Cal Poly Finishes Fourth at MPSF Championships

The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Swimming and Diving Championships concluded this past Saturday, and the Cal Poly Mustangs women’s team finished fourth.

Senior distance swimmer Lacey Buck took the 1,650-yard freestyle title, swimming the event in 16 minutes, 39.53 seconds. Buck won the swim by more than 10 seconds. Sophomore Taylor Riley and junior Taylor Spivey also swam the longest event in the meet, and placed twentieth and twenty-fifth, respectively.

The Mustangs had three finalists in the 200 backstroke. Sophomore Amanda Maffris placed fifth with a 2:00.95. She was closely followed by senior Gloria Benefield and junior Katrina Anderson, who recorded times of 2:01.03 and 2:01.87, respectively.

Sophomore Jill Jones was the lone finalist for the Mustangs in the 100 freestyle. She finished seventh with a time of 51.29. Sophomores Andrea Voigt and Rachel Cleak swam in the consolation finals and placed tenth and eleventh.

In the 200 breaststroke, junior Angela Haven took third with a 2:14.03, a time that earned her a NCAA B-Cut. Senior Kylie France also swam the event and came in tenth.

Another third place finish for Cal Poly came from freshman Belen Enguidanos in the 200 butterfly. Maffris also swam in the finals, and got eighth. Buck competed in the consolation finals of the event and took thirteenth place.

The Mustangs finished off the meet with a fourth place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. Cleak, Jones, and Voigt joined senior Amy Morales to record a time of 3:25.59.

The Mustangs finished fourth in the team standings with 539.5 points. Brigham Young University won the conference title with 732 points. UC Santa Barbara finished second with 699 points, and UC Davis squeaked by Cal Poly to take third with 546 points.

MPSF Day Three

This past Friday was the third day of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Swimming and Diving championships, and the Cal Poly women’s team continued to tear up the water at East Los Angeles City College.

Senior Kylie France led off the finals session Friday night with a second place finish in the 400-yard individual medley. France finished in 4 minutes, 19.07 seconds, which was just under the NCAA B-Cut. Sophomore Amanda Maffris was also a finalist in the 400 individual medley, and placed fifth with a 4:21.17.

In the 100 butterfly, senior Gloria Benefield finished seventh with a time of 56.31. She also placed fourth in the 100 backstroke with a 56.20. She was followed closely by teammates Katrina Anderson (a junior) and Amy Morales (a senior), who placed sixth and eighth, respectively.

In the 200 freestyle, Cal Poly had two swimmers in the consolation finals. Sophomores Jill Jones and Andrea Voigt finished ninth and eleventh, respectively. In the bonus heat of the event, two more Mustangs, sophomore Danielle Wong and junior Taylor Spivey, also competed.

Junior Angela Haven earned a fifth place finish in the 100 breaststroke, with a time of 1:03.11.

The Mustangs finished off the session with a third place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. Morales and Jones teamed with sophomores Rachel Cleak and Kelsey Engel to post a 1:34.46.

In Colorado Springs, Colo., the Mustang women divers finished off their meet with the 1-meter event. Sophomore Meaghan O’Meara scored 241.5 points to place sixth, and sophomore Sami McIntyre tallied 212.40 points to earn eighth.

The Mustangs finished Friday in third place, with 342.5 points. They trailed Brigham Young University (490.5) and UC Santa Barbara (482).

Mustangs Travel to San Diego

The Cal Poly swimming and diving team traveled to San Diego this past weekend for dual meets against San Diego State and UC San Diego.

The women lost to the Aztecs 147-113, but beat the Tritons 185-113. The men faced only faced the Tritons, and came up short, 214-80.

The women’s duel with San Diego State was held in the long-course-meters format, while most college meets are held in a short-course-yards format.

In that meet, junior Angela Haven won both the 100 and 200-meter breaststrokes with times of 1 minute, 17.09 seconds and 2:41.64, respectively.

Senior Gloria Benefield, who was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women’s athlete of the week last week, won the 200 backstroke in 2:23.62.

