The UCSB swim teams faced off this past Saturday against long-time rivals,  the Cal Poly Mustangs. It figured to be a favorable matchup for UCSB, as the men had won their past eleven matches, while the women claimed a five-match win streak against the Mustangs. The Gauchos also defeated their rival earlier in the season in their first match with a final score of 171-123 on the women’s side and 161-129 on the men’s side.

Thankfully for the Gauchos, their swimmers continued their outstanding trend and came out with the victory against the Mustangs with the scores being 190.5-101.5 for the men and 165-129 for the women. This extends the men’s win streak over the Mustangs to twelve while the women now own a six game win streak against Cal Poly.

Junior freestyle/IM events swimmer Billy Mullis performed outstanding once again for the Gauchos as he went on to win two individual events against the Mustangs. He took first place in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:39.66 and another victory in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 1:45.75.

Junior Sprint Freestyle swimmer Cheyenne Low also had a solid performance for the women. She took two individual victories against the Mustangs and won the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 55:63. Low also worked the field and took the victory in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 2:00.99 to give her two first place solo victories on the day.

Mullin and Low are only two swimmers of the many on the talented Gauchos roster that contributed to this fantastic victory. Julia Mikota (23.90) won the 50 yard women freestyle with a time of 23.90 and she also won another event in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 51.86. Another large contributor to this victory for the Gauchos was their relay teams. At the beginning of the meet, the men’s “A”  relay took first in the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:30.26, while the women’s “A” relay also took first in the same event with a time of 1:43.74. Towards the end of the match, the women’s A relay again stole a victory with a time of 3:30.10, and their “B” relay was right behind them with a second place time of 3:33.27.

This victory gives the Gauchos swim teams two excellent records to finish the season, with the men ending with a 5-2 record and the women finishing with a 5-1 record, respectively. This win only added to the amazing regular seasons that the two Gaucho swim teams had, and to demoralize their rivals in the final regular season game truly seems to be the cherry on top.

Overall, this was a big win for the Gauchos and gives them tremendous momentum going into the at MPSF Championship, which will be taking place in February. This regular season was also a large stepping stone for what could be in store in the postseason. The Gaucho swim teams seem to have the recipe for success, and it seems as if they could definitely make a deep run the way they’re tearing up the pool as of late. It should be fun to watch, as the mixture of youth, experience, talent, and dedication is all coming together for the Gauchos at the perfect time of the season.

The rest of the Gaucho swim season starts with the MPSF Championship, which will take place in East Los Angeles, California. This Championship, which are all day events and do not have specific start times, starts on February 15, and lasts until February 18.