Triton swimming and diving competed in the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 20 and Feb. 22. Relinquishing the title of conference champions to UC Davis, the Triton women finished in second place, while the Triton men came in third to improve upon last year’s fourth-place finish.
The UCSD women started out strong on Feb. 20, earning a total of 349.5 points to hold first place. On Feb. 21, Davis’ women, with 874 points, pulled ahead of the Tritons, who had 830.5 points. Davis’ swimmers widened their margin of victory on Feb. 22, closing out the meet with 1,293 points, as opposed to UCSD’s 1184.5.
Triton Rosanna Delurgio set school, conference and National Collegiate Athletic Association records in both the 100-yard breaststroke and 200 breaststroke, winning in times of 1:02.92 and 2:15.92, respectively. Delurgio also came in third in the 50 freestyle (24.13).
The only other individual event winner was Sophie Levy in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:00.25. Levy also placed third in the 200 freestyle (1:53.75) and in the 1,650 freestyle (17.20.00).
UCSD’s Jennifer Watanabe, Christine Hyjek, Louisa Salisbury, Frances Tran and Katie Miller were other high scorers. Watanabe came in second in the 100 backstroke (56.96), the 200 backstroke (2:02.58) and earned fifth place in the 200 individual medley (2:07.54). Hyjek got placed second in the 400 individual medley (4:28.57) and fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:06.93). Salisbury swam a 1:06.16 in the 100 breaststroke, giving a one-two sweep to UCSD in that event. Tran came in fourth in the 200 backstroke (2:06.51) and Miller earned fifth place in the 200 breaststroke (2:24.83).
The 200 freestyle relay team, composed of Heather Hearon, Caroline Kwok, Miller and Delurgio, won with a time of 1:36.28. Tran, Delurgio, Sarah Grant and Kwok set a school record of 1:46.94 in the 200 medley relay.
Triton diver Jennifer Margrave came in fifth on the 1-meter board and sixth on the 3-meter board, despite ear pain that may have been caused by a ruptured eardrum, according to head coach Scott McGihon.
CSU Bakersfield was conference champion with a total of 1444.5 points, followed by Davis with 1,389 points and UCSD with 989 points.
Rob Small was the only individual event winner for the Tritons, getting an automatic NCAA qualification time of 57.31 in the 100 breaststroke. Small came in second in the 200 breaststroke (2:08.15) and eighth in the 50 freestyle (21.44). Brett Going earned second in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 58.02.
Standout UCSD men included Michael Baier, Dagart Allison and Danny Behrens. Baier swam in the 200 breaststroke (1:55.46) and the 200 individual medley (1:55.46), earning sixth place and seventh place, respectively. Allison obtained seventh place in the 1,650 freestyle (16.23.88) in addition to two ninth places in the 200 freestyle (1:41.73) and the 500 freestyle (4:37.38). Behrens came in eighth in the 100 freestyle (49.77) and ninth in the 50 freestyle (21.53).
The men’s 800 freestyle relay, consisting of Matt Rogers, Brady Gosling, Baier and Allison, earned third place and an NCAA qualification with a time of 7:40.76. Small, Mike Isaacs, Mark Tate and Behrens captured second place in the 200 freestyle relay (1:24.48).
Triton diver Peter Nichols was conference champion on the 3-meter board and earned second place on the 1-meter board. UCSD had another one-two sweep on the 3-meter board, and Jason Boehm overcame an ankle injury to come in second.
McGihon was impressed with the individual performances of all the swimmers on both the men’s and the women’s teams.
“”It gets to a point where everyone had at least one amazing swim, and you don’t want to leave anyone out,”” he said.
This meet marks the end of the regular swim season, but many swimmers will go on to compete at the NCAA Championships.
“”I’m extremely excited to go to NCAAs,”” McGihon said. “”I feel very optimistic about our chances. The team is very upbeat and confident right now.””
The NCAA Championships will take place in Grand Forks, N.D., from March 12 to March 15.
