HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay women's swimming team will open their 2019-20 home schedule with their first ever Alumni Meet on Saturday, October 5 at 9:30 a.m. before hosting Mills College on Friday, October 11 at 3:00 p.m. for their first home match against outside competition.
 
The Pioneers are coming off one of their most successful year's in school history. East Bay was crowned 2018-19 Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference (PCSC) Champions for the first time in school history. Despite not accruing any diving points, the Pioneers proved themselves to be the deepest squad in the 12-team field. 
 
Also for the third consecutive season, Head Coach Shane Pelton had a swimmer represent the Pioneers at the national meet. Klinger closed out the 2019 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships by setting two school records in the 50 freestyle & the 100 freestyle, both by previously held by assistant coach Caitlin DeNise and had stood since the 2014 NCAA Championships. Peyton Wayment also competed for the Pioneers in the 500 freestyle and the 1000 freestyle where she finished just 0.6 seconds behind her school record pace.
 
So far on this season, East Bay has only appeared in one meet on the season. The Pioneers took the short trip to Stockton for a dual meet against the University of the Pacific Tigers. Although CSUEB fell 168-94, the Pioneers had plenty of bright spots and momentum to build for the season. Senior Victoria Zukeran was responsible for both of the Pioneer victories on the afternoon. Zukeran placed first in both the 100 and 200 butterfly events. She clocked a time of 58.04 in the 100 butterfly and a time of 2:11.31 in the 200 butterfly.
 
"I was extremely impressed with the energy and effort from the women at that meet," said Pelton. "University of the Pacific had some extremely talented athletes and we managed to race hard and be competitive in every single race. Racing talented teams like this will always be difficult, but it gives our swimmers an opportunity to step up and show that they are willing to race with the best of them. And it will only make them better and more competitive as the season moves on."
 
Returners Serene Augustain, Rebecca Bay, Paige Branson, Madison Chase, Allie Klinger, Abigail Mitchell, Alondra Ortiz, Lauren Ostrander, Isabel Rishwain, Kelee Shimizu, Landry Walker, Maddie Wittkowske and Victoria Zukeran will look to mesh their veteran leadership with newcomers Morgan Frank, Katrionna Furness, Tori Padilla and Leah Robinson.
 
"We have great leadership from our upperclassmen," explained Pelton. "They have really help set the tone and the expectations from the start of the preseason. And most importantly the underclassmen have done a great job of receiving the message and include it into the workout habits."
 
Excitement swirls around Pioneer Pool as the East Bay Swim Team continues their trek through the 2019-20 season schedule. A schedule that would put the team against some of the best teams in the nation. But the Pioneers are geared up and ready for all the challenges that they will face this season.