Cal Poly also won the 200 freestyle relay. Sophomores Kelsey Engel, Jillian Jones, and Andrea Voigt team with senior Amy Morales to post a 1:52.11. The Mustangs also took second and third in the event.

The following day the Mustang women took on and defeated the Tritons of UC San Diego (this dual was also held in long-course-meters).

The Mustangs started the day off by claiming the first and second spots in the 1,500 freestyle, as senior Lacey Buck won with a 17:51.54. She was followed by junior Taylor Spivey.

Haven won both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes again, posting times of 1:16.54 and 2:42.04 respectively.

Cal Poly was dominant in the 100 freestyle, taking the top four spots. Sophomore Rachel Cleak led the charge with a 59.50. The Mustangs also went one-two-three in the 200 butterfly, with freshman Belen Enguidanos picking up the win.

Divers Sami McIntyre and Meaghan O’Meara also went one-two in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.

For the men, one of the top performer was sophomore Konrad Antoniuk. The distance swimmer took second in the 1500 freestyle with a 16:35.00, losing to Triton Matt Herman by just five seconds. In the 400 freestyle, Antoniuk was again barely best by Herman. The Mustang swam a 4:10.89 but Herman won with a 4:10.16. Antoniuk also won the 400 individual medley in 4:51.92.

For results from the Cal Poly vs. San Diego State duel meet, click here.

For results from the Cal Poly vs. UC San Diego duel meet, click here.

Cal Poly Wins Finis Invite

The Cal Poly Mustang swim team competed at the 2011 Finis Collegiate Invitational this past weekend. The Mustangs men beat nine other teams to win the meet, while the women finished first out of eight total teams.

On the men’s side, one of the Mustangs best events was the 500-yard freestyle. Sophomore Adrian Brynnel won the event with a time of 4 minutes, 37.36 seconds. He was followed closely by three of his teammates, as Cal Poly took the top four spots.

Brynnel also won the 1,650 freestyle, posting a time of 15:56.31. As in the 500 freestyle, he beat out sophomore Konrad Antoniuk, who recently competed at the U.S. Winter Nationals.

The Mustangs went 1-2-3-4 in the 200 backstroke, with sophomore Joseph Wasko putting up the winning time of 1:57.76.

The Mustang men also won four of the five relays. They took first in the 200 freestyle relay with a 1:26.89, and the 800 freestyle relay with a 7:04.30. They Mustangs went 1-2 in the 400 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay.

The men won with 2,317.5 points. The runner-up was UC Santa Cruz, with 2,171 points.

The women won by a slightly more comfortable margin. The Mustangs scored 2,760 points, and their closest competitor was also UC Santa Cruz, with 2,462 points.

One of the biggest events for the Mustang women was the 500 freestyle. Senior Lacey Buck won with a 4:54.72, but she was followed by six of her fellow Cal Poly swimmers as the Mustangs occupied the top seven spots.

Buck went on to also win the 1,650 freestyle in 16:46.62.

In the 100 butterfly, the top eight spots was comprised solely of Mustangs. Senior Gloria Benefield led the charge with a 56.48. Benefield also won the 100 and 200 backstrokes.

Another highlight event was the 200 freestyle. Sophomore Andrea Voigt won with a 1:52.97. Nine of the top ten finishers in the event were from Cal Poly.

Cal Poly took the at least the top three places in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, 100 breaststroke, 200 and 400 individual medleys, 100 freestyle, and 200 butterfly.

They also won four relays: the 200 and 400 medleys, and the 400 and 800 freestyles. The relay victories was key to the Mustangs winning the team title.

The Mustangs next swim meet is at San Diego State on December 17.

Finis Invite Day 1 Results

Finis Invite Day 2 Results

Finis Invite Day 3 Results

Winter Nationals Day 3

The the third and final day of the 2011 AT&T Winter Nationals Championship saw more swimmers from San Luis Obispo take to the water and compete against the best swimmers in the country.

