March 1, 2003

Long Beach, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara men's and women's swim team finished second at the 2003 Big West Conference Championship Meet Friday. The Gauchos put had a strong showing but it was not enough to beat the defending Big West Champions, Pacific. The men fell to Pacific 896.5 to 791.5 while the women lost 935 to 776.

Lindsay Dalonzo who won the 200 backstroke with an automatic NCAA qualifying time of 1:58.32 led the Gauchos in the last evening of competition. Jennifer Cook broke her second school record of the weekend in the 200 breaststroke placing fourth in a time of 2:20.18.

Eric Koch, who picked up his third consecutive Big West Conference title in the1650 freestyle, led the men. TK Erwin in the 200 backstroke, Shaun Crossman in the 200 butterfly and Julia King turned in other notable performances in the 100 freestyle.

The Pacific men's and women's teams were crowned 2003 Big West Swimming and Diving champions for the second consecutive season. The women's Tiger squad was most dominant, winning 15 of the 21 events over the three-day event at Belmont Plaza (Long Beach, Calif.), including first place in all five relay events. The men's Pacific team took first place in 13 of the 21 events, winning four of the five relay events.

Pacific's Smart and Catalano earn Big West Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year Honors Pacific senior Matt Smart and junior Shannon Catalano were honored as Male and Female Big West Swimming and Diving Athletes of the Year, respectively. Smart took first place in the 100 and 200 freestyle events while placing second in the 50 freestyle. Catalano won the 100 and 200 butterfly events, with automatic NCAA qualifying times of 53.63 and 1:58.77, respectively. Pacific first-year coach Danny May and UC Irvine's Brian Pajer shared Women's Coach of the Year honors. Cal Poly's Rich Firman earned Men's Coach of the Year honors.

Women's Scores
Team        Points
UOP         935.0
UCSB        776.0
UCI         714.0
CP          384.0
CSUN        365.0


Men's Scores
Team        Points
UOP         896.5
UCSB        791.5
UCI         625.0
CP          437.0
CSUN        299.0