The UCSB men’s and women’s swimming teams viewed the two-day Big West Shootout as their first opportunity to evaluate where they stand, but the mixed results did not help.

The shootout took place in Irvine, where the Gauchos faced five Western Division teams. Each day’s results proved the saying that tomorrow is always a new day.

Both the men’s and women’s squads easily defeated Irvine, Cal Poly and Cal State Northridge, yet Pacific surged ahead of the pack.

The women’s team remained in the spotlight for most of the meet, as the middle-lane swimmers took several first- and second-place finishes. Sophomore Lindsay Dalonzo won the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 57.00 seconds. She then continued to win the 200 backstroke, followed by Gaucho swimmers Stephanie Netzley and Danielle Taylor to crown UCSB with first, second and third place in that event.

Sophomore Julia King came through to take first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.47, and sophomore Pam Wong won the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:23.46. At the end of the day, the women defeated the Anteaters by 30 points, Cal Poly by 98 and CSUN by 74. UOP outswam UCSB 80-42.

The men’s squad posted similar final results at the end of Friday’s competition. Junior Eric Koch won the lengthy 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:07.52.

Freshman David Deloria took second place in the 200 freestyle, followed by junior Gavin Kelly, who claimed third. Sophomore Derek Ogata proved his worth at the 100 breaststroke , earning second place.

At the end of the day, UCSB defeated UCI by 12 points, Cal Poly by 78, CSUN by 76 and lost to UOP by 34 points.

The same good fortune did not carry over to Saturday, however, as both the men’s and women’s teams finished in fourth place.

The University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Washington and UOP defeated the women’s team. The men suffered losses to the University of Hawaii, UNLV and UOP.

UCSB will need to overcome the Tigers’ stranglehold on the Big West if the Gauchos want to clinch first place at the 2003 Big West Championships. This weekend’s competitions created the blueprint for this goal.

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