Driving up to Long Beach, Calif. this past weekend, the head coach of UCSD’s swimming and diving team, Scott McGihon, was not worried about winning the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference, but was already preparing for the next step: the national championships.
The Tritons have reason to celebrate after both the men’s and women’s teams dominated league competition at the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference Championships in Long Beach, Calif. on Feb.7 through Feb. 10. Next, some of the best members of the talented Triton team will head to Buffalo, N.Y. to compete in the NCAA Division II swimming and diving finals on March 15.
“”We expected to win,”” McGihon said. “”We knew we were heading off to NCAAs, so we just wanted to qualify as many players as possible.””
The Tritons lived up to their coach’s expectations, claiming the conference title in both the men’s and women’s brackets and sending their teams to the NCAA Division II finals. The men took first place with a total of 1,449 points — over 200 points higher than second-place California Baptist University. The women edged out Loyola Marymount University, the second-place finishers, with a total of 1,049.5 points.
Leading the way for the Tritons was senior co-captain Tim Fuller, whose winning time of 44.79 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle set the all-time UCSD record. Along with Fuller’s win, the Triton men claimed four third-place finishes, with sophomore individual medley swimmer Steven Hardy, senior breaststroke swimmer Jake Dong, senior butterfly swimmer Jesse Marin and senior diver Daniel Gordh earning the bronze medals in their respective events. Capping off the men’s dominant weekend was the relay team of Fuller, freshman sprinter Daniel Perdew, freshman sprinter Todd Langdon and junior J.P. Oliver, whose time in the 400 relay of 3:02.22 is the fastest time in the nation this year for D-II schools.
Although they won by a smaller margin than the men, the women still took control. Senior Kendall Bohn led the Tritons, winning the 200 breaststroke, while the rest of her teammates followed with more top finishes. A few of these finishes, including the 200 and 400 relays, were the top times in the country.
For Fuller and Dong, who prior to this year had never won a PCSC title, the weekend was the perfect way to close their conference careers.
“”Jumping into the pool to celebrate the win was awesome,”” Dong said. “”I’m really glad my last year is ending in this way. I can’t wait for NCAAs.””
The NCAA championships will be held in Buffalo, N.Y., from March 14 through March 17. McGuihon expects his team to improve on last year’s finishes.
“”Our women should be one of the top teams in the country again,”” McGihon said. “”Our men placed fifth last year, and we really think that they can do even better this year.””
The men will send 11 swimmers and two divers to Buffalo, while the women qualified 12 swimmers. According to McGihon, the top competition for the men will be Drury University and the University of North Dakota. For the women, the obvious challenge will be the six-time national champion Truman State Bulldogs, but that does not faze senior distance swimmer Andrea Lippin.
“”Playing a team like Truman only motivates us,”” Lippin said. “”We really want to give them a taste of their own medicine.””
With five weeks before the first race at nationals, the Tritons will have plenty of time to rest up and train for the challenging meet. McGihon sees the time off as a blessing in disguise.
“”It’s really going to work to our advantage,”” he said. “”We’re going to be fully ready to go at Buffalo and compete for a national championship.””
Fuller, who McGihon hopes can lead the Tritons at nationals, also views the time off as a good thing.
“”This is a hard five weeks of training for us, but having our goals in sight makes every practice seem worth it,”” Fuller said.