BAKERSFIELD, Calif.— With three meets in ten days, the CSU Bakersfield swimming and diving program has been busy. On Saturday, Jan. 9, the Roadrunner men and women will begin the final stretch toward the Western Athletic Conference Championships with a multi-team meet hosted by UC San Diego.
A member of NCAA Division II, the Tritons of UC San Diego represent a large hurdle for the 'Runners. UCSD's women's team is currently ranked second in the NCAA Division II rankings while the men's squad is tabbed fifth.
After falling to Fresno State and San José State in the past two duals, the 'Runner women will tackle three opponents: UCSD, Loyola Marymount, and Colorado Mesa. “The ladies have three tough meets this week,” said Chris Hansen, Director of Swimming for the 'Runners. “UCSD will be the toughest of the three to beat. Carlee Burks, Melissa Gore, and Hannah Chernabaeff will dominate the diving against LMU and Colorado Mesa but will need to fight for the points against UCSD. It should be a fun meet.”
Hansen also expects his standout swimmers to continue to impress in the pool: “Dylana Milobar, Michaela Paige, and Sabrina Zavala, who have been dominating their events, are all going to have to be ready for a fight this weekend. Nicolette Goncalves, Kelsey Lange, and Chrisy Vo will be crucial in coming out with a 3-0 meet. Meghan van Raalte, Darya Samiee, and Summer D'Arcy need to step up and race like we know they can.”
On the men's side, the 'Runners will return to action after almost a month off of competition, but Hansen said his team is ready: “Diving will also play an important role for the men to beat both Colorado Mesa and UCSD. The UCSD meet is always fun! They have a great team and if this men's team wants to come home with two wins, we need more than Lovre Soric and Mihael Vukic to show up! I truly think this is going to be the meet in which this team finally gels!”
The duals are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at the Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla, Calif. Saturday's meet will also be live streamed for free at UCSDtritons.tv and results and a full recap will be available here Saturday night.
~GoRunners.com~
