For the first time this season, only the men’s swimmers and divers were scheduled to play.
While they were alone in the pool, they were joined in spirit by many of the female swimmers who were on hand to root for their fellow Aggies.
The women along with other Aggie fans witnessed an exciting battle, one in which the Aggies emerged victorious over Fresno Pacific by a cumulative score of 167-125.
The UC Davis victory was made possible by seven wins in individual events along with victories in both diving events.
The win over the Sunbirds extends the men’s record to 4-0.
To begin the day, UC Davis won the 200-yard medley relay. The “A” squad of Jimmy Fong, Scott Weltz, Daniel Donnelly and Russ Underwood clocked in at 1:33.97. Sophomore Reid Hartz then gave the Aggies their first individual win as he finished first in the 1000-meter freestyle.
The Aggies swept the top three spots in the 200-meter butterfly with the help of Senior Ed Morrison, who came up with a season-best time of 1:58:29.
For the Sunbirds, Carl Weigley swam well in light of his team’s loss. Weigley won three individual events, including the 50 and 100-meter freestyles, as well as the 100-meter butterfly. The Sunbirds claimed a win in the 400-meter freestyle relay.
After the defeat of Fresno Pacific, men’s coach Pete Motekaitis was humble in victory as he praised Fresno Pacific, pointing out that they have some very good swimmers on their team. He claimed the win could be attributed to the superior depth of the UC Davis squad.
On the diving board, Juniors Paul Navo and Jason Andrade led the way for UC Davis.
In the 3-meter diving component, Andrade scored an impressive 291.10.
All four of the Aggies’ meets have taken place in the friendly confines of the Schaal Aquatics Center and after the meet, Motekaitis talked about the luxury of competing at the Schaal Aquatics Center. He said that the tremendous facilities serve as added benefits while admitting it was ultimately his team’s focus that was the decisive factor.
For the Aggies, there won’t be any more home meets in the fall. Neither the women nor men will return to Schaal Pool until a Jan. 16 contest against Pacific.
AARON FISCHMAN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
