A steady stream of cheers and support rang out from the stands as the Gauchos completed a dual-meet sweep of Cal Poly this Saturday. The women’s swim and dive team cruised to a victory of 183-110, while the men’s swim and dive rolled, winning 203-85.

Following the sweep, the Gaucho men improve their record to 6-1 overall and the women jump to 10-2 overall. For Cal Poly, both their men and women’s swim and dive team fall to 1-3 overall after the loss.

“It was a very good day for us,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “The seniors stole the show, and looking over the final results, I was happy with how well we swam.”

It was a day committed to honoring the Gaucho seniors and they certainly did not disappoint. Seniors Allie Knight, Sophia Yamauchi, Andrea Ward and Anne Peanasky got the Gauchos rolling early as they earned first in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:45.20. This would prove to be only the first of many victories for these four.

Knight would go on to take first in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events with times of 56.76 and 2:03.08, respectively. Yamauchi took first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 2:07.86.

Ward continued her excellent swimming as she notched individual victories in both the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:51.76 and the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 54.54. Peanasky grabbed first in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:07.55.

Yamauchi, Ward and Peanasky would also combine, with the help of fellow senior Monica Garcia, to finish the day by placing first in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:30.50.

“Cal Poly was a good competitor and it was a good fight,” Ward said. “We had a huge crowd for Senior Weekend and it provided us with a whirlwind of excitement.”

Joined by sophomore Andy Castilleja and junior Wade Allen, seniors Randy Aakhus and Ryan Hanni kicked things off for the men with a win in the 200-yard medley relay putting up a top time of 1:31.89.

Aakhus would later go on to place first in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:49.43 and the 200-yard IM with a time of 1:52.03. Hanni would notch wins in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle with times of 20.55 and 44.84 respectively.

UCSB’s diving also produced some much appreciated points towards the Gauchos’ victories. For the men, freshman Lester Wright came in first place in both the one- and three-meter dives with scores of 352.93 and 276.30, respectively. For the women, sophomore Hannah Tomp secured a second-place finish in the three-meter dive with a score of 237.45.

A stellar performance from both sides provided a near-perfect moment for this group of UCSB seniors. It was the icing on the cake for a team that has been nothing short of excellent throughout the entire season.

“Everyone was so pumped up and it meant a lot for us to get this win,” Yamauchi said. “We knew it would be our last time swimming together in the dual meet format, and we swam some great senior relays.”

The UCSB men’s swim and dive team takes on Stanford this Friday at the Campus Pool at 2 p.m.

A version of this article appeared on page 6 of February 3, 2013’s print edition of The Daily Nexus.

Photo by Margarita Baliyan of The Daily Nexus.