Stockton, Calif. – The Pacific Tigers swim team wrapped up another successful swim meet with both the men's and women's teams competing at Chris Kjeldsen Pool. The Tigers fought through a number of illnesses and injuries to come up with a strong showing in the meet. "It went well, we were battling…but you've got to show up every day and really rock it," said Head Coach Peter Richardson of the team's effort.
Pacific started the day with second-place finishes in both the women's and men's 200 Medley Relay. The team of Haley Preston, Whitney Jorgensen, Kenna Ramey, and Vaiva Gimbutyte finished with a time of 1:46.20 that was just .15 behind the leader, while the men's team of Makoa Haneberg, Yahav Shahaff, Jared Vu, and Mitchell Ongstad finished in 1:32.14.
Jorgensen also won the 200 Fly with a time of 2:06.39. "[Jorgensen] swam really tough in a tough training phase for her right now," said Richardson of Jorgensen's ability to fight through and come up with great times.
Jana Burkard came in second in the 1000 Free at 10:37.32, continuing her strong season of distance swims. "Jana swam really tough…I'm really proud of her," said Richardson of Burkard's day, which also included a 1:56.17 time in the 200 Free and a second-place time of 5:08.11 in the 500 Free.
Pacific put together an impressive showing in the 100 Back, with Isabella Green taking second with a time of 57.63, Cai Hong Singh taking third at 57.99, and Haley Preston finishing just behind them at 58.31. Green set season-best times in almost all of her events, finishing in 2:03.85 in the 200 Back and 2:07.85 in the 200 IM. Richardson heaped praise on Green for her performance, saying that "she's somebody that comes to work every day and grinds and it's great to see it all fall into rhythm like that."
Makoa Haneberg took second for the Tigers in the Men's 100 Back, matching his Tigers counterparts on the women's side. Haneberg had a time of 50.60.
Georan Meendering put up great times all day, finishing third in the 50 Free with a time of 21.65, just behind his teammate Shahaff's time of 20.78. Meendering also set a lifetime-best time in the first leg of the 400 Free Relay as part of the team that finished first with a time of 3:06.59. "Georan is a team leader, he's been battling a few things [health-wise]," said Richardson. "It was really great to see what focus can bring for him."
It wasn't just Meendering's team that put up a great time in the 400 Free Relays, as Pacific finished second with a time of 3:10.14 as well on the men's side and took third with a time of 3:35.84 for the women. "We stepped up in the back half of the meet, I was really proud of that coming home in some of those relays," said Richardson.
Jared Vu came close to setting a new lifetime best in the 100 Fly, a performance that earned rave reviews from Richardson. Vu's time of 49.48 was good enough to win the event, with Pacific's Haneberg getting second at 50.58. The Tigers also won the 200 IM thanks to a time of 1:53.56 by Curtis Klein.
Lauren Davis fought hard in the 200 Breast, with Richardson commenting on Davis' exceptional race. Davis ended up with a time of 2:23.51 in the event.
Next up for Pacific will be the A3 Invitational in Los Angeles. The meet will begin November 19 and will continue on November 20 and November 21. Richardson was happy with the readiness of the Tigers, saying "I'm excited to be back to health as a team. We're getting healthy and swimming at full speed."
Make sure to follow Pacific swimming on Twitter with the username @PacificTigersH2O and on Instagram at pacificswimteam.
