Swimming opens SCIAC season with losses to Whittier, CMS

WHITTIER, Calif. – Chapman University's men's and women's swimming teams opened the 2013-14 conference season with dual losses to host Whittier College and defending champions (men and women) Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday.

The Panther women were beaten by the Athenas 200-42 and just edged out by Whittier 123-113. The Claremont men completed the sweep by beating Chapman 203-33, while the Panthers fell to the Poets 136-64.

Senior distance swimmer Julie Case, the defending SCIAC champion in the 1,650 yards, was the Panthers' lone swimmer (men or women) to place in the top-three in any event in a meet dominated by Claremont. In her signature event, Case placed third in the 1,650 with a time of 18:47.72 and she finished second in the 500-yard freestyle with a mark of 5:23.08.

Junior sprinter Kirsten Spicer earned a fourth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time 25.96 – a little more than a second off her school-record pace set last spring. And team newcomer junior Michelle Hutchins also earned fourth place in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 5:07.66 in her SCIAC debut.

Chapman will now have a month off of competition before hosting its first home meet of the season against SCIAC foe Cal Lutheran University at Allred Pool on Jan. 11.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Results: https://chapman.prestosports.com/sports/swimdive/2013-14/files/WC-CMS.pdf

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