The UCSB men’s and women’s swimming teams both earned second place at the 2003 Big West Swimming and Diving Championships last week. The event began on Wednesday morning and continued until Friday night at the Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

The University of the Pacific finished first in both the men’s and women’s events. On the men’s side, the Tigers won five of the final seven matches on Friday to capture their second consecutive conference championship.

The UCSB men’s team earned 791.5 team points compared to the 896.5 posted by UOP. Irvine (625), Cal Poly (437) and Northridge (299) trailed behind. Junior Eric Koch won the Gauchos’ only event, recording a time of 15:37.40 in the 1,650-meter freestyle. Freshman T.K. Erwin touched in at second place in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:49.57 while junior Shaun Crossman placed second in the 200 butterfly at 1:49.77.

The women’s team garnered 776 total points while Pacific won with 935. Irvine (714), Cal Poly (384) and Northridge (365) finished in the same spots as their male counterparts. Sophomore Lindsay Dalonzo won the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:58.32 while senior Julia King, in her last event as a Gaucho, posted a second-place finish in the 100 freestyle in 51.29.

– Nexus Staff Report