ST. GEORGE, Utah- The Pacific men's and women's swim teams opened the third day of the MPSF Championship meet, putting 17 of its 30 athletes into scoring positions for Friday evening's finals. The opportunity proved fruitful as the women moved into eighth place behind six top-16 finals finishes.

Senior Caitlin Tan opened the day for the Tigers in the 100 fly, clocking the third best time of the morning with a new personal best 54.31. Junior Noemi Melendez finished with a 55.95 to finish in the top-16. Junior Mitchell Hopper earned the fifth fastest time in the 100 fly prelims with a 47.69, while senior Aidan Vollmar finished in the top-10 with a 48.38.

Junior Jordyn Gonzales dropped a full second off her seeded time in the 400 IM for a season best 4:33.06 in the event. Junior Alexia Ferguson raced to the 12th fastest time of the morning in the 200 free with a 1:51.81., while senior Dylan Parente improved to a new season best 1:39.75 in the men's 200 free.

Junior Paige Sondgeroth claimed the 12th fastest time of the 100 breast prelim with a 1:03.73. Out of the men's side, sophomore Ethan Cole clocked a 55.77 to drop .13 of a second off his entry time. Junior Srboljub Filipovic dropped 1.55 seconds to finish with a 56.21, the 16th fastest time of the morning in the 100 breast.

Sophomore Diana Chan clocked the eighth fastest time of the 100 back prelim with a 55.92, dropping over half a second from her entry time. Sophomore Annelise Thomas finished with the 11th fastest time with a 56.34.

Out of the men's side, junior Leland Baltazar took the sixth fastest time of 100 back prelim with a 48.45, shaving over half a second off his seeded time. Senior Aidan Scott finished nearly behind, dropping almost of full second to clock a 49.34. Senior Alex Kurotori finished 12th with a 49.78, while freshman Kyle Capili took 15th with a 50.39.

The Tigers finished the morning with the 400 medley relays. The women, led behind Thomas, Sondgeroth, Tan and Ferguson, took fourth with a 3:44.35, dropping 3.88 seconds off their entry time. The men, led by Baltazar, Cole, Vollmar and Hopper, finished fifth with a 3:15.58, shaving off 2.59 seconds of their seeded time.

Returning for Friday evening's finals, Tan took third in the 100 fly with a 54.35, while Melendez finished 16th with a 56.54. Hopper claimed fourth, improving by .29 seconds to clock a 47.70 in the men's 100 fly. Vollmar finished tenth with a 48.20.

Gonzales finished 16th in the 400 medley with a 4:34.37, while junior Jadyn Phillips claimed 13th in the 200 free with a 1:51.91. Ferguson took 15th in the 200 free with a 1:52.25.

Parente finished ninth overall in the 200 free with a 1:38.74, dropping 1.01 seconds from the morning. Sondgeroth finished 16th in the 100 breast with a 1:04.32, while Cole took 12th in the men's 100 breast with a 55.88.

Chan and Thomas rounded out the day for the women in the 100 back taking eighth (56.02) and ninth (55.75) respectively. Baltazar (49.18) and Scott (50.31) took seventh and eighth, while Kurotori (49.83) finished 12th and Capili (50.61)15th.

The Tigers return to action tomorrow for the final day of the MPSF Championships. The morning starts with the 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relays.

For all the latest on Pacific Swimming, be sure to follow the team on X (@uopswimanddive), Instagram (@pacific.swimming) and "like" the team's official Facebook page (Pacific Swimming and Diving).
 
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