The Tritons hosted UC Santa Cruz on Jan. 26 in a dual meet at Canyonview Pool and easily swam past the Banana Slugs, winning the men’s and women’s competitions.
“”I knew we were going to beat them on both teams,”” head coach Scott McGihon said. “”I knew my men and women were stronger than their men and women.””
The victory came at a crucial point in the season, when swimmers are battling fatigue.
“”I think it’s because it’s about midterm time,”” Lopez said. “”We’ve been doing this since before school started in September and it’s taking its toll now.””
McGihon agreed, saying rest is something his teams need to work on.
“”Right now the people pointed toward the conference championship … just really need to start getting rest,”” he said. “”If you talk to anybody on the team, they’ll tell you they were sore before the meet.””
The women’s team dominated UCSC, winning nine out of 16 total events on the way to a 187-107 victory.
The women were led by team captain Sandra Lopez, who pulled off a double victory in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke.
“”Sandra Lopez is starting to swim real well,”” McGihon said.
Lopez was pleased she could swim through her exhaustion.
“”I was happy with the way that I swam, considering the hard workouts we’ve had since break,”” Lopez said.
Elizabeth Sales also won two events, taking both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.
“”[Sales’ score of] 270 is a very good score for 1-meter,”” McGihon said. “”That’s her highest score of the year.””
Despite the overall fatigue of the team, many of the swimmers posted their fastest times of the season.
“”Christine Hyjek had a pretty good day,”” McGihon said. “”Her 1,000 [freestyle] was a good swim for her, her 400 IM was a great swim — her third-fastest time. Heather Hearon was a real surprise in the freestyle, that was her lifetime best.””
Other winners for the women include Carly Ross in the 50-yard freestyle event, Molly McCorkle in the 200-yard backstroke and Jennifer Watanabe in the 100-yard backstroke.
However, the women were more focused on obtaining bids for the national championship than they were for winning individual events.
“”Our goal was to get [a consideration] for everyone,”” Lopez said. “”I think over half our team has received [them]. I’m more than 100 percent sure everyone at the conference will get [bids].””
The men also posted several bests en route to their 160-108 victory.
“”In the 1,000 freestyle we had some really good performances,”” McGihon said. “”[Winner Dagart Allison and No. 2 Cole Paffett] both turned in really good performances both in terms of times and strategies.””
However, it was Luke Seed who starred for the Tritons, winning both the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly. He also anchored the winning team for the 200-yard medley relay, which consisted of Tad Nakatani, Grant Miller and Christian Deck.
“”Luke Seed’s 100-yard fly was a great swim for him,”” McGihon said. “”We definitely didn’t rest or anything before the meet.””
Nakatani also took home multiple events, winning both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke.
The other first-place finishers for the men include Michael Baier (400-yard IM), Devin Spicer (200-yard butterfly) and Mark Tate (50-yard freestyle)
While the men can now rest until the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships at Long Beach from Feb. 18-20, the women are back in action next weekend against rival University of San Diego.
“”We are really excited,”” Lopez said. “”In years past it’s always been a big thing. We don’t like the Toreros very much. We want to beat them. To beat a Division I team in San Diego would be awesome. We’d like to kick their butts.””