. The Pepperdine women managed to pull ahead of Biola to take the lead on day 2. On the men’s side, Biola extended their lead in the team battle by establishing a nearly 200 point lead.

Team Scores After Day 1

Women

1. Pepperdine – 1,051 Points
2. Biola University – 1,024
3. Azusa Pacific University – 601 Points
4. Concordia University – 549 Points
5. Loyola Marymount University – 543.50 Points

Men

1. Biola University – 605 Points
2. Concordia University – 406 Points
3. Fresno Pacific University – 380.50 Points
4. Simpson University – 245 Points
5. University of California, Santa Cruz – 130 Points

Women’s Recap

Oda Bygdnes repeated as PCSC champion as the 100 fly with a 56.61, trailing last year’s winning swim of 55.71 by 0.90 seconds. Bygdnes’ win represented the first individual win of the meet for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Biola’s Liza Parahnevich came in with a 56.99 for second place while Katelyn Thomas was a 57.05 for Concordia.

Last night’s 200 IM champion Emily Morton followed up her victory with a 400 IM title on day 2 as she hit a 4:28.28 to give Pepperdine their first win of the day. Biola’s Katelyn Harper reached the podium in the 400 IM with a 4:33.20 which was good enough for silver while Tessie Scavone nabbed bronze for Azusa Pacific in 4:35.27.

Next, Biola collected two straight wins as Kolya Vos took 200 free gold (1:51.33) and Meghan Tolman (1:02.72) took the 100 breast. That swim for Vos was exactly a second slower than the 1:50.33 that she swam at Division II NCAA Championships last most. Meghan Tolman on the other hand was within a second of her 1:02.18 from last month.

In the women’s 100 backstroke, Jasmine Williams improved upon her 4th place finish in the 50 free to claim gold in a 56.74. That swim was enough to get to the wall just ahead of Fresno Pacific’s Ioanna Palia who was bronze in a 56.91. Heidi Ly rounded out the top three in a 58.57 for Loyola Marymount.

It was down to the wire in the 800 freestyle relay as Biola University and Pepperdine University battled it out until the end, ultimately just touching 0.01 seconds apart. Biola University’s Meghan Tolam opened things up with a 1:53.46 to get ahead of Pepperdine’s Olivia Kayye’s 1:55.95. Following Kayye, Paige Tattersal delivered a 1:53.81 split to slightly narrow the gap between her and Liza Parahnevich who was a 1:54.85 for Biola. Kellynn Hayes and Kolya Vos brought it home for Biola to give the team a 7:34,54, just ahead of Pepperdine’s 7:34.55.

Azusa Pacific rounded out the top 3 in the event with a 7:43.69 for bronze.

The two teams were a little more separated in 200 medley relay as Pepperdine established a 1:45.00 for the win compared to Biola University’s 1:48.08 and Concordia’s 1:47.29. That swim by Pepperdine 0.01 seconds faster than the former school record of 1:45.01 set back in 2020.

In the 1-meter diving event, Amy Crayne, Melia Stout, and McKenna Webster pulled off a second straight sweep, scoring 279.80 points for 1st, 250.65 points for 2nd, and 237.55 points for bronze.

Men’s Recap

Matthew Trejo opened things up for Biola University with a 49.35 to win the 100 fly, getting more than a second off his 50.47 entry time. The win for Trejo was also an improvement upon his 6th place finish in the 500 freestyle on day 1. Kiril Bacon was also able to get under 50 seconds with his 49.98 silver medal performance for Fresno Pacific. Dylan Pon rounded out the top three in a 50.94.

Concordia swimmer Kyle Benjamin followed up from his 500 free victory on day 1 with a win in the 400 IM, touching with a 3:55.33. That’s just a second slower than the 3:54.45 Benjamin swam at the 2019 NCAA DII Championships. Benjamin won the event by an impressive 11 seconds as silver medalist and Concordia teammate Taylor Steffen hit a 4:06.70 and Michael Maurer rounded out the podium for Biola with a 4:11.61.

In the 200 freestyle, Biola University went 1-2-4 as Patrick Waggoner and Jonas Huckabay posted the leading times of 1:41.22 and 1:41.96, respectively. Biola’s Jake Michelsen was a 1:42.21 for fourth with Alex Ivakin secured 3rd in a 1:42.09 for Fresno Pacific University.

Simpson’s Tom Higdon jumped from 6th yesterday in the 200 IM to a 1st place finish in the 100 breast, delivering a 54.78 which was exactly 2 seconds quicker than the 56.78 that Concordia’s Ryan Martines swam for silver. Dylan Sewell nabbed bronze to match his performance in day 1’s 200 IM.

The final individual swimming win of the night went to Fresno Pacific’s Iskender Baslakov who was well ahead of the field with a 48.91. Tanner Smith notched a 52.30 in the final for silver while Jake DeSantis was a 52.58 for third. Despite the large margin with which Baslakov won the event, he was a 1.41 seconds over his entry time of 47.50.

Freno Pacific and Concordia won one relay each on day two with FPU taking the 200 medley in a 1:31.20 while Concordia was golden in the 800 free relay with a 6:51.58. In the 3-meter dive, Hunter Cole took the win by scoring 194.25 points and Westin Dawe from Biola followed (153.25 points) as Luke Hanson rounded out the top three (114.05).