RIVERSIDE – A new year started off with an impressive dual win for California Baptist University, as it defeated Incarnate Word 163-137 on Saturday at the Lancer Aquatics Center.
The Lancers put themselves over the Cardinals by winning half of the 16 events and showing great depth in several races on the day. CBU improves to 2-2 on the dual season and handing UIW (4-2) just its second loss on the year.
Incarnate Word is a strong team and won the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) conference championship in 2019 and went on to take 10
th place at the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of American (CSCAA) National Invitational Invite.
Sean Foster,
Joe Molinari, and
Evan Honer led the Lancers with two individual wins each on Saturday. Foster continued to dominate the breaststroke by winning the 100 and 200 with respective times of 57.99 seconds and 2:02.86.
Colton Babcock finished second in both events with times of 59.41 and 2:09.55.
Molinari started with a win the 200 backstroke in 1:51.36, while
Robert Moseley took third (1:57.01). He then won the 100 butterfly by a wide margin, with his time of 50.12 behind 1.35 seconds faster than the runner-up
David Miller (51.47).
Josh Walters (51.84) and
Adityastha Wratsangka (51.92) also took fourth and fifth in the race for CBU.
While he didn't get the win, Molinari also added a runner-up swim in the 200 free (1:41.92).
Honer, a true freshman, overcome UIW's Dawson Martinez, who qualified for the 2019 NCAA Zone D Championships, in both events. Martinez has also been named the CCSA Men's Diver of the Year the past two seasons.
First, Honer won the 3-meter board with 328.58 points, with CBU teammates
Tyler Stevens taking second (288.28) and
Zane Freeman fourth (267.08). Honer got more of a challenge from Martinez in the 1-meter board, but still won by nearly 35 points, with a 318.30 score to 283.35 from Martinez.
It was a new best for Honer and moved him up to fourth in CBU's top-10 record book. Stevens also took third on 1-meter with a new personal best of 271.95.
Walters was the fourth individual winner for CBU in the 50 free (21.24).
The Lancers started the day on a strong note by taking first and second in the 200-medley relay.
Jacob Leahy, Foster, Molinari and
Matthew Niculae won in 1:33.77, while Moseley, Babcock, Miller and
Kyle White came in second (1:35.26).
Wratsangka logged the other new top-10 mark for CBU in the 200 fly. He took second place in 1:48.68, which updated his previous personal-record (1:48.99), which ranks eighth in Lancer history.
Quinn Birtles (1:53.12) and Miller (1:54.54) also took third and fourth event.
Birtles led CBU to sweeping second through fourth in the 1650 free. He finished runner-up in 16:42.07, while
Dylan Sweikert (16:53.08) and
Aiden Hobson (17:03.52) took third and fourth.
Moseley also took second in the 100 back (53.22) and 200 individual medley (1:55.64).
Trevor Van Law (55.11) and Wratsangka (1:59.69) also took third in the 100 back and 200 IM, respectively.
Niculae added two top-three swims in the 100 (second, 49.96) and 200 frees (third, 1:46.01).
The Lancers didn't get the win but placed second and third in the 400-free relay to close out the day. Leahy, Walters, White and Niculae took second in 3:08.28 while Foster, Sweikert, Birtles and Babcock placed third (3:11.13).
CBU continues a three-dual homestand when Claremont-Mudd-Scripps visits the Lancer Aquatics Center Friday at noon. The Lancers will then host Western Athletic Conference foe Wyoming on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m.
