The swim team had strong finishes at the Soka Invitational on Nov. 15 and continues making solid progress throughout the season. Biola’s hard work resulted in first place finishes in eight of the 28 events. The women’s team finished third overall in the meet and the men finished second.

Senior Christine Tixier and freshman Lisa Tixier both stood out during the meet, finishing first in the individual events they competed in as well as qualifying for nationals in their backstroke events.

Freshman Samantha Dammann improved her time in the 200 butterfly and also placed fourth in the 100 butterfly.

The women continue their excellence in the relay events with a first place finish over Azusa Pacific University and Concordia University Irvine in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:38.91. They also took second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:52.94, a margin of .04 seconds behind APU.

The men’s team also had a first place finish in the 200 medley relay and came out on top against Concordia’s relay team. Concordia proved a tough opponent for both the men and women, racking up more points than any other teams at the meet.

Junior Eddie Campana and sophomore Andrew Corl led the men’s team in the individual events. Campana took second in the 100 breaststroke and first in the 200 IM. Corl placed second in both the 100 and 200 backstroke. Additionally, Freshman Cort Sharp and sophomore Chad LeJeune had strong performances with a second place finish in the 100 freestyle and a first place finish in the 100 breaststroke, respectively.

Both the men and women lacked strength in the 200 freestyle, but excelled in the shorter freestyle events, choosing not to compete in any distance freestyle events at this meet.

The team competed in many meets recently and continue to work on staying strong and confident through fatigue.

“We’ve been working hard so we’re tired going into our meets,” said senior Kelly Arth. “Our coach has been telling us to go into everything with confidence so we can overcome our mental and physical obstacles.”

The team’s confidence becomes evident in the individual achievements and progress made over the season.

“Lots of us have been getting best times, national cuts or season bests. It’s encouraging to see my teammates do well, and I’m looking forward to seeing how we continue with the season,” said Arth.

The team looks to improve individual times and earn national cuts as the season progresses. The next swim meet is an invitational at University of La Verne, Dec. 12-14.