Jan. 9, 2016
San José, Calif. --- The San José State Spartans women's swimming team won 10-of-14 events in a victory over the Cal State East Bay Pioneers, 142-116, at the Aquatics Center on Saturday.
"Overall, we are generally happy with the performance. There are some areas we could have been more ready and there are areas where we are really strong," said Head Coach Sage Hopkins.
The Spartans (6-2) had four swimmers, freshman Marley Maluafiti, sophomore Colleen Humel and seniors Brynne Beneke and Riley Spitser, each earned two wins en route of beating the Pioneers (3-2) in San José State's first home meet of the season.
"We took the opportunity to mix our lineup around a little bit. We went with some non-traditional events for some people to give them a change to swim some events they normally wouldn't," Hopkins said.
The first Spartan to reach two wins on the day was Humel in the 100-yard individual medley and the 100-yard backstroke. Humel finished with a time of 1:00.10 in the 100 individual medley, followed by sophomore Taylor Lehr in second and junior Taylor Solorio in third for a San José State sweep. Humel holds the school record in the 100 individual medley with a mark of 59.96.
"I do all I can for this team, getting a win is always nice," Humel said. "I'm really happy with how we're doing with how sore and tired we all are."
Leading the 100 backstroke the entire race, Humel touched in 57.90 to beat Cal State East Bay's Mariam Lowe by 1.61 seconds. Humel posted NCAA B standard provisional qualifying times in the 100 backstroke and the 200-yard backstroke at the A3 Performance invitational in November.
Picking up back-to-back wins for the Spartans, Beneke finished first in the 50-yard freestyle with a mark of 24.58 before jumping back into the pool for the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 52.74.
"It felt pretty good to get two wins, especially being the first meet home. We only have one more home meet so hopefully I can get two more at the next meet," Beneke said.
Adding wins in the 200-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle to the Spartans win total, Spitser won by a margin of 2.37 seconds over the Pioneers' Madison Hauanio in the 200 freestyle. Senior Alli Davis finished third for San José State in the race.
"It's always really fun to get a couple wins for the team because that's exactly what it is, for the team," Spitser said.
Spitser finished the 500 freestyle in 5:03.53 with a lead of 2.75 seconds over Cal State East Bay's Rachel Shimisu. Sophomore Allyson Fellows was fourth for the Spartans. Spitser has an NCAA B standard provision qualifying time in the 500 freestyle posted at the A3 Performance Invitational.
"It's always really motivating for me to think about who else on the team is swimming with me," Spitser said. "That's usually Allison Fellows, Taylor Lehr or Kendal Guy. They help me get through."
Maluafiti was the last to earn two wins in the Spartans dual meet win over the Pioneers with first place finishes in the 100-yard and 200-yard butterfly. In the 200 butterfly, Maluafiti took a commanding 7.17 second lead over Cal State East Bay's Courtney Nuttall for the win.
"I've been really excited to swim for the team. The girls have made it really easy to adjust in my freshman year, I'm excited and happy that I'm making an impact," Maluafiti said.
In her second first place finish, Maluafiti touched in 57.95 in the 100 Butterfly followed by teammate sophomore Brenna Bushey in second with a time of 58.18.
Rounding out San José State's 10 event wins over Cal State East Bay is Solorio in the 100-yard breaststroke and senior Amanda Buxbaum in the 200 breaststroke.
The Spartans return to the Aquatics Center on January 23 to honor the graduating class on Senior Day as they take on Mountain West Conference opponent Nevada.
by Brian S. Stanley, SJSU athletics media relations student assistant
MEET RESULTS
Team Score -- San José State 142, Cal State East Bay 116
200 Medley Relay -- 1, Cal State East Bay, 1:48.65. 2, San José State A (Lisa Ellis, Natasha Moffitt, Angel Van Hofwegen, Marley Maluafiti), 1:49.56. 3, San José State B (Riley Spitser, Amanda Buxbaum, Alli Davis, Brittany Heng), 1:50.87.
