LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego swimming and diving teams completed their final home meet of the season victoriously, with both the men's and women's teams defeating Cal Baptist. The Triton men won by a final score of 173-127, while the women took 15-of-16 events en route to a 231-66 decision. Jereme Barnett-Woods and Daniel Perdew each won multiple individual events for UCSD men, while Beth Dong, Alex Henley, Danie Niculescu, and Anju Shimura each picked up multiple wins on the women's side.
The meet was preceded by a pregame ceremony honoring the nine seniors on this year's team, with Carianne Cunningham, Karla Holman, and Niculescu for the women and Greg Goodell, Barnett-Woods, Juan Pablo Carrillo, Andy Islip, Todd Langland, and Perdew on the men's side recognized for their contributions to the Triton program during their collegiate careers.
"The two standout performers that I saw out there today were Juan [Pablo Carrillo] and Alex [Henley],” said head coach Scott McGihon. “Carrillo already had the top time in the nation coming in to the meet for the 100 breast. Now he puts up 56.40, which will be the second-fastest time. For Henley, today was only the second time in four years she's competed in the 200 fly and she swam it in 2:03.88. They both had a great day out there."
Carrillo's winning time in the 100 breast was a full four seconds better than the next finisher in the event, while he also swam with the 200 medley relay team that opened the day with a first place finish at 1:33.61. Henley won the 200 fly by over four seconds, and picked up a win in the 400 IM with a time of 4:28.49, nearly 22 seconds faster than the second place finisher.
Perdew's victories came in the 50 free and 100 fly, posting times of 21.14 and 51.53, respectively. Dong won both distance events, posting a time of 5:08.34 in the 500 and 10:29.06 in the 1000 free. Niculescu was the winning participant in both the one meter and three meter dives, while Shimura finished first in the 100 back, 200 back, and as part of both the 200 medley and 200 free relays.
"Heading into the conference championships next month, I'd like to see more teammates qualify for the NCAA Championships on both the men's and women's sides,” said Henley. “It's always great to have a large group there with everyone supporting each other through the competition."
The Tritons will be able to add to their group attending the NCAA Championships as they travel to UC Davis for a dual meet next Saturday, before taking part in the PCSC Championships, Feb. 10-13 in Long Beach.
