Results (PDF)

DAVIS, Calif. -- After opening the season with three dual wins and a first place finish at the Bay Area Invitational, the Cal State East Bay swim team stepped up its level of competition on Friday, taking on Division I squads UC Davis and Fresno State at the Aggies' Schaal Aquatic Center. 

The Pioneers, ranked No. 20 in the nation in Division II, fell in both duals. They lost to the Bulldogs 201-67 and fell to UC Davis by a score of 226-51. East Bay still has four Division I teams remaining on its slate, a scheduling strategy head coach Shane Pelton employed last year, which seemed to pay off when the squad exceeded expectations at both PCSC and NCAA Championships.

Senior All-American Morgan McClure led the Pioneers on Friday, notching the team's only victory of the afternoon. She took first place in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 2:06.49, posting the fastest splits in the field in each of the final two legs to chase down a trip of opponents for the win.

The 200 IM was one of three individual events for McClure, whose day started with the first race of the meet. She was CSUEB's top finisher in the 100 Backstroke, finishing in sixth place in 59.45. Newcomers Allie Klinger and Tatum Roepke scored points in the event with ninth and 10th place finishes, respectively.

Senior Claire Beaty paced the Pioneers with a fourth place showing in the next event, the 100 Breaststroke, clocking in at 1:07.53. Yingfei Zhang was less than a second behind her, finishing sixth. 

Vivy Hua was the top Pioneer in the 100 Butterfly, placing seventh in 58.53. Victoria Zukeran was three-tenths behind her with a ninth place finish, followed by Madison Faulkner in 10th.

Newcomer Peyton Wayment continued a strong early-season performance in the distance events. The freshman took fifth place in 10:48.52 to lead a trio of Pioneers in the 1000 Freestyle. Ryleigh Weight scored ninth place points, with Madison Chase touching the wall in 10th. 

Fellow rookie Serene Augustain followed with an outstanding effort in the 200 Freestyle, finishing in third place in 1:56.94. Newcomer Maddie Hulse placed sixth in that race, followed by Abigail Mitchell in eighth. 

Hua led the Pioneers with a fifth place showing in the 50 Freestyle sprint, finishing less than seventh-tenths behind the winner in 24.78. Klinger (ninth place) and Shelby Parker (10th) also scored points for CSUEB in the shortest race of the day.

McClure followed that with her victory in the 200 IM. Zukeran also swam well in that race with an eighth place finish, and Beaty clocked in 10th. Zukeran was back in the pool for the next event, the 200 Butterfly, in which she was CSUEB's top swimmer with a seventh place finish. Faulkner and Elizabeth Cocker also scored points in the 200 Fly, taking ninth and tenth place, respectively. 

Hua, Parker, Mitchell, and Klinger represented East Bay well in the 100 Freestyle, all finishing under 56 seconds. Hua was the fastest Pioneer in that race with a seventh place finish.

McClure took sixth place to pace the Pioneers in the 200 Backstroke with a time of 2:10.87, just ahead of teammate Miranda McDonnell in seventh. 

In the next event, the trio of Augustain (seventh place), Hulse (ninth), and Wayment (10th) notched points for East Bay in the 500 Freestyle. Senior Kali Kearns was just behind them in 11th.

Beaty posted a solid time of 2:24.46 to lead the Pioneers with a sixth place finish in the 200 Breaststroke. Junior Rita Gomez scored points in that race as well, placing eighth. 

The meet closed with the 800 Freestyle Relay, which saw the Pioneers finish in fourth place. The foursome of Augustain, McClure, Hua, and Hulse was barely beaten by the "B" team from UC Davis, completing the relay in 7:46.58.