Nov. 21, 2014
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. - San Diego State extended its lead at the A3 Performance Invitational on Friday as it sent at least one swimmer to the championship final of each of the day's seven events. The meet, formerly the Arena Invitational, is being hosted by UC San Diego at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park. Calif.
The Aztecs ended Friday night with 803 points as it looks to defend the meet title it won last season. UCLA moved into second place with 655 points while UC Santa Barbara dropped from second to third with a score of 606 points. A total of 15 women's teams are participating in this year's Invitational.
San Diego State got Friday evening's finals session off to a good start by capturing first in the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Chelsea Bailey, Cecilia Zaccarelli, Summer Harrison and Anika Apostalon turned in a time of 1:40.26, a mark that enters the SDSU record book as the fifth-fastest time in school history.
In the 400 individual medley, Shannon Herman (4:24.90) and Caroline Mitchell (4:27.61) scored points by finishing fifth and sixth respectively in the championship final. In addition, freshman Cori Casper (4:29.77) placed second in the C final to add points to SDSU's team score.
Three Aztecs competed in the A final of the 100 butterfly led by a third-place finish by Harrison (53.87). Her time was the second-fastest ever recorded by an SDSU swimmer. Loreen Whitfield finished fifth in the event (54.81) with Samantha Guttmacher taking eighth (55.71).
The 200 freestyle saw Natilee Ruiz and Savannah Miller take second and third respectively in the championship final with times of 1:47.58 and 1:48.35. Whitney Weisz also scored for the Aztecs with a second-place finish in the consolation final with a mark of 1:50.66.
Zaccarelli then captured fourth place in the A final of the 100 breaststroke. Her time of 1:03.55 in that race places fifth on the SDSU all-time list. Laura Day also took sixth in the consolation final with a mark of 1:04.88.
In San Diego State's lone individual win of the day, Apostalon clocked a 52.10 to win the 100 backstroke. McKenna Garfein took eighth in that championship final as well with a time of 56.73 while Bailey won the consolation final in 55.45.
The final race of the night had the quartet of Ruiz, Weisz, Miller and Dana Michaels capture third in the 800 freestyle relay in 7:23.97. That mark ranks as the seventh-fastest in SDSU program history
Action continues at the A3 Performance Invitational on Saturday (Nov. 22) with prelims in the 200 backstroke, 1650 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly getting underway at 9:00 a.m. The finals session begins at 5:00 p.m. and will also include the 400 freestyle relay.
TEAM STANDINGS 1. San Diego State....803 2. UCLA...............655 3. UC Santa Barbara...606 4. Hawai'i............468 5. San Jose State.....413 6. UC San Diego.......359 7. Cal Poly...........316 8. Fresno State.......281 9. Cal Baptist........27710. Bakersfield........25211. Loyola Marymount...22512. San Diego..........22413. USC................19214. UCSB Post Grad......5615. La Verne............25