Courtesy: UC Santa Barbara Athletics
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – UC Santa Barbara swimmers Emily Boggess, Joe Lastelic, Justin Nguyen, and Doug Nogueira attended the Husky Invitational in Washington state this weekend. The group put on an impressive performance, setting school and meet records while racking up a combined nine first-place finishes. Nguyen set the UCSB record in the 100Y Free twice within 24 hours, on Saturday with a time of 43.03 and on Sunday with a time of 42.93. Boggess set the meet record in the 500Y Free prelim (4:44.14), finishing ten seconds ahead of the second-place swimmer.
Newly appointed associate head coach Ellie Monobe, who travelled with the Gauchos while head coach Matt Macedo coached postgrad swimmers at the US Open in Atlanta, said that the Gauchos’ performance was indicative of the hard work the team has put into training. “The Gauchos did a great job in Washington. It was a challenge to adjust between short course and long course for each session, but everyone rose to the occasion,” said Monobe. “Everyone hitting personal and/or season bests showed us that things are working in the pool.”
In addition to setting the UCSB 100Y Free record, the sophomore Nguyen finished first in both the 50M Free (22.93) and the 100M Free (50.38). Monobe credited Nguyen’s performance