WHITTIER – The University of La Verne men's swimming and diving team earned a split result against Pomona-Pitzer and Whittier while the women lost both matchups on Saturday at Slade Aquatic Center in Whittier.
The men beat Whittier by a 154-131 count and suffered a 185-101 defeat at the hands of Pomona-Pitzer
Scott MacKay got the Leopards off to a good start on the diving boards. The sophomore won the 3-meter event with a season-best score of 279.15 – six points shy of the NCAA cut – and placed second on the 1-meter platform with a 234.15.
Mike Sanchez claimed the 200 yard butterfly with a time of 1:59.67, which is just off La Verne's all-time record, and was the only swimmer to come in under two minutes. Sanchez also had third places finishes in the 100 fly (54.46) and the 400 individual medley (4:26.57).
La Verne also picked up victories from All-American Marc Okimura and Coleman Goode.
Okimura won the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:13.66 and was a touch behind Pomona-Pitzer's Kyle Dalrymple in the 100 breast (1:00.20).
Goode added a win in the 400 IM (4:19.05) and came in second in the 100 backstroke (55.02) and the 200 back (2:01.24).
The Leopard men finished second in both the 400 medley relay (3:40.05) and the 200 free relay. In the 200 relay, freshmen Daniel Carpenter and Devon Photias each split 21 seconds to overtake Whittier's A team in the final 50.
"We got off to a slow start but really rallied back in the second half," said La Verne coach Pat Skehan. "The men scored big in the last three events [100 fly, 400 IM and 200 free relay]."
On the women's side, Maddie Lovrensky once again extended her three-year undefeated streak in the SCIAC in both backstroke events. The junior was the lone finisher in the in the 100 under 1 minute (58.94) and beat fellow All-SCIAC backstroker Mia Hahn of Pomona-Pitzer by more than nine seconds in the 200 (2:07.81).
Freshman Jessica Watkins placed third in the 1650 free (19:49.75) and Sammy Shiomoto added a third-place finish in the 100 fly (1:01.84).
"We've been working very hard so it was a struggle today," Skehan added. "I am glad we pulled things together and raced well in the end. This will help us as we prepare for the SCIAC Championships."
La Verne will finish the dual meet portion of the season next Saturday at Caltech. Swim meet will begin at 11 a.m. with diving to follow at the conclusion of the meet.