Author: Sharen Cervantes
Starting Sunday, Feb. 21 the Occidental men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams made a splash in the first of three consecutive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) games held in Belmont Plaza. Divers Sarah Sharpe (junior) and Marisa Pulcrano (junior) were among the first Tigers to pull off successful events: Sharpe was the official winner of the three meter diving event, while teammate Pulcrano came in a close third.
The divers’ momentum held fast as the other Tigers took to the water, earning Oxy several accolades. The 200 free relay team, comprised of swimmers Danielle Garcia (first-year), Alena Morris (first-year), Audrey Akcasu (senior) and Lauren Howarth (first-year), proved the power of a united front by posting the second fastest time in Occidental history with a 1:41.30 race.Not to be outshone by the women’s team, the men’s team also swam its heart out and emerged from the water victorious. In the 200 free relay, swimmers Stephen Ratkovich (first-year), Miner Ross (junior), Zach Condon (sophomore) and Adam Kantor (senior) finished the race in 1:26.12, breaking a 15 year-old Oxy record.
After a successful start, the Tigers went into day two of the SCIAC games with high hopes and a positive attitude. Sharpe wowed the crowd yet again when she not only earned her second title of the weekend but also set a new meet record by scoring a 417.45, breaking the previous mark of 392.50 set in 1999 by an Oxy alum.
Though they didn’t set new records, many other Oxy divers and swimmers set personal bests and shaved several seconds off their previous times. Swimmer Sara Mendoza (senior) attributes this to an intense but effective training regimen. “After being on the swim team for four years at Oxy, this winter training was by far the hardest but it really showed at SCIACs,” she said. “Everybody dropped huge amounts of time even without the high tech suits that some of the returners wore last year.”
Among those who achieved personal bests were seniors Kantor and Jeven Dovey, both of whom finished fifth in their races, coming in at 52. 11 and 59.64, respectively. Though proud of his own accomplishments, Kantor emphasized his teammates’ strong performances. “Everybody on the team swam really well, with everyone earning a personal best in at least one event,” he said. “As a captain, I was very proud of each person’s performance.”
Day three of the SCIAC championship games saw even more school and personal bests. Dovey’s collegiate athletic career came to a close on a high note, with the senior swimmer qualifying for NCAA Nationals in the 200 breaststroke with a mark of 2:07.92. Men and women athletes alike continued to earn personal bests, bringing the season to a successful and exhilarating end. The women’s team came in fifth, behind CMS, the University of Redlands, Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lutheran University. The men’s team fared slightly better, with Oxy coming in fourth and CMS taking home the title in the men’s division as well.
Despite not winning the title, the Tigers had nothing but positive things to say about their SCIAC performances. “I’m a senior and this has been the best season I’ve had Oxy [because] we all performed so well at SCIACs, despite having a new coach and a team significantly smaller than all the others,” said Akcasu. “The women ended up fifth in the conference having 11 less people than the next smallest team, no small feat.”
While several of the Tigers attributed the success at the SCIAC games to coach Alex Kuhn, others are nothing short of enthusiastic about the team members themselves. “Our team is super close and without each other we wouldn’t have made it through the season,” said Dovey.
Teammate Akcasu agreed with a short but sweet “I love this team,” showing that while the wins and records set are definitely something to celebrate, what the Tigers are most proud of and thankful for are each other.
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