WHITTIER, Calif. - The 2015 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Swimming & Diving Championships hosted by Cal Lutheran at Whittier College came to a close in similar fashion to previous years with the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps teams running away with the team titles.
The Athenas won top team honors for the 13th consecutive year while the Stags clinched their eighth straight title. Maddie Lovrensky did not lose a SCIAC championship race in her four year career at La Verne and was thus selected as the SCIAC Female Athlete of the Year. Redlands senior Jeff Depew who has excelled at the SCAIC and National level throughout his career and did not lose a conference race this year was honored as the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Year. The SCIAC Newcomer of the Year for the men and women both came from Pomona-Pitzer with freshmen Kelsey Thomas and Mark Hallman earning the honor.
Behind CMS (1153) on the women's side were Pomona-Pitzer (1085), Redlands (709), Whittier (396), Occidental (391), La Verne (370), Chapman (315), Cal Lutheran (151) and Caltech (89).
The CMS (1148.5) men's team was followed by Pomona-Pitzer (824), Redlands (575), Cal Lutheran (530), Occidental (456), Whittier (389.5), La Verne (298), Chapman (238) and Caltech (229).
After a great three days, the skies opened up and rained down on the final session of the meet, though that did not deter the swimmers as a bunch more NCAA 'B' were reached. The seniors from all nine schools were recognized just before the first starting gun went off.
Prior to the swimming events, the men's one-meter diving competition came to a close in perfect fashion for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' senior James Stevick. The three-time conference champion in the event wrapped up his SCIAC career with a series of perfect 10's on his final dive. Read more about the diving finals here.
The longest races of the meet started the finals session with the women's 1650. Pomona-Pitzer freshman Kelsey Thomas cruised to her first SCIAC title in the event, winning by more than 11 seconds in 17:13.64. Second place went to CMS senior Molly Loftus (17:25.21) and also earning her first All-SCIAC recognition in the event was CMS freshman Lauren Rosenberger (17:33.71).
A tight race from the get-go, the men's 1650 featured an epic battle between a freshman and a senior with four men earning NCAA 'B' cuts in a fast field. Cal Lutheran first-time mile qualifier Jonah Hobbs won his first SCIAC title in a ridiculous 40 second school record time of 15:53.76. After swimming stroke-for-stroke throughout and swapping leads midway through the race while also taking a slight lead 1400 yards in was CMS senior Alex Mendoza who ultimately pulled up second in 15:55.60 after Hobbs pulled away in the last 25 yards. Another freshman in Brace Young (CMS) hit the wall third in 16:14.58.
Maddie Lovrensky won her final individual SCIAC event tonight, clocking a 2:02.78 in the 200 backstroke to cap off a standout career. The sophomore, freshman tandem of Natalie Green (2:06.11) and Rachel Haney (2:06.86) from CMS and Redlands, respectively, swam together throughout to earn the other two All-SCIAC honors.
When the men's 200 back entered the water, it was nearly an identical finish to the 100 back last night with CMS' Matthew Williams locking up the title in 1:47.45. Swapping the second and third spots from the shorter race were Will Tyrrell (UR) and Daniel To (PP). Tyrrell went a 1:51.63 and To finished in 1:53.34, which were all NCAA 'B' cuts.
PP senior Vicky Gyorffy was the first woman to the wall in the 100 free, clocking a 52.67, followed by LillyBelle Deer, a Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior, in 53.33. The third spot on the podium will be shared between PP freshman Alex Seidel and CMS sophomore Courtney Chan as they hit the wall simultaneously in 53.36.
Mark Hallman continued to haul in All-SCIAC accolades at his first SCIAC Championships. He won the 100 free title in 45.36 ahead of the Stags' Alex Poltash (45.57) and Caltech freshman Henry Baer whose time of 45.94 is a new school record for the Beavers.
One day after winning the 100 breaststroke, CMS sophomore Emily McKinnon earned a return trip to the top of the podium with a 200 breast winning time of 2:19.78. Because of a scoreboard malfunction, the judges conferred to determine the final two All-SCIAC recipients. Second place went to Kelly Ngo, joining her teammate, with an official time of 2:24.96 and Maki Tohmon also stepped back up on the podium for Pomona-Pitzer again after clocking a 2:23.29.
Winning his second breaststroke race in as many days, Occidental senior Steven Van Deventer set another Meet record with a 200 breast time of 2:00.12 to pace a fast field of four NCAA'B' qualifiers. Second went to a senior from La Verne in Mike Sanchez (2:04.46) with the race for the third spot on the podium a close one, stolen by sophomore Sagehens swimmer Kyle Dalrymple in 2:06.21.
The top two women's 200 butterfly finishers were freshmen who each notched NCAA 'B' cuts. Kara Miller-Radest (PP) won her first SCIAC race in a time of 2:04.74 and Emily Mabrouk (UR) was next in 2:07.68. Stephanie Doi returned to the podium after a second placed 100 fly finish last night as she went a 2:09.70 in the longer event.
In the final individual race of his swimming career, Redlands senior Jeff Depew went out in style by setting a new Meet record in the 200 butterfly with a swim of 1:47.58. CMS took the second and third spots with Marc Blumberg winning another All-SCIAC recognition in 1:50.69 and Matt Valentine doing the same after clocking a 1:51.63. Overall, six men hit NCAA 'B' cuts in the race.
Just as they did to open the meet with a win in the 200 Medley Relay, the Athenas claimed the final relay of the week, too, as the team of Kayla Flaten, Elizabeth Carrade, Deer, and Ngo clinched the title with a time of 3:30.30. The Pomona-Pitzer group of Tohmon, Seidel, Cayla Nishizaki and Gyorffy combined for second in 3:31.14 and Ellie Jaques, Summer Harp, Emily Waddell and Lauren Robeznieks joined up for a third place finish for the Bulldogs in 3:34.10.
With teams lining the pool deck and the rain falling down for the final event of the night between the lanes, the men's 400 Free Relay, went to the Stags in a near-meet record time of 3:01.81 from Williams, Joel Hinton, Patrick Shultz and Poltash. The next two teams to the wall were separated by just nine hundredths of a second. Pomona-Pitzer's quartet of Andrew Savage, Hugh Berryman, Eirik Hansen and Hallman finished in 3:04.38 for second while the final All-SCIAC recognition of the meet belonged to Redlands after Tyrrell, Depew, Eric Loprete and Nelson Glendinning went a 3:04.47.
In the next week or so student-athletes will be informed of official NCAA qualifying times for the Division III National Championships in Shenandoah, Texas from March 18-21, 2015.
Results: 2015 SCIAC Championships
Tournament Central: 2015 SCIAC Championships
SCIAC Twitter: https://twitter.com/2015SCIACchamps
