Tigers Conclude Pacific Invite Behind Stellar Performances

Stockton, Calif. - The Pacific women's and men's swimming teams concluded the 2011 Pacific Invitational Saturday, Oct. 15, finishing second and third on their respective sides.

The Tigers' women's squad scored a total of 801 points over the two-day meet while their male counterparts tallied 703 total points. BYU took the women's meet title with 1,129 points. Stanford claimed the men's meet title with 1,055.5 points. Finishing third on the women's side was San Diego (766 points) while BYU took second on the men's side (829.5).

The women performed very well for the Orange and Black on the day. Junior Mallory McGowan won the 200 Breast with a time of 2:23.06. Senior Jayme Swalin took second in the 500 Free (5:07.29) while junior Allie Vetterlein was the runner-up in the 200 IM (2:09.54). Also finishing second were sophomore MaryElla Randall in the100 Free (52.65) and freshman Dekel Shahaf in the 100 Fly (57.22).

Shahaf also took third in the 100 Back with a time of 58.49. Sophomore Shelby Bolin clocked in at 2:07.76 in the 200 Back for a third-place finish while senior Elena Walterman placed third in the 100 Fly (57.57).

Finishing fourth in the 200 Fly and 100 Back were Walterman and Bolin, respectively. Walterman touched at 2:07.13 while Bolin came in at 59.69. Junior Becca Wyant earned a fifth-place finish in the 200 IM (2:12.95), and freshman Kelsey Crowder placed fifth in the 200 Back (2:11.82).

Competing against a Stanford team that finished third at the NCAA Championships last season, Pacific's men had numerous top-ten finishes. Highlighting the Tigers' solid outing was sophomore Oliver Simkovic. Simkovic took fifth in the 200 Back with a time of 1:52.99. He won the same event at the 2011 MPSF Championships.

Simkovic further impressed with an eighth-place time in the 200 IM (1:55.67) and a ninth-place finish in the 100 Back (52.79). Junior Roger Ward claimed sixth in the 200 Breast, touching the wall at 2:08.57.

Also performing well for the men were freshman Cooper Rogers who finished eighth in the 100 Back (51.47) and senior Nate LeRoy, who placed eighth in the 200 Breast (2:09.09). The Tiger men got an infusion of youth from freshmen Brandon Chandler and Casey Fleming as Chandler took ninth in the 500 Free with a time of 4:41.06 while Fleming clocked in at 53.33 in the 100 Back, good for tenth. Sophomore Taylor Moore took tenth in the 100 Free (47.19) and junior Dai Wilson took tenth in the 100 Fly (51.71).

Both squads fared well in the two relays on the day. The women's team, made up of Randall, Wyant, Shahaf, and Vetterlein, placed third in the 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:38.11. Junior Kevin Schirmer, sophomore Hans Peters, Moore, and Fleming led the men's team to a third-place finish in the same event, coming in at 1:25.93.

The 800 Free Relay saw the Tigers' women's team, comprised of Shillington, Shahaf, sophomore Bo Cameron, and Swalin, came in at 7:54.69, good for fourth. The men's team, made up of Chandler, Hans Peters, Simkovic, and Rogers, finished fifth with a time of 7:00.81.