UC Irvine Men Set Three Records On Day Three Of Big West Championship

LONG BEACH, California, February 23. THE UC Irvine men broke three Big West Swimming and Diving Championship meet records on day three of the competition to overtake first place with 545.5 points. UC Santa Barbara notched three victories in seven women's events to maintain its hold on the top spot with 590.5 points.

UCSB's men remain in contention, holding down second place with 479.5 points. UC Davis is third with 438 points, Pacific fourth with 409 and Cal Poly fifth with 210. Cal State Northridge rounds out the field with 199 points.

Of the 10 records broken so far at the 2007 Big West championship meet, UC Irvine has accounted for eight of them, including five by the men's squad.

UCI junior Randall Tom set the first record of the day in the morning prelims. Tom swam the 100 fly in 46:47, breaking the old mark of 47.69 set by UC Santa Barbara's Pat Cary in 2005. Tom nearly broke the record again in the evening, winning the event in 47.60. He automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship with his record-setting effort.

The Anteater men chalked up another record in the 100 back with junior Eddie Erazo leading the way. Erazo posted a 47.99 to break the former mark of 48.65 by UC Santa Barbara's Patrick Ota (2005). His time also was an NCAA qualifying mark.

The Anteaters put an exclamation mark on their day three performance by racing to another record in the 200 free relay. The team of Will Wollam, Randall Tom, Derek Hingeveld and Eric Reilly sprinted to a 1:19.82 mark, breaking a 10-year old record held by the 1997 UC Santa Barbara team.

UCI also picked up first place points in the 200 freestyle as senior Mike Cohee won in 1:37.84.

Pacific captured victories in the two other men's individual events. Junior Krzysztof Zoldak registered a time of 3:51.94 in the 400 medley to win by over three seconds, while junior David Dunn won the 100 breast in 54.35. Dunn missed setting a record of his own by just nine-tenths of a second.

UC Irvine (4) and UC Santa Barbara (3) combined to capture wins in the seven women's events in the finals. The Gauchos, with their 590.5 points, lead second place Pacific and third place UC Irvine, which have 481 and 441 points, respectively. UC Davis is fourth with 338 points, while Cal State Northridge (219) and Cal Poly (208.5) round out the standings.

Freshman Lyndsay Depaul set her second record of the meet, this time in the 400 IM with a time of 4:14 25. She edged out Pacific junior Ja-Neil Bragg, who had set the previous record (4:15.94) in 2005 as a freshman. Depaul set the record in the 200 IM on Thursday.

UCI junior Chelsea Nagata won a pair of races to help her team's cause. She earned an NCAA automatic qualifying mark in the 100 fly in 53.35 and touched the wall in 54.80 to capture the 100 back.

However, UCSB kept its lead with consistent swimming in all of the events. The Gauchos recorded three victories on the evening. Sophomore Liz Wagner won the 200 free in 1:49.36 for her second victory of the meet. Sophomore Katy Freeman captured the 100 breast in 1:03.38, edging UC Davis junior Ashley Cayford (1:03.53) by the closest of margins.

The Gauchos ended a successful evening with a win in the 200 free relay, finishing in 1:32.66.

MEN'S STANDINGS
1. UC Irvine – 545.5
2. UC Santa Barbara – 479.5
3. UC Davis – 438.0
4. Pacific – 409.0
5. Cal Poly – 210.0
6. Cal State Northridge – 199.0

WOMEN'S STANDINGS
1. UC Santa Barbara – 590.5
2. Pacific – 481.0
3. UC Irvine – 441.0
4. UC Davis – 338.0
5. Cal State Northridge – 219.0
6. Cal Poly 208.5

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