Saturday Finals Session Results

LA MIRADA, Calif. – Cal State East Bay women's swimming moved up three spots to place third at the 2015 Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference (PCSC) Championships, which concluded on Saturday evening at the Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatic Center.

"The team made a tremendous comeback tonight. I am very proud of the grit they showed, with every person playing a role in our slimmest-of-margins victory over our closest rivals," praised East Bay Head Coach Ben Loorz. "It took a united effort; every swim, every time-drop, and every improvement in placing made a difference in the final outcome."

Three different individual school records were broken in a highlight filled final day of Pioneer swims. Two different PCSC 'A' finals featured East Bay teammates and one podium finish.

Sophomore Mariam Lowe and senior Alyssa Tenney returned for the championship final of the 200-yard backstroke. Lowe battled with the eventual top two finishers before holding on for third place in a time of 2:02.49. She became the first Pioneer to finish the event in less than 2 minutes, 3 seconds while also record an NCAA Provisional qualifying time.

Tenney's tenth and final career PCSC championship final saw her place sixth in the 200 back. Her time of 2:04.33 is a personal best and more than two seconds faster than her finals time last season.

"Our 200 backstroke results were phenomenal. Mariam lowering her own mark from the morning to re-break the record for the third time this year. Alyssa was amazing overall (at this meet. She went 6-for-6 on lifetime bests this weekend and earned All-Conference in all three of her swims at her final PCSC," Loorz praised.

Junior distance specialists Rachel Shimizu and Hannah Cutts each recorded top eight finishes in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Cutts swam the second fastest morning session time which held on for seventh overall in a time of 17:47.09.

Shimizu broke the longest standing record in program history with her mile time of 17:33.51. The record stood for 34 years and was originally set by Tricia Price during the 1980-81 season. Shimizu placed sixth overall and bested the Pioneer record by nearly three seconds.

"Rachel ignited the team fire with an incredibly gutsy swim. With 300 yards to go her cap began to slide off, creating a drag as her hair began to spill out. In a true display of tenacity, Rachel held her pace to hang on until the end," said Loorz.

Freshman Claire Beaty rounds out the cast of Cal State East Bay swimmers who qualified for championship finals. Her lifetime best came in the evening session as she placed seventh in a time of 2:20.79.

In her first ever PCSC 'A' final she smashed the previous school record and posted a NCAA Provisional qualifying mark. Beaty led a host of Pioneers who filled the consolation final prior to her race.

Courtney Schwiesow won the consolation final (2:22.46), followed by teammate Shaylyn Brownell (2:23.71). East Bay finished first, second and fourth in the heat with Makila Schuck (2:25.36) rounding out the Pioneer finishers.

"We finally drew even with Azusa with a fantastic showing in the 200 breaststroke. It is one of our deepest events in which we broke a team record and had three of four swimmers have significant drops," said Loorz.

Other notable finishes include Arolyn Basham taking 11th in the 200-yard butterfly (2:10.31) and Alyssa Littlefield 13th in the 100 free (53.11). The points added up and set the scene for Cal State East Bay to snag a team podium finish with a solid final relay.

Tenney's final PCSC swim led off the final race of the evening in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Her leadoff leg of 52.11 put the Pioneers in third and was also another "B" cut for the senior captain.

Cutts, Littlefield, and Noelle Farrar closed out the race and touched the wall fourth best in 3:30.44. The Pioneers finished two spots ahead of Azusa Pacific, enough to push them ahead of the Cougars for third.

UC San Diego won the PCSC team title with 1,453 points. Loyola Marymount finished runner-up with 1,222 points.