The strong start for the men’s swim team continued this weekend, as the Gauchos (5-1) dominated USC (1-2) on Saturday at Campus Pool. However, Santa Barbara’s attempt at sweeping the weekend fell just short as the women (4-3) were unable to keep pace with the Trojans (3-2). The men came away with an easy 148-57 victory, their first ever over the Trojans, while the women fell 109-94.

“We had an excellent meet, as both our teams swam very well,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “The men rolled, and we kind of knew it was going happen that way. Our guys swam fast, and our women just lost by 15 points, and we didn’t have our top swimmers there due to sicknesses, so they performed very well.”

The men saw excellent performances from sophomores Scott Vogelgesang and Danny McClary, who each took home two victories. Vogelgesang took first in the 200 free in 1:41.11 and the 500 free – an event he normally doesn’t swim – with a time of 4:38.18. McClary took first in the 200 individual medley and 200 fly with times of 1:54.17 and 1:53.40 respectively. Out of 11 events, the Gauchos notched 10 wins as the Trojans were only able to win the 1000 free.

The 400 medley relay team, consisting of McClary, juniors Jeff Sudbury and Bradley Matsumoto and sophomore Matt Bartlett, easily took first place with a time of 3:24.80. The Gaucho “B” relay team was a close second in 3:27.68.

“Everyone had the focus in this meet, and we had been training really hard for the past two weeks, so we knew what was at stake,” senior captain Brooks Felton said. “The only event we lost was the 1000 free, but the meet was pretty much Gauchos beating Gauchos, which is exactly what we wanted.”

Sudbury won the 50 free with his time of 20.83, and sophomore Joe Wood took the 100 free in 46.81, barely edging out Matsumoto. Junior Travis Jepson took the 200 breast for the Gauchos with his time of 2:06.10. Junior Chris Good won the 200 back in 1:51.63, and junior Brett Chamberlain proved the Gauchos’ depth by taking second in the 1000 free in 9:42.22. To finish the meet, the men’s 200 free relay beat the Trojans by over two seconds with a time of 1:23.67.

“We’ve always had a good relationship with [USC], and both teams really respect each other,” Felton said. “I am just thrilled to have been part of the milestone for the Gauchos. We all put our effort into it, and it paid off.”

On the opposite side of the pool, the women showed their power, despite the loss. Sophomore Anne Marie May led the women by winning two individual events. May cruised through the 50 free by clocking in at 23.79. Fellow sophomore Naomi Javanifard took third with a time of 24.78. Freshman Brittany Borowitz proved she could compete with USC’s star and US National Team member junior Rebecca Soni by taking second in the 200 individual medley in 2:07.79. Soni faced another close battle in the 200 breast, barely edging UCSB junior Katy Freeman.

“The kids stood up. [Katy] just went out there and competed with USC’s top swimmer in the country,” Wilson said. “[Anne Marie] is pretty legit, and that’s all I could say. It was a great weekend.”

The Gauchos will return again to Campus Pool on Friday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. to face conference rival Cal State Northridge (0-1 overall for both men and women).