The UCSB men’s and women’s swim teams welcomed Davis to the Big West and to Campus Pool on Saturday.

The men’s team defeated the Aggies 146.5 to 58.5, but the women were unable to match Davis’ depth and fell 132 to 73. The women also swam against the University of San Diego and fared better against the Toreros, winning 160 to 43.

“There were so many Davis women adding depth and they all swam well,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “This adds a lot to the Big West Conference.”

The meet was not without success though; sophomore Jennifer Schwalb took first in the 200 Individual Medley and the 200 butterfly with times of 2:06.91 and 2:05.39,respectively.

“We can use this meet as a wake-up call,” Wilson said. “More women need to respond in the meet situation.”

Santa Barbara’s men’s team had little struggle handling the lack of depth on the Aggie squad. The Gauchos took first place in the majority of the events and in many of those events took second and third place as well.

Freshman distance swimmer Brooks Felton led his teammates and all others in the pool by finishing first in the 100 freestyle with a personal best time of 9:32.23. Felton was followed by two other Gaucho swimmers, including sophomore distance swimmer Jason Hardy, who placed second with a time of 9:43.72.

“[Hardy] dropped three seconds off of his previous time,” sophomore Pat Cary said. “It was an excellent swim and he’s getting so much better.

Perhaps the best example of Santa Barbara’s depth was the 200 butterfly, in which Gauchos finished in the top three and all finished within one second of each other. Junior butterfly and backstroker Ben Fisher (1:55.39) won the race followed by sophomore breast stroke swimmer Dan Leelachat (1:55.87) and sophomore distance swimmer Brent Nolan (1:55.96).

“We swam really well. They weren’t that much of a match for us,” Cary said. “We have a lot more depth than they do.”

Cary finished second and third in the 100 freestyle (47.77) and 200 Individual Medley (158.59), respectively. These events are not his strong suit, as he is more accustomed to swimming the 100 and 200 butterfly. Cary holds the UCSB record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 48.83.

The meet was the first between the Gauchos and Davis since the Aggies were invited to compete in the Big West Conference earlier this year.

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