BUFFALO, New York – The UC San Diego men’s and women’s swimming teams completed the first day of the four day NCAA Division II National Championships on Wednesday evening in Buffalo, N.Y. The UC San Diego women’s squad is in fourth place with 69 points, while the men’s team is also in fourth place with 63 points.   UCSD’s top performances on the men’s side came in the 50 free as Dan Perdew swam to a fourth place finish.  The men’s 200 medley relay team finished in fourth with a time of 1:31.70.  On the women’s side, Susan Bell finished fifth in the 200 IM with a time of 2:06.51.  The Triton 200 medley relay team also came up with a fourth place finish in 1:45.68.  UCSD has sent 25 qualifiers to nationals, including 13 men and 12 women.  The UC San Diego men’s and women’s swimming teams are back in action tomorrow at the Burt Flickinger Athletic Center.

On the women’s side, Andrea Lippin finished in 14^th place in the 1000 free, scoring points in the national final for UCSD.  In addition to Bell’s third place finish in the 200 IM, Shannon Simonds finished tenth at 2:08.57.  In the 50 free, Emily Harlan came in at 23.87, good for a sixth place finish.  Liz Whiteley recorded a 24.29 time, finishing in 15^th place. 

On the men’s side, Tim Fuller finished in ninth place with a time of 20.62 in the 50 free, the same event that saw Dan Perdew record a fourth place finish in 20.39.  Andrew Skewes finished 12^th and Daniel Gordh 14^th in three-meter diving and Steven Hardy finished 16^th with a time of 1:55.56 in the 200 IM.