PASADENA, Calif. (Feb. 4, 2023) – Both the men's and women's swim & dive teams took to the pool on Saturday as they faced the University of La Verne in the Beavers' final home meet of the season. Caltech celebrated their seniors with a pre-meet ceremony as well as with a pair of wins, as the men topped the Leopards 205-23 and the women defeated their counterparts 202-61.
On the men's side, the Beavers recorded a plethora of dominant performances in nearly every event. One of the most notable results of the day came from sophomore Jason Lin, who notched a scorching time of 55.50 in the 100-yard breaststroke, clearing the NCAA's "B" cut standard for the National Championship meet. Lin beat out the next fastest finisher in the event by over ten seconds.
Lin wasn't done for the day, as he returned later to compete in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The LA native's 1:42.82 leadoff leg tied the eighth-fastest 200-yard freestyle time in program history.
That 800-yard freestyle relay also featured another major achievement, thought it came from the group a lane over from Lin. Caltech's "A" team – made up of juniors Naci Keskin, Leo Yang and Christopher Pukszta along with freshman Simon Hu – registered a time of 6:41.76, clearing the NCAA's "B" standard by over three seconds. The time was the second-fastest ever in program history.
Caltech's second group – featuring Lin alongside sophomore Evan Zhang, junior Andrew Pasco, and freshman Siddhartha Ojha – earned a 7:02.20 finish, good for seventh-fastest all-time in the Caltech record books.
The race was just one of many on the day for Zhang, who most notably recorded a blazing 20.86 performance in the 50-yard freestyle, putting him at no. 2 all time in the Caltech record books for the event. Zhang also won the 50-yard breaststroke and tied for first in the men's 50-yard butterfly alongside Yang.
Pukszta also rode some highs as he earned his lifetime best in the 100-yard freestyle with a winning time of 46.89, good for ninth all-time on the Caltech leaderboard.
The women's team also earned a commanding win, coming away with a victory in every event. One of the more historical performances from the Beavers was the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team of sophomore Mila Hong, first-years Elizabeth Won and Diya Kumar and senior Madeleine Swint – finished in 8:50.62, making it the tenth fastest all-time in Caltech history.
Also of note was the performance of freshman diver Jana Woo, who cleaned up in both the one-meter and three-meter dive. The star earned a score of 233.69 in the one-meter and a 248.75 in the high dive.
Junior Brooke Williams earned a big win in the 11-person 50-yard freestyle race, tapping the wall at 25.81 seconds.
Sophomore Charlotte Zhang earned two victories, first in the 50-yard breaststroke (32.86) and again in the 100-yard IM (1:03.93), where she beat out eight other swimmers.
Next up for both teams are the SCIAC Championships, which begin on Wednesday, Feb. 15 and finish up on Saturday, Feb. 18. The meet will be held at the East Los Angeles College (ELAC) Swim Stadium and will be streamed on the SCIAC Network.