100 Individual Medley -- 1, Colleen Humel, San José State, 1:00.10. 2, Taylor Lehr, San José State, 1:01.05. 3, Taylor Solorio, San José State, 1:01.48. San José State exhibition -- 4, Brenna Bushey, 1:02.48.
200 Freestyle -- 1, Riley Spitser, San José State, 1:51.58. 2, Madison Hauanio, Cal State East Bay, 1:53.95. 3, Alli Davis, San José State, 1:54.73. Other San José State Finishers -- 6, Kendal Guy, 1:58.56. Exhibition -- Allyson Fellows, 2:02.34.
100 Backstroke -- 1, Colleen Humel, San José State, 57.90. 2, Mariam Lowe, Cal State East Bay, 59.51. 3, Morgan McClure, Cal State East Bay, 1:00.10. Other San José State Finishers -- 4, Taylor Lehr, 1:01.06. 5, Lisa Ellis, 1:03.02.
100 Breaststroke -- 1, Taylor Solorio, San José State, 1:07.14. 2, Makila Schuck, Cal State East Bay, 1:07.44. 3, Amanda Buxbaum, San José State, 1:08.09. Other San José State Finishes -- 4, Natasha Moffitt, 1:08.50.
200 Butterfly -- 1, Marley Maluafiti, San José State, 2:06.67. 2, Courtney Nuttall, Cal State East Bay, 2:13.84. 3, Tana Wilson, Cal State East Bay, 2:18.00.
50 Freestyle -- 1, Brynne Beneke, San José State, 24.58. 2, Vivy Hau, Cal State East Bay, 24.90. 3, Alyssa Littlefield, Cal State East Bay, 24.97. Other San José State Finishes -- 4, Angel Van Hofwegen, 25.08. 5, Kimberlee Giggey, 25.12. Exhibition -- 6, Brittany Heng, 25.20.
100 Freestyle -- 1, Brynne Beneke, San José State, 52.74. 2, Vivy Hau, Cal State East Bay, 53.55. 3, Alli Davis, San José State, 54.16. Other San José State Finishers -- 5, Kimberlee Giggey, 54.67. Exhibition -- 6, Brittany Heng, 55.54. Kendal Guy, 54.93
200 Backstroke -- 1, Madison Hauanio, Cal State East Bay, 2:09.42. 2, Morgan McClure, Cal State East Bay, 2:10.46. 3, Lisa Ellis, San José State, 2:13.47.
200 Breaststroke -- 1, Amanda Buxbaum, San José State, 2:24.56. 2, Claire Beaty, Cal State East Bay, 2:25.04. 3, Taylor Solorio, San José State, 2:25.07. Other San José State Finishers -- 4, Natasha Moffitt, 2:28.42.
500 Freestyle -- 1, Riley Spitser, San José State, 5:03.53. 2, Rachel Shimizu, Cal State East Bay, 5:06.28. 3, Hannah Cutts, Cal State East Bay, 5:10.90. Other San José State Finishes -- 4, Allyson Fellows, 5:16.54.
100 Butterfly -- 1, Marley Maluafiti, San José State, 57.95. 2, Brenna Bushey, San José State, 58.18. 3, Vivy Hua, Cal State East Bay, 59.06. Other San José State Finishes -- 4, Angel Van Hofwegen, 59.89. Exhibition -- 5, Taylor Lehr, 1:00.18.
200 Individual Medley -- 1, Madison Hauanio, Cal State East Bay, 2:09.14. 2, Morgan McClure, Cal State East Bay, 2:12.68. 3, Amanda Buxbaum, San José State, 2:13.65. Other San José State Finishes -- 4, Allyson Fellows, 2:17.47.
200 Freestyle Relay -- 1, Cal State East Bay A, 1:39.18. 2, Cal State East Bay B, 1:41.76. 3, Cal State East Bay C, 1:45.07. San José State Exhibition -- San José State B (Brittany Heng, Brenna Bushey, Taylor Solorio, Taylor Lehr), 1:38.31. San José State A (Kendal Guy, Riley Spitser, Brynne Beneke, Marley Maluafiti), 1:38.53. San José State C (Alli Davis, Colleen Humel, Lisa Ellis, Kimberlee Giggey), 1:40.79.