Bakersfield, Calif. ––––– The San Jose State women's swimmers and divers jumped right into 2019 with seven first-place finishes in a dual meet with CSU Bakersfield. There were two wins each from Gabriela Vieira and Natasha Sondeno in both diving events. San Jose State, however, lost the meet to the Roadrunners, 153-147.
First and third-place finishes in event one, the 200 medley relay, set the tempo for the Spartans (0-2) today. The A-team of Taylor Lehr, Chloe Limargo, Brenna Bushey, and Madelyn Sailors finished with a time of 1:46.97 for the win. San Jose State jumped to a 13-4 lead.
Erin Wayman was the Spartans' top finisher in the 1000 freestyle with a third-place finish of 10:54.32.
The 200 freestyle yielded very strong finishes for the sprinters, led by Lehr's first-place finish. She clocked in at 1:54.74, beating her previous best time for this event in the 2018 Roadrunner Invite.
Vieira's two first-place wins were in the 100 backstroke with 58.74 and in the 200 backstroke with 2:08.94. She also scored for the Spartans' third-place finish in the 200 medley relay.
Limargo and Angelika Yngson tied for second place in the 100 breaststroke, finishing with 1:08.41.
CSUB (2-3) out-swam the Spartans in the 200 butterfly, taking first and second place. Jamie Dodd posted a third place time of 2:09.73 in this event.
Gabby Heng swam with intensity and consistency throughout the meet. She garnered another first-place finish for San Jose State in the 50 freestyle, coming in at 24.40. Heng also took second-place spots in the 100 freestyle with 53.13, and 100 butterfly with 59.61.
The Roadrunners won the 200 breaststroke, 500 freestyle and 200 IM. Limargo finished third in the 200 breaststroke with 2:25.17, and the 200 IM in 2:13.23. Jamie Dodd finished third in the 500 freestyle with 5:15.13.
Sondeno had great success on the diving boards. She scored a total of 239.78 points in the 1-meter, and a season-high 275.55 in the 3-meter. Megan Au finished second place in both events. Eri Tamada added points to the team total with her third-place finish in the 1-meter.
The meet winner came down to the first-place finisher in the final event - the 400 freestyle relay. The Roadrunners' anchor swimmer Mia Bailey touched the pad 0.33 seconds before Heng, who swam last for the Spartans, giving CSU Bakersfield the victory. Lehr, Katie McIntee, Kendal Guy and Heng posted a time of 3:34.16.
San Jose State will compete on January 3 in San Diego against UC San Diego, Wyoming and Incarnate Word. the meet begins at 12:00 p.m.
See full results here.