The UCSB’s women’s swimming team opened their season with a dual meet against Pac-10 schools UCLA (3-0 overall) and Oregon State (1-2 overall) at Campus Pool over the weekend. The Gauchos came away with mixed results, defeating the Beavers 155-107 but losing to the Bruins 160-102.

UCSB (1-1 overall) started the meet on the right track by winning the 400 medley relay in a time of 3:49.65. The relay team consisted of junior Jessica Cruzat, freshman Sara Nicponski, junior Erin Yamamoto and sophomore Anne Marie May. In addition, the Gauchos were able to capture two individual wins against the Beavers and Bruins. May took first in the 100 free with a time of 52.64 and second in the 50 free, clocking in at 24.13. Cruzat finished first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.36 and took second in the 200 back and fifth in the 200 IM with times of 2:02.08 and 2:08.46 respectively. Yamamoto placed second in the 100 fly in 57.12 and junior Katy Freeman captured second in the 200 breaststroke with a finish time of 2:17.24.

“I was very pleased with our performance,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “We swam faster and our relays were faster. Our girls are excited and, right now, I just want to keep our momentum going. I thought we swam well against UCLA and we showed them we can compete in that first meet. It was a good effort, and we represented ourselves well.”

Despite the Gauchos’ strong effort, the Bruins proved to be the better squad. Senior Nicolette Teo took the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.34 and 200 breast in 2:17.24, narrowly defeating Freeman at the wall. Junior Anna Poteete dominated in the 50 and 200 free for the Bruins, clocking in at 23.53 and 1:51.31 respectively. With the victory against the Gauchos and Beavers, UCLA’s all-time record is 24-0 against UCSB and 6-0 against OSU. The Bruins also captured the 400 free relay as the Gauchos took second with their time of 3:29.58. The relay team for the Gauchos consisted of May, Yamamoto, junior Nadia Dwidar and sophomore Courtney Bauer.

“[UCLA] always gives us a challenge, which is why we love swimming with them,” Wilson said. “We both swam faster than ever, so [OSU] was really left behind. [Cruzat] swam the best she has in years. I was very proud of her performance. She even beat [an All-American], so it shows how great she can perform for her team and for herself.”

OSU delivered a strong performance despite losing to UCLA and UCSB. The Beavers took first in the 100 and 200 high fly with junior Kayla Rawlings’ times of 57.00 and 2:03.14. Junior Saori Haruguchi won the 200 IM for the Beavers with her time of 2:03.58 and the 200 back in 2:00.48.

The Gauchos will return to the pool on Friday, Oct. 26 in Arizona to compete against Arizona State (3-0 overall) and Utah (1-0 overall) in a non-conference meet.