The UCSB men’s swim team finished in third place and the women took fourth at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships at Cal Poly.
Hawaii won its fifth straight women’s championship, while the BYU men claimed their first title since 2016.
The Gauchos earned five individual MPSF Championships, eight second-place finishes, and 13 third-place finishes.
“This team was incredible to work with all week, all season really,” said head coach Matt Macedo. “To finish just shy of last year’s seven individual titles, with all of the obstacles and uncertainty we faced, is a testament to the dedication, sacrifice and commitment of this group of men and women.”
Highlights of the final day of the meet were individual championships in the 1650 freestyle (17:08.81) and 200 butterfly (2:01.88) by sophomore Maelynn Lawrence and junior Alec Cullen’s title in the 200 breaststroke in 1:55.41, both MPSF and UCSB records.
Junior Molly McCance and freshmen Danielle Carter added second-place finishes on the women’s side, McCance in the 200 fly (2:01.95) and Carter in the 200 back (1:57.94). Additionally, freshman Reagan Nibarger earned a third-place finish in the 100 free (50.90). The women’s 400 free relay squad of Paige Gambetta, Nibarger, Sydney Rouse, and Bryn McGowan finished fourth in 3:26.40.
“Lexi Fusari and Bryn McGowan continued to do a great job of guiding our women through a difficult championship season. I am proud of the way they raced in their final MPSF meet,” said Macedo. “I am impressed by Maelynn’s excellent double and can’t wait to see Danielle chase more victories in the coming years.”
In addition to Cullen’s 200 breast, notable performances for the men’s team were a second-place finish in the 1650 free from freshman Gabe Nickels (15:40.36) and a third-place finish from sophomore Dominic Falcon in the 200 fly (1:46.49).
UCSB also received fourth-place finishes from men’s captain Dan Marella in the 1650 free (15:46.85), Zach Dietz in the 200 back (1:46.71) and Corban McIntosh in the 200 bbreast (2:00.06). The men’s 400 Free Relay team of Tim Lee, Dietz, Jackson Mason, and Ryan Levy finished fourth in the 400 free relay (2:59.04).
“Our men were led by Alec and Dom’s first-place finishes along the leadership of Dan Marella,” said Macedo. “To see Alec break his own conference record against such a strong group of breaststrokers after returning from injury, was awesome. Dan was a phenomenal leader and for him to be able to race following his surgery in the fall was a highlight of a difficult season. Levy finished fourth in the 200 free and anchored four out of five relays including a very fast 43.8 split to finish the meet.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.