SAN JOSE, Calif., -- The No. 25 ranked Cal State East Bay swim team turned in a strong collective performance on Friday in a dual meet against San Jose State at SJSU Aquatics Center.
 
The Pioneers were defeated 194-67 by the Division I Spartans, but picked up one event victory and raced to close finishes in several other events. It was an impressive competitive effort for the team ahead of their final home meet tomorrow and the conference championships next month.
 
SJSU managed a first, second and third place finishes in the opening event, the 200 Medley Relay, but the CSUEB foursome of Alondra Ortiz, Tori Padilla, Victoria Zukeran and Allie Klinger notched fourth place just seven seconds behind first place.
 
The Pioneers showed they were not intimidated by visiting the Spartans right from the outset. The longest event in a relatively brief 14-event program was the 1000 Free, for which Peyton Wayment was East Bay's top finisher. She notched second place by a four seconds, touching the wall in 10:38.01. Maddie Wittkowske and Sofia Moufarrej scored points with third and fourth place finishes.
 
Isabel Rishwain led the way for CSUEB in the 200 Free, taking third in 1:55.82. Morgan Frank, Serene Augustain and Landry Walker compiled fourth through sixth place finishes. The next event, the 100 Back saw Pioneers Alondra Ortiz and Lauren Ostrander earned points for CUSEB.
 
In the next event, Tori Padilla paced East Bay in the 100 Breast with Rebecca Bay and Abigail Mitchell placing sixth and seventh.
 
The Pioneers then proceeded to earn their lone victory of the afternoon with a dramatic finish that was about as close as it can be. Victoria Zukeran was victorious in the 200 Fly with a time of 2:09.33, just two hundredths of a second ahead of the runner-up.
 
Allie Klinger followed that with a fourth place finish in the 50 Free, earning more points for the Pioneers. That was followed by the 100 Free, which was one of the strongest events for the Pioneers as they posted three of the top six finishers. Klinger led the way in fourth place, followed closely by Isabel Rishwain in fifth and Kelee Shimizu in sixth.
 
Alondra Ortiz and Paige Branson followed that with a solid effort in the 200 Back to secure points for the Pioneers. Rebecca Bay and Landry Walker followed by touching the wall in fifth and sixth place in the 200 Breast.
 
Morgan Frank, Peyton Wayment and Maddie Wittkowske earned points for East Bay notching third through fifth place finishes. Victoria Zukeran was back in the pool for the next race as she swam to a runner-up finish in the 100 Fly in 58.28, just ahead of Sofia Moufarrej in fourth place.
 
That was followed by the 400 IM where Landry Walker and Serene Augustain placed fifth and sixth to collect points for East Bay. The afternoon finished with the 200 Free Relay, in which the quartet of Allie Klinger, Victoria Zukeran, Katrionna Furness and Isabel Rishwain placed third. 
 
The Pioneers will be back in the pool tomorrow for their Senior Day dual meet against Fresno Pacific at 10 AM in Pioneer Pool.