How good was Day 2? It was so good...I didn't get up results from the Prelims! We had personal best, top ten school swims set, and the men's team moving up in the rankings. Whether you were a senior, first-year, male, female, diver, swimmer...you had a personal best!
Congratulations first goes to the team's first NCAA B qualifying mark, which was earned by Sarah Sharpe on the 1m diving competition. Her score of 417 was highlighted by scoring 8's and 9's on her last two dives! It was a 1-2 Oxy finish as Marisa Pulcrano improved on her 3rd place seeding to finish in second. What a great start to finals!
Having gone a 5:00.95 in the 400 IM prelim swims, Sara Mendoza had her eyes set on breaking the 5:00 mark...and boy did she ever! Swimming from start to finish with 100% focus, not only did she swim a 4:53.69, she also came from behind to out-touch a SCIAC competitor to improve her final placing.
Senior #2, Adam Kantor, had what turned into an inspiring performance for the men that set a positive tone for the evening. Having finished 7th in the morning, the field was bunched together and any position from 3-8 was open. With an underwater kick that was lethal, Adam improved to finish in a 52.11 and place 5th.
And finally, senior #3, Jeven Dovey, showed that just because there are no LZR's doesn't mean you can't swim faster! In just a speedo brief, Jeven swam a personal best of 59.64 in the 100 Breaststroke to finish in 5th place and cement himself as one of the best breaststrokers in Occidental history.
Now that we talked about all of the seniors, how about we finish Day 2's highlights with a first-year that I am truly proud of. Alena Morris dropped 3 seconds from her season best to finish her first finals in a 1:00.77 (100 Butterfly).
As I sign off, it's hard to describe the energy and cheering that is taking place by our squad. Once we return back to the home of the Occidental Swimming & Diving squad, look for serious, competitive...and maybe a few funny pictures. Take care!
-Alex Kuhn
