Tiger Women Open Season With MPSF Meet At UC Davis

What's Happening:
The Pacific women's swimming team will open its 2011-12 campaign with a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation dual meet at UC Davis on Thursday, Oct. 6. The meet will get underway at 5:30 p.m. at the Aggies' Schaal Aquatics Center.

The Tigers' men's team is idle this week.

A Quick Look Ahead:
Pacific will welcome back their alumni for a meet this Sautrday, Oct. 8, at 10 a.m. The Tigers will then host the annual Pacific Invite on Oct. 14 and 15. The four-team meet will feature the Orange and Black facing off against Stanford, BYU, and San Diego. The first race on Saturday will begin at 1 p.m. while Sunday's first event will start at 11 a.m.

Scouting UC Davis:
The Aggies claimed the inaugural Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships title last season, finishing first with a point total of 726, almost 100 more points than runner-upUC Santa Barbara.

Reigning MPSF Coach of the Year Barbara Jahn, now in her 37th year at UC Davis, and last year's Freshman of the Year Liliana Alvarez anchor a formidable Aggies squad. Alvarez finished 23rd in the 100 Breast and 45th in the 200 Breast at the NCAA Championships. She was named a Mid-Major All-American by CollegeSwimming.com for her standout freshman season.

UC Davis returns 25 letterwinners.

Women's Season Preview:
Pacific returns 15 letterwinners to a squad that finished 7-4 last season, including 4-2 in the first season of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation membership. The Tigers placed seventh at the MPSF Championships.

The Orange and Black will look to their senior leaders as four-year swimmers Lia Santini, Jayme Swalin, and Elena Walterman, along with two-year letterwinner Ellen Barton, look to end their Pacific careers on a high note.  Swalin is coming off of a stellar junior campaign that saw her earn First Team All-MPSF honors in the 1650 Free and Second Team All-MPSF honors in the 500 Free. She finished third in the 1650 Free at the MPSF Championships with a time of 17:01.90. Walterman was a Second Team All-MPSF selection in the 100 Fly, placing seventh in the same event at the MPSF Championships, touching the wall at 55.93.

A deep junior class will be expected to contribute, as well. Jenna Chaplin, who this summer won the 800 Free National Title in the RBC Bahamas National Championships, and Mallory McGowan, who placed in the top five in the 100 Breast in all but one meet last season, highlight the group. Also expected to have a solid season is Allie Vetterlein, winner of both the 100 Fly and 200 IM against Stanford last season. All three swimmers were also All-MPSF Academic selections last season.

Pacific welcomes back a group of talented sophomores for their second seasons, including Shelby Bolin, a Second Team All-MPSF selection in the 200 Back, and MaryElla Randall, a Second Team All-MPSF selection in the 50 Free. Bolin finished seventh in the 200 Back at the MPSF Championships with a time of 2:04.97 while Randall touched fourth in the 50 Free at 22.99. Also returning is Hayley Shillington, who finished first in the 200 Free and 200 Back against conference foe Cal State Bakersfield.