Results: Saturday Finals
Results: Saturday Prelims

GENEVA, Ohio – Cal State East Bay capped off its 2014 NCAA National Championships with a fourth place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Caitlin DeNise, Madison Hauanio, Alyssa Tenney, and Brittany Rojo destroyed the previous program record finishing in a time of 3:23.26.

"I am so proud of our team's performances today. This is a very long meet, which can take its toll on the body, but we dug deep this morning to earn several best times and a berth in the "A" final for the relay…And then they did it again at night, in a screaming fast showdown with the top relays in the country," praised East Bay Head Coach Ben Loorz.

It is the second All-America finish for the foursome after it placed sixth in the 200 free relay. On Saturday night the Pioneer relay out touched the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Champions UC San Diego in the finals by .32 seconds.

"The amount of time they lopped off of the team record today in the relay should have been improbable; but they did it. Their performance is a testament to their spirit, heart, and preparation," complimented Loorz of his team's final race.

Cal State East Bay's incredibly fast transitions between swimmers helped move it from a potential seventh place finish up to fourth. The Pioneers total reaction time was 1.08 seconds, the fastest in the field. The reaction times of UC San Diego (1.69), Wingate (1.64), and UBPK (1.94) were all slower and the difference between East Bay finishing ahead of these squads.

The fourth place finish in the final event scored 30 of the team's 101 points. It vaulted Cal State East Bay into 15th place in the women's team standings, an improvement from last year's 21st place result.

Earlier in the finals session teammates DeNise and Hauanio tied for 12th place in the 100 freestyle finishing in an identical time of 51.06. Both swimmers swam the 100 free four times on Saturday with the prelims and finals sessions of both the individual event and the team relay.

"It was very gratifying to finish on such a high note, and to place in the top 15 in the country overall," said Loorz. "One thing I loved about coaching East Bay at this meet was that every single member of the six-woman squad contributed in a major way.  Not only did they all score as swimmers, and uphold the times that got them to this meet, but they were incredibly supportive of each other."

Drury won the women's team title with 486 points. Wayne State (419) and Queens (368.5) round out the top three teams.

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