Joey Luba (Larry Newman Photography)
Joey Luba (Larry Newman Photography)
Posted: Jan 10, 2015

Chapman men and women fall to Poets in the water

ORANGE, Calif. – Three first-place finishes for Chapman University senior Kirsten Spicer and an NCAA qualifying score set by freshman diver Joey Luba highlighted the home debut of the Panthers' men's and women's home swimming and diving teams at the Allred Pool on Friday and Saturday. The Chapman men (135-85) and women (129-113) both lost to Whittier College in their return to SCIAC competition.

In the men's 1-meter springboard, Luba earned a six-dive score of 290.0 – a qualifying score for NCAA Regionals – and captured first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions against Whittier. Luba's best dive of the afternoon – a reverse 1.5 somersault tuck – hailed scores of 8.0, 8.0 and 7.0 from the judges. He also earned an 8.0 from one judge on his fifth dive – a forward 1.5 somersault with a twist. Luba must accomplish a six-dive minimum score of 275 once more this season to automatically qualify for NCAA regionals.

The rookie also paced the pack in the 3-meter event with a six-dive score of 254.0, saving the best for last with a high-scoring backward 1.5 somersault with 1.5 twists, his most challenging dive (2.4 degree of difficulty) in the event.

Meanwhile, it was the senior sprinter who led the Chapman women in the lanes on Saturday. Spicer helped the Panthers earn first place in three different events, including anchoring a come-from-behind win in the 200-yard medley relay to defeat the Poets with a time of 1:56.01. Chapman also captured first in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:43.46 with Spicer anchoring the swim. She also earned a season-fastest time of 25.03 in the 50-yard freestyle to claim first place.

Among other top performers:

  • Freshman Jonathan Lee grabbed a pair of first-place finishes in the men's 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle swims with marks of 22.60 and 48.96, respectively.
  • Freshman Kyra Ruegg earned a career-best to take first place in the women's 100-yard butterfly with a mark of 1:03.75.
  • Freshman diver Kayla Dimicco took first in the women's 3-meter springboard with an overall score of 212.2.
  • Senior Emily Holmquist captured first in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:35.04.

The Panthers return to the pool on Saturday, traveling to Pomona-Pitzer to continue the SCIAC schedule against the Sagehens beginning at 11 a.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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