Berkeley, Calif. –––– The San Jose State University swimmers & divers faced nationally-ranked Cal in a non-conference dual meet comprised of some unusual events. There were multiple three-person relay races, a 300 individual medley in reverse order, and a 150 breaststroke.
"The swimmers really enjoy the non-traditional format of the meet, especially with us just finishing final exams yesterday," noted head coach Sage Hopkins, whose team was defeated by the #6-ranked Golden Bears according to collegeswimming.com, 163 to 63.
The meet kicked off with a three-person 300 backstroke relay. The Spartans had a third-place finish from trio of Maddy Grimes, Taylor Lehr and Gabriela Vieira, coming in at 2:53.41. In the three-person 300 breaststroke relay, the Spartans finished third, too. Kate Hanf, Chloe Limargo and Angelika Yngson posted a time of 1:39.44.
San Jose State swimmers finished third once again in the 300 butterfly relay. Gabby Heng, Gabriela Vieira and Kendal Guy combined to swim 2:57.34.
The 300 IM saw two Spartans finish in the top five. Jamie Dodd was fourth in 3:22.09, followed by Kate Hanf in fifth with a 3:24.38.
Dodd placed in fourth once again in the next event, the 150 butterfly, finishing with a time of 1:32.13.
The 50 freestyle yielded a fifth place finish for Gabby Heng, who came in at 24.10. She was immediately followed by teammates Madelyn Sailors and Katie McIntee, respectively, at 24.45 and 24.84.
San Jose State posted three consecutive second and third place finishes in the next three events. In the 150 backstroke, Gabriela Vieira and Taylor Lehr finished with 1:32.89 and 1:33.43, respectively. Next, Dodd and Erin Wayman swam the 300 freestyle in times of 3:02.49 and 3:03.43, respectively. Following that up, Angelika Yngson and Chloe Limargo finished the 150 breaststroke with 1:45.45 and 1:47.32.
The quartet of Brenna Bushey, Gabby Heng, Taylor Lehr and Madelyn Sailors swam the 250 freestyle relay placed second in 2:07.96.
In diving, Eri Tamada accumulated the Spartans' best 1-meter point total of 230.18. Natasha Sondeno led the way in the 3-meter with a 251.33 score for fifth place, followed respectively by Megan Au with a 226.35 and Tamada at 198.68.
"We had a great meet today with solid performances from swimmers and divers both," said Coach Hopkins. "Eri had a breakthrough day on 1-meter, and Taylor Lehr, Gabby Heng, Gabi Vieira, and Jamie Dodd led the way with great swims."
The swimmers and divers now return home for the holidays. They will be starting the new year on January 2, at CSU Bakersfield.
Final meet results can be viewed here.