Puma Aquatic swimmer Zachary Stevens swam the 200-meter breaststroke in 2 minutes, 23.61 seconds. San Luis Obispo Swim Club and former Cal Poly swimmer Zachary Cutts swam in the same event and posted a 2:25.32.

Also in the 200 breaststroke were Cal Poly swimmers Angels Haven and Kylie France. Haven, a junior, finished in a time of 2:39.35. She was followed by her senior teammate, who swam the event in 2:46.31.

Junior Katrina Anderson and senior Gloria Benefield swam the 200 backstroke in 2:20.06 and 2:20.07, respectively.

Belen Enguidanos, a freshman, competed in the 200 butterfly and posted a 2:18.01. She was followed by Benefield and France, who swam the event in 2:21.05 and 2:24.94, respectively.

Sophomore Rachel Cleak was the lone Mustang in the 100 freestyle, which she swam in 58.58.

The final Mustang to swim in Atlanta was distance swimmer Konrad Antoniuk. The sophomore swam the 1500 freestyle and hit a time of 16:15.60 to close out the weekend in Atlanta.

For complete results of the 2011 AT&T Winter National Championships, click here.

Winter Nationals Day 2

Swimmers from the San Luis Obispo area took to the water this morning in Atlanta, Ga., on the second day of the 2011 AT&T Winter National Championships.

Puma Aquatic swimmer Zachary Stevens swam the 100-meter breaststroke in 1 minute, 4.94 seconds. The 16-year-old will swim the 200 breaststroke on Saturday.

His teammate, 17-year-old Amelia Schachter, also swam the 100 breaststroke. She posted a time of 1:13.28.

Five Cal Poly swimmers also competed Friday morning.

Junior Angela Haven swam two of her four total events Friday. She started her day off by swimming the 100 breaststroke in 1:15.61. Later in the session, she put up a 1:05.94 in the 100 butterfly.

Two of her teammates joined her in the 100 butterfly. Senior Gloria Benefield posted a 1:03.86, and sophomore Rachel Cleak swam it in 1:04.67.

Senior Kylie France swam the 400 individual medley in 5:07.94.

Senior Aaron Mckinnon competed in the 200 freestyle, swimming it in a time of 1:56.68.

The meet will conclude tomorrow.

For live results, click here.

Local Swimmers Headed to Senior Nationals

Puma swimmer Zachary Stevens prepares for a race at the 2011 Junior Nationals, where he qualified for Olympic Trials. Stevens will be traveling to Atlanta, Ga., to compete in the AT&T winter National Championships.

A number of swimmers from San Luis Obispo will travel to Atlanta, Ga., for the U.S. Senior Nationals swim meet, which is being held this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

The AT&T Winter National Championships, which is usually competed in the short course yards format, is going to be competed in long course meters, due to the fact it is an Olympic year (the Olympic Trials and Olympics are held in long course meters).The venue for the meet is the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.

Nine Cal Poly Mustangs will be competing in the meet.

Representing the Mustang men is distance swimmer Konrad Antoniuk. Antoniuk, an electrical engineering sophomore, will swim the 1500-meter freestyle and 400 freestyle.

The only other male Cal Poly swimmer is senior Aaron Mckinnon, who is swimming the 200 and 50 freestyles.

Seven Mustang women will also be making the trip. Junior Angela Haven is entered in the most events, with four: the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, 200 individual medley, and 100 butterfly.

Senior Kylie France is also swimming the 200 breaststroke, in addition to the 400 individual medley and 200 butterfly. Joining her in the 200 butterfly will be teammates Gloria Benefield (senior) and Belen Enguidanos (freshman).

Benefield is also slated to swim the 200 backstroke and 100 butterfly. Sophomore Rachel Cleak will join her in the 100 butterfly, while junior Katrina Anderson will swim the 200 backstroke.

Senior Amy Morales is entered in the 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle.

Cal Poly swimmer Konrad Antoniuk will swim the 1500 and 400 freestyles this week in Atlanta.

