Complete Results

LAS VEGAS - For the second straight day, the Cal State East Bay swimming team appeared in the finals for both the individual and relay events at the UNLV Winter Invitational. The Pioneers saw two school records fall, Jenel Lopez claim a runner-up finish and the 800 free relay team finish fourth on the second day of the meet which includes four Division I squads among the competition.

East Bay retained its team standing of fifth place but is now just 23 points back of Fresno Pacific and holds a 91-point advantage over sixth-place Azusa Pacific. The Pioneers have also now broken five school records in the first two days of the meet, including Sunday's 200 medley relay and 100 butterfly. Saturday, East Bay shattered the only remaining relay record from the previous era with their time of 1:37.73 in the 200 free relay and saw the 400 medley relay and 200 IM records from last season fall as well.

“To break a lot of records in the mid-season is, for swimming, a great indication of how competitive this squad is,” Head Coach Ben Loorz said. “I'm very proud of the team for racing with ferocity in the midst of very stiff competition. They have been like heat-seeking missiles – it doesn't matter if they are in a dogfight for first or 22nd; they seek out the race and fully embrace it. They have been very fun to watch.”

Lopez was the leader again for East Bay, this time making her mark as the second-place finisher in the 200 freestyle final. The senior took two seconds off her previous season best in the prelims, becoming the first Pioneer to reach an A Final this weekend. Lopez then followed up her prelims performance by taking another second off her best time to finish in 1:53.16, a time which ranks among the top 25 times in the 200 free this season in Division II and was just one-hundreth of a second off of Lopez' school record from last year's conference meet.

Both Karly Wasung and Hannah Cutts joined Lopez in the 200 free finals, with Wasung finishing fourth in the B Final to take 12th overall and Cutts competing in the C Final and claiming 22nd overall. Wasung also shaved two seconds off her previous season best in the final.

Caitlin DeNise started off her day in the 100 fly by breaking the school record from the 1990-91 season by eight-tenths of a second. She then followed up her prelims performance by breaking that record with her B Final-winning time of 57.53, to claim ninth overall.

Rachel Knowles had another strong day for East Bay, taking three seconds off her season best in the prelims and another second in the finals to finish 11th overall and third in the B Final of the 100 breaststroke. Makila Shuck joined Knowles in the B Final, improving her best time of the season by two seconds and finishing 15th. Both Courtney Schwiesow and DeNise competed in the C Final, claiming 22nd and 24th, respectively.

In the 100 backstroke, Alyssa Tenney nearly broke another record for the Pioneers, finishing 13th overall and missing Bethany Hoopman's record from last year by less than two-tenths of a second in the prelims. Meanwhile, Hoopman posted a second-place finish in the C Final and took 18th overall in the 100 back.
Both Rachel Shimizu and Schwiesow earned a spot in the B Final of the 400 IM, with Shimizu taking fourth to finish 13th overall in a time of 4:45.34 and Schwiesow claiming 15th in 4:51.97.

The Pioneer 200 medley relay “A” squad got the finals started off right, breaking the previous record set last year by nearly a second. The team of Tenney, Makila Schuck, DeNise and Lopez took eighth place, with Tenney giving East Bay more to celebrate after breaking the school's 50 back record with her lead-off split of 27.51.

In the final women's race of day two, the Pioneers posted their best relay finish of the event so far, taking fourth in the 800 free relay. East Bay's team of Rachel Shimizu, Wasung, Alyssa Tenney and Lopez posted a time of 7:45.63, just over a second off of last year's school record time.

The Pioneers will wrap up the UNLV Winter Invitational on Monday. Day three events include the 1650 and 100 freestyle, 200 backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly and the 400 free relay. Live results will be available here.