LOS ANGELES — Caltech Women's Swim & Dive picked up its first dual meet victory of the 2024-25 season with a victory over SCIAC rival Occidental College Saturday morning.

Caltech finished with 161 points compared to Occidental's 129, thanks to many Beavers finishing at the top in the meet events. It started with the first event of 1-meter diving in which Caltech claimed the top three scores. In first was first-year diver Ava Balanon (Vacaville, Calif. / Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy) with a final score of 265.13, followed by junior Jana Woo (Saratoga, Calif. / Monta Vista) with 264.23, and in third place was first-year Kassie Kristufek (McKinney, Texas / McKinney) scoring 224.85.

The three-meter diving event went similarly as Woo, Balanon, and Kristufek once again were the top three finishers. Woo finished first with a final score of 277.73, with Balanon in second scoring 254.40 and Kristufek in third with 216.08.

Moving into the 200-yard medley relay Caltech once again finished at the top. The relay group of sophomores Allison Xin (Broomfield, Colo. / Stargate Charter), Karen Zhou (Trophy Club, Texas / Byron Nelson), Beatrice Cai (Princeton, N.J. / Princeton HS) and first-year Elizabeth Ma (Burien, Wash. / Mount Ranier) finished in 1:54:87 earning the Beavers 11 points for the event win.

In the 1000-yard freestyle, Caltech had two top three finishers in first-year swimmer Grace Tuhabonye (Austin, Texas / St. Andrew's Episcopal School) and junior Liz Won (Hong Kong / Hong Kong International School). Tuhabonye came in first with a time of 11:05.79 and Won finished in third timed at 11:39.08.

Caltech had two other top finishers in the 100-yard backstroke event and the 200-yard butterfly event. In the backstroke, it was Xin who finished first with a time of 1:02.79. In the 200-yard butterfly, it was another top finish for Tuhabonye timed at 2:15.97. Zhou followed in second place with a time of 2:19.79 and first-year Emma Fan (Boston / Chongqing Nankai Secondary School) in third finishing at 2:24.51.

The effort and performances of many Beavers helped guide them to victory. In good spirits with the win, the team led by head coach Andrew Brabson will return to practice in preparation for their next meet on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 10:30 am where they will host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at Braun and Alumni pools.

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