Results (PDF)

LA MIRADA, Calif. -- In its first competition of the 2018-19 season, the Cal State East Bay swim team took first place at the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference (PSCS) Relays on Friday afternoon at Splash! Regional Aquatic Center. 

The Pioneers won seven of the 10 races and notched runner-up finishes in the other three, scoring 84 points to top conference rivals Concordia Irvine (79), Dixie State (56), Biola (51), and Azusa Pacific (48).

"I was extremely pleased with today's results," said head coach Shane Pelton. "I really didn't know what to expect for our first competition. We graduated a lot of talented individuals last year and we needed some people to step up this season. After watching today's performances, I believe we are in a great spot."

East Bay began the meet with a victory in the first event, as the trio of Victoria Zukeran, Vivy Hua, and Allie Klinger completed the 3x100 Butterfly Relay in 2:56.26, four seconds ahead of APU. 

The Pioneers won the next event as well, although by a much tighter margin. Miranda McDonnell, Tatum Roepke, and newcomer Alondra Ortiz touched the wall less than a second ahead of second-place Concordia in the 3x100 Backstroke Relay, finishing in 2:58.30.

Biola bested the Pioneers in the third women's event, the 3x100 Breaststroke Relay, by just four-tenths of a second. That trio included freshmen Ciera Nasso and Rebecca Bay, and was anchored by senior Laurel Carpenter.

The meet progressed to four-leg relays starting with the fourth women's event, the 800 Freestyle Relay. The Pioneers took second place in that one as well, with Serene Augustain, Payton Wayment, Jande Monteon, and Maddie Hulse combined for a time of 7:58.93. Roepke, Klinger, Hua, and Augustain then got East Bay back on top with a three-second victory in the next race, the 50-100-150-200 Relay, posting a first-place time of 4:43.36.

"I thought Serene really excelled today," Pelton commented on the sophomore from Arizona. "She had a phenomenal summer of training and it showed in her performances today. All 4 of her races were big swims and great efforts. I truly believe that she is just starting to reach her true potential."

Ortiz, Nasso, Zukeran, and Monteon notched a time of 4:02.64 in the 400 Medley Relay, but were edged out by Concordia for first place. The team standings were extremely tight at that point, but the Pioneers proceeded to close the meet by winning the final four races to secure the overall victory.

That run started with an extremely narrow win in the 200 Freestyle Relay, as Klinger, Hua, Roepke, and newcomer Lauren Ostrander beat Biola by just one-tenth of a second with a time of 1:40.32.

The Pioneers followed that with a dominant effort in the lone distance race of the day, the 3x500 Freestyle Relay. Augustain, Wayment, and Hulse finished in 15:56.23, nearly 35 seconds ahead of the next-closest team.

"We talked beforehand about needing individuals to step up and swim big this year, and I think Maddie Hulse did just that," Pelton praised. "She swam HUGE early in the 800 Free relay, then carried that over into all of her other races. She also used her senior leadership and positive attitude to affect the others around her and help keep the happy vibes rolling."

Zukeran, Carpenter, Ryleigh Weight, and McDonnell beat Dixie State by three seconds in the 4x100 IM Relay for East Bay's third straight first-place finish. The meet then wrapped up with Klinger, Hua, Roepke, and Augustain posting an impressive victory in the 400 Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:38.46.

"Early in the season I'm not really concerned with winning a meet or putting up super fast times, I'm more interested in seeing what kind of racers we have," noted Pelton. "Do we do the little things right? Do we want it more than the individual next to us? Can we get better as we get more tired? And most importantly, what kind of team are we going to be? The team aspect can be lost in our sport, but when you have a group of women that swim for each other, rather than themselves, they become an incredibly dangerous group."

The Pioneers will be back in the pool on Saturday to race against the same set of opponents at the PCSC Pentathlon, which will wrap up the opening weekend of the season.