Pepperdine University
PCSC Championships
Waves Off to PCSC Championships in La Mirada
2/11/2019 1:09:00 PM | Women's Swim/Dive
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's swimming and diving team heads to La Mirada this Wednesday through Saturday to compete in the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships. This year the team will look to make history by winning the title for the first time.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team. This team has grown and developed so much in one year. The seniors have been great leaders and have truly made the most out of their last year." Pepperdine head coach, Joe Spahn said. "With all the work the girls have put in, they are more prepared than ever to do something amazing."
Spahn is in his first year as a head coach, after a two-year stint as assistant coach at #19 Notre Dame. Prior to coaching for the Fighting Irish Spahn was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at University of Hawai'i where he helped the team to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference title for the first time in nine years.
Competition will begin on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. with men's and women's 1-meter diving, followed by the 1,000 freestyle, the 200-medley relay, and the 800 free relay.
Prelims for Thursday through Saturday are set to start at 9:30 a.m. with finals following at 4:35 p.m. each night.
MEET:Â PCSC Championships | Feb 13-16 | La Mirada, Calif. (Splash! Regional Aquatics Center)
EVENT INFO: The PCSC Championships are the final meet of the season and will determine the conference champion after four days of competition. Additionally, the Waves will be looking to achieve qualifying times for the CSCAA National Collegiate Invitational which will be held March 14-16 in Cleveland, Ohio.
LAST YEAR AT PCSC CHAMPIONSHIPS:Â The Waves took fifth place in last year's championships under previous head coach Nick Rodionoff, with 708.5 points. The Waves had their two best years at the PCSC Championships in 1989 and 2008, taking second both years. Pepperdine also has a solid tradition in the competition, taking top five finishes in six of the last 10 years.
COVERAGE:Â Available updates and more will be posted on Twitter at @WavesSwimDive. A tournament central page is available at pacificswimanddive.org/2019-championships. A recap will be posted on PepperdineWaves.com after each day of competition.
THE COMPETITION:Â The competition includes PCSC members: Arizona Christian, Azusa Pacific, Biola, Cal State East Bay, Concordia (Irvine), Fresno Pacific, Loyola Marymount, Soka, Alaska Fairbanks, The Master's University, UC Santa Cruz and the Waves.
SEASON IN REVIEW:Â The Waves had three PCSC athlete of the week honors during the 2018-19 season.
Amy Griffin claimed the first award of the season during the week of October 15th. She earned this honor through her two wins in the 50 freestyle with a time of 25.19 and the 100 free posting a 53.43. She followed her two wins with a third-place finish in the 200 free going a 1.59.93. She also took part in the 200 and 400 free relays, and the 200 and 400 medley relays which each posted a win.
Taylor Basin received the honor the week of October 29th for her four-event sweep of the diving events during the WCC dual challenge at University of San Diego. Basin posted a 243.37 in the 1-meter springboard which was good for second in the conference.
Olivia Kayye the week of November 12th. She earned this honor for posting a conference-leading swim of 5:06.42 in the 500 freestyle. Kayye also noted a 1:55.71 200 freestyle and a 4:38.80 400 IM that week, which were both in the top 3 best times for the conference.
WHERE THE WAVES RANK IN PCSC:
Six of the Waves will enter the PCSC championship with a ranking within the top 10 for their season times. Kayye is seated in the top ten in three different events, including 5th in the 500 free with a time of 5:06.42, 6th in the 1,000 free with a 10:43.79, and 5th in the mile at 17:50.76.
In the breaststroke events, Julianna Chan is seated 4th with a time of 1:05.28 followed by Anna Riekhof who is ranked 10th with a 1:07.45. In the 200 breaststroke Lauren Allard is placed at 6th with a 2:26.28, with Riekhof behind in 9th with a time of 2:28.13.
For the diving events, Ali North leads the waves in the 1-meter ranking at 9th with a score of 222.90. North is also the leader for the Waves in the 3-meter holding 6th place with a 212.50, followed closely by Paulina Holmberg at 10th with a score of 163.58.
The Waves relays are also all ranked within the top eight in the conference. The relays are led by the 400 freestyle relay which is currently ranked 4th with a time of 3:33.10. The Waves will look to better these times and move up in rank throughout the meet.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE: Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I Championships in five different men's sports — one of just 18 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks No. 46 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
SOCIAL HUB:Â The Pepperdine swimming and diving team is on Twitter @WavesSwimDive ... Fans can like the Waves on Facebook by searching for WavesSwimDive ... The team is also on Instagram and goes by the handle: @WaveSwimDive ... Follow or like the team for all the latest news!
Players Mentioned
