Teams: UC Davis at Pacific
Where: Chris Kyeldson Pool – Stockton, Calif.
When: Saturday at noon
Who to Watch: San Leandro, Calif. native Lisa Bender is shredding up the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke this season. The sophomore captured a solid second place showing last weekend at UC Santa Barbara, as well as a new lifetime best in the 100.
Bender’s new personal record of 1:06.96 moved her up to No. 7 all time by an Aggie swimmer in the 100-breast. She’s less then three-tenths of a second shy of cracking into the top five.
Her personal record also ranks No. 6 in the Big West Conference.
Bender consistently brings points to the table, placing in the 100-breast at the UCSB dual, the San Jose State dual and at UC Santa Cruz.
Did you know? Bender is a two-sport athlete, competing in both swimming and water polo.
Preview: Looking to bounce back from their tough road trip to Santa Barbara, the men’s and women’s swimming teams will be attending their third dual in as many weeks, traveling to Pacific for the second time this season.
UC Davis last faced the Tigers at the Pacific Invitational on Oct. 18. It did not participate in the first day of competition, preventing the team from placing overall.
Despite only competing in the second day of competition, the Aggies were on the heels of the Tigers, who competed on both days.
In a preseason poll, Big West coaches ranked UC Davis ahead of Pacific, with the Aggie men and women ranked second and third, respectively. Meanwhile, the polls placed the Tigers fifth in both categories.
The dual this weekend will be another chance for the Aggies to match up one-on-one with a conference rival, and should allow for good competition both within the squad and with the Tigers.
–Andrea Gutierrez
