Blend of rookies, experience has Chapman hopeful entering SCIAC Championships

ORANGE, Calif. – It will be a contrast of youth and experience as the Chapman University men's and women's swimming and diving teams compete at the 2015 SCIAC Championships at Whittier College all weekend, beginning on Thursday. Medal-hopefuls for the Panthers include freshmen divers Joey Luba (men's) and Kayla Dimicco (women's), as well as rookie swimmers Jonathan Lee (men's) and Mary Welton (women's). Meanwhile, senior sprinters Kirsten Spicer and Emily Holmquist are also hoping to wrap up their careers with big finishes.

On the men's side the story will be Lee, already having set three Chapman records this season and aiming for more. The freshman sprinter ranks in the top-15 in the SCIAC in four events and will swim the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events at the Championships. Lee will need to shave more than a second off his 100 free time and over three seconds off his 200 free to beat the school marks, and maybe more if he hopes to reach the medal stand. Lee is also competing in the 200-yard individual medley, in which he already holds the Chapman record and enters the meet ranked 11th in the conference with a time of 2:01.25.

Luba has ranked amongst the top SCIAC divers all season, setting a season-high on the 1-meter springboard (11-dive opt.) with a combined score of 486.9 against Pomona-Pitzer in January. He has also been outstanding on the 3-meter board with a season-high score of 286.9 at home against La Verne and Redlands earlier this month.

Chapman's women's freestylers will be ones to watch with Spicer and Holmquist leading the way in sprints. Spicer ranks 13th in the conference in the 100-yard freestyle after setting a career-best time of 54.72 in the event in January. Holmquist, who is the SCIAC's leader in the 50-yard free this season (which is not a Championships event) could also pose a threat in short distances. Her best 100 time is 55.80 set on Feb. 7.

In the distance events, Panthers' freshman Welton enters the championships ranked 10th in the SCIAC in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a mark of 18:39.03.

On the 3-meter board, Dimicco has defeated all SCIAC challengers head-to-head except Claremont's Mary Lynn Clark, against whom she lost by less than two points back in December. Her season-high six-dive score on the 3-meter board was 245.1, while she posted a 434 11-dive score from the 1-meter board in January.

Complete previews of the Men's Swimming and Diving SCIAC Championships and Women's Swimming and Diving SCIAC Championships previews courtesy the SCIAC office are also available. 

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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