The CSUN men’s swimming team defeated Big West Conference opponent Cal Poly Mustangs by a score of 188-106, but the women’s team finished fourth at the Cal Poly Invitational on Dec. 2 at Sinsheimer pool.
The men’s team only competed against Cal Poly while the women’s team on top of Cal Poly had to deal with Loyola Marymount, University of San Diego and the University of Nevada, Reno as well.
The men’s team dominated the competition, taking first place in every race except one, the 200-yard freestyle. Cal Poly freshman Thomas Kruip took first place with a 1:46.47 finish, just ahead of CSUN sophomore Matthew Sulkevich (1:47.46). Sophomore Chris Ardoin also grabbed third place for Northridge with a 1:49.92 finish.
The Mustangs did manage a few close races with the Matadors. In the 100-yard butterfly, junior Brian Sawyer took the top spot with a 52.32 finish, just beating out Cal Poly’s Kellen Ranahan, who finished in a time of 52.45. Sophomore Clark Henson took first place for CSUN in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:09.14, just beating out Cody Laxo, who finished in 2:09.43.
The Matadors dominated the 50-yard freestyle, posting the top four finishers, which included Chris Goodwin (21.63), Jeff Hart (21.74), Neil Ochotorena (22.36) and Steven Woods (22.62). The men also dominated the 100-yard freestyle with the top three finishes.
Junior Emre Celik had a good day for the Matadors. Celik managed first place wins in the 100-yard backstroke with a 53.08 finish, 200-yard backstroke (1:55.86) and a second place finish in the 200-yard individual medley posting a 1:58.42 finish just behind first place Henson, who finished in 1:58.14.
In the women’s competitions, the Matadors fell to Cal Poly by a score of 149-139 and finished fourth. CSUN only competed in the first day of competition.
Freshman Shannon Colavito fared well in the long distance competition. Colavito finished second in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:43.67. San Diego’s Sarah Gleason recorded the best time, with a 10:38.69 finish.
In the 200-yard medley relay, the Matadors finished in third place with a time of 1:51.76. Loyola Marymount took first place with a 1:47.99 finish.
Junior Robyn Johnson was CSUN’s top finisher and second overall in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.04) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:27.12).
Senior Melanie Cupitt finished fourth with a time of 2:13.09 in the 200-yard butterfly.
The men’s team will get a break and resume action on Jan. 6 at the Irvine Invitational. The women will head to Irvine today for the same invitational.
