U of R Swimming & Diving Celebrates Senior Day with Sweep over Caltech
The University of Redlands swimming and diving program celebrated the senior class of 2012 this past Saturday with a combined clean sweep of Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponent Caltech at the Thompson Aquatic Center. The women's team registered a season-high 183 points, while the men defeated the Beavers by a score of 176-58.
Before the swimming portion of the meet, the Bulldog coaching staff recognized 19 senior student-athletes for their efforts in and out of the pool. For the women, the Class of 2012 includes Jenny Bates (Littleton, CO), Britnie Blaga (corona, CA), Andrea Bo (Mountain View, CA), Joy Corona (Lake Bluff, IL), K.C. Hughes (Gig Harbor, WA), Shelby Mann (Bainbridge Island, WA), McKenzie Nakamura (Kenmore, WA), Jaime Nippert (Gresham, OR) and Casey Sripramong (Glendale, CA). The senior men are Shane Anderson (Riverside, CA), Ben Ballard (Riverside, CA), Reid Coultas (Hesperia, CA), Collin Gladys (Yorba Linda, CA), Mike Grant (Weston, MA), Tyler Harp (San Bernardino, CA), Greg Heinicke (East Wenatchee, WA), Will Houser (Redmond, WA), Jeff Parsons (Newark, CA), Jordan Suazo (Oceanside, CA) and Steve Zarian (Superior , CO).
View the seniors' traditional "Senior Dive" ceremony.
En route to the women's dominating victory, the crew notched 12 event-wins, highlighted by sweeps in the 50 Free, 100 Back and one-meter diving competition.
Bates and freshman Margo Macready (Redlands, CA) stepped up for the Maroon and Gray by collecting three victories each. Bates clocked in first during the 200 Free (2:07.91) while also contributing to the winning 200 Medley Relay (1:59.79) and 400 Free Relay (3:56.87). Macready registered personal-best times en route to taking first place in the 100 Fly (1:00.48) and 200 IM (2:14.88), as well as swimming the third leg of the winning 400 Free Relay (3:56.87).
For the divers, Mann shined for the Bulldogs by taking home the top prize in both events. She tallied a one-meter score of 174.90 and then followed that up with a mark of 175.30 on the three-meter board.
Watch one of Mann's three-meter dives.
As for the men, the team won all but one event, headlined by eight 1-2-3 sweeps and 28 top-three performances.
Harp and junior Chris Depew (Naperville, IL) each punched in individual victories and contributed to the winning 200 Medley Relay (1:40.17) and 400 Free Relay (3:31.52). Harp tallied a time of 22.80 in the 50 Free and Depew won the 500 Free by clocking in at 5:13.25.
Sophomore Eli Niebuhr (Las Vegas, NV) posted a season-high 278.45 points for first place in the three-meter dive to highlight the men's diving efforts.
Click to view one of Niebuhr's dives.
Redlands swimming jumps right back into action when it faces regional competitor Whitman College (WA) on Monday, Jan. 9, at 10:30 a.m. at the Thompson Aquatic Center. The program returns to SCIAC competition on Saturday, Jan. 14, with 10:30 a.m. meet at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.