Two swimmers from the Puma Aquatic swim team will also take to the water in Atlanta. 16-year-old Zachary Stevens will swim the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, while teammate Amelia Schachter, 17, will compete in the 100 breaststroke.

San Luis Obispo Swim Club and former Cal Poly swimmer Zachary Cutts will also swim the 200 breaststroke.

These local talents will be sharing the pool with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian, Melissa (Missy) Franklin, Elizabeth Beisel, Dana Vollmer, and Kosuke Kitajima.

The Winter Championships is the last major national competition before the 2012 US Olympic team Trials, which will take place in Omaha, Neb., next June and July.

For complete psych sheets, click here.

Blue-Green Rivalry Renewed in the Pool

Story Highlights

• The Cal Poly women’s swimming and diving team beat the UCSB Gauchos 177.5-117.5
• It was only the second time the Mustang women have defeated UCSB in a dual meet
• The Cal Poly men fell 167-121

The start of the men's 100 backstroke during the dual meet between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.

The Cal Poly Mustangs swimming and diving team hosted the rival UC Santa Barbara Gauchos for a dual meet Saturday at the Anderson Aquatics Center.

The Gaucho men were victorious over Cal Poly, winning by a score of 167-121. But the Mustang women beat UCSB for only the second time in history, winning 177.5-117.5.

The Mustang women got out to an early lead by winning the first event, the 200-yard medley relay. They beat out UCSB by just over three tenths of a second, and were in control for the rest of the meet.

“I talked to them all week about the power of winning and winning early,” Cal Poly head coach Tom Milich said.

One of the members of that relay and one of Cal Poly’s top scorers was kinesiology junior Angela Haven. Haven won the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.73 seconds. She was also the runner-up in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, posting times of 1:06.33 and 2:17.76, respectively.

“I feel really good. I’m really happy with how this season is coming together,” Haven said. “I am swimming so much faster than I did in my freshman year.”

The Gaucho that was able to keep Haven from winning all three of her individual events was sophomore Sophia Yamauchi. Yamauchi touched out Haven to win the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, and also the 400 individual medley. However, her performance was not enough to beat the deep Mustangs.

“We really pulled together as a team and showed some heart,” Haven said. “We won some events, but we also created some depth.”

Seniors Lacey Buck and Gloria Benefield were both double event winners for Cal Poly. Buck won the 1000 and 500 freestyles, while Benefield took the 100 and 200 backstrokes. She was also a member of the winning 200 medley relay team.

But one of the keys to the Mustang victory was their dominance in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. Cal Poly went one-two-three in both events. Liberal studies sophomore Sami McIntyre was the victor in both events, while kinesiology sophomore Meaghan O”Meara was the runner-up.

“I felt really good about my performance at the meet. There were only a couple dives where I felt I could have done better on, but over all I was very pleased,” O’Meara said. “The competition was tough and I knew our swim team needed all the points we could get. When we swept both the diving events I was really proud of my team.”

Cal Poly's Andrew Casier swims through the 100 butterfly at Saturday's dual meet.

Although the Cal Poly men did not pull off a win, they still had some good performances. Leading the charge was electrical engineering sophomore Konrad Antoniuk. The distance-swimmer won the 1000 freestyle by almost four seconds. He also won the 500 freestyle by touching out his teammate, economics sophomore Adrian Brynnel.

One of the most exciting races of the day was the final 400 freestyle relay. Cal Poly trailed the Gauchos for much of the race, but on the final 50 freshman Christian Renfro surged and pulled slightly ahead of Gaucho freshman Steven Ewoldt. The two battled on the last lap, but Ewoldt barely touched out Renfro by one one hundredth of a second to clinch the Gaucho win.

The Mustangs and Gauchos will clash in the pool again on February 4, in Santa Barbara.

Cal Poly will next compete in the Mustang Invitational, which they will host at the Anderson Aquatics Center this coming Friday and Saturday.

For complete results from the UCSB dual meet, click here.