This weekend’s field trip to Arizona for the women’s and men’s swim teams offered some valuable lessons.

The UCSB women’s team defeated Arizona State (1-1 overall) 170.5 to 163.5 and lost to Penn State (2-0 overall) 64.5 to 102.5, while the men’s team lost to the Sun Devils (2-0 overall) 161 to 173. The decisions put the Gaucho women at 2-2 overall and the men at 0-1.

The last event of Saturday’s dual meet, the 400-meter freestyle relay, was the deciding event for the men’s matchup. After leading the entire meet, UCSB was out-touched by .08 seconds and dropped the victory.

“Let’s put it this way. They’re pleased with their swims, but disappointed in losing – they went there to win,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said.

On the other side, the women’s team came from behind on the second day of competition to upset Arizona State. The team has now beaten two out of the three Pac-10 teams it has faced this year, demonstrating the quickness of this season’s squad.

“We brought a lot of energy with us and it paid off big time,” Wilson said. “Our women were not to be denied.”

Junior Jennifer Schwalb continued to dominate the competition, winning both the 200 butterfly and the 200 individual medley. Schwalb’s times in the events were fast enough to qualify for NCAA consideration. She also had a career-best time in the 500 freestyle, an event that Schwalb does not swim often.

Freshman Jenisse Demeulenaere took the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.26, beating both Arizona State and Penn State swimmers.

Freshman Liz Wagner dominated the 200 freestyle, winning the event Friday and Saturday. She also had a personal-best time in the 500 freestyle, logging a 4:59 time.

The men’s team also posted some strong individual swims. UCSB swept the 100-meter backstroke with senior Pat Ota, freshman Chris Good and senior TK Erwin finishing in order.

Junior Pat Cary won the 100 butterfly with a 49.71 time. The Gauchos also finished first and second in the 200-meter freestyle with a pair of quick swims by junior Myles Peck and senior Grant Hurst.

Both the men’s and women’s teams will face UCSD at 10 a.m. Nov. 5 at Campus Pool.