HOME OF BULLDOG SWIMMING & DIVING - 11 SCIAC Championships

The University of Redlands swimming & diving teams performed admirably against a competitive field at the Finis Collegiate Invitational, which took place from Friday through Monday in Long Beach. The women scored 339 points and placed ninth while the men took eighth with a 294-point total.

Redlands competed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday but did not attend Monday’s sessions. Saturday, Sunday and Monday followed a prelim-final format while Friday’s session was a timed final. Friday’s results were not counted in the team scoring.

A total of three Bulldog swimmers gained NCAA “B” cut times throughout the weekend.

Freshmen Lauren Zehner (Portland, OR) and Allie Bollella (Palo Alto, CA) picked up consideration standards on the women’s side in the 200 butterfly (2:08.81, first) and the 500 freestyle (5:06.46, 11th), respectively. In addition, Bollella’s 500 freestyle performance bettered the former program record of 5:10.17, which Katie Weeks ’08 set in 2005. Cathleen Penney ’07’s butterfly record (2:05.51) remained solvent despite Zehner’s impressive swim.

Sophomore Tyler Harp (San Bernardino, CA) used a strong second 50 to register an NCAA provisional mark in the 100 freestyle (46.13, second). Also, his swim in the 100 butterfly finals (51.18) was good enough for a provisional cut and 10th place.

A number of other swimmers produced solid performances for the Bulldogs.

Among those that also placed in the top 24 on the women’s side included freshman Jessica Medvec (Tualatin, OR) in the 100 freestyle (53.69, third) and the 100 backstroke (1:02.44, 15th), Bollella in the 100 freestyle (54.05, fourth) and the 50 freestyle (25.37, 16th), sophomore McKenzie Nakamura (Kenmore, WA) in the 200 breaststroke (2:28.32, second), the 200 individual medley (2:14.32, 24th) and the 100 breaststroke (1:09.80, 20th), freshman Missy Utama (Walnut, CA) in the 200 breaststroke (2:32.73, sixth), the 200 butterfly (2:16.00, sixth) and the 400 individual medley (4:54.11, 20th), junior Michelle Camburn (Sunnyvale, CA) in the 200 butterfly (2:16.49, seventh) and Zehner in the 500 freestyle (5:15.03, 15th) and the 200 freestyle (1:56.05, 18th).

Others that claimed top-24 finishes on the men’s side included junior Alec Alders (Los Angeles, CA) in the 1650 freestyle (16:47.95, third), the 500 freestyle (4:48.55, 19th) and the 200 freestyle (1:46.47, 21st), senior Ned Voytovich (Salt Lake City, UT) in the 1650 freestyle (17:48.03, ninth), the 200 backstroke (2:05.19, ninth) and the 400 individual medley (4:33.20, 22nd), junior Miran Terzic (Mostar, Bosna i Hercegovina) in the 100 freestyle (47.16, eighth) and the 50 freestyle (21.22, 14th), sophomore Will Houser (Woodinville, WA) in the 200 breaststroke (2:23.32, 11th), the 200 butterfly (2:08.67, 17th) and the 400 individual medley (4:29.22, 20th), sophomore Michael Grant (Weston, MA) in the 200 breaststroke (2:27.34, 12th) and the 100 breaststroke (1:03.83, 21st) and freshman Chris Depew (Naperville, IL) in the 200 butterfly (1:58.82, fifth) and the 200 individual medley (1:58.26, 19th).

NCAA Division I’s UC Santa Barbara swept the team titles with its women’s team placing first with 2,177 points and its men’s team winning with 2,262 points. UC Santa Cruz was the top-scoring NCAA Division III program, finishing fourth in both the women’s and men’s standings.

Redlands (2-1, 2-0 SCIAC; 2-1, 2-0 SCIAC) returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 9, when it entertains Caltech in a conference dual meet. Diving is set to commence at 10:30 a.m. while the swimming portion is scheduled for 11 a.m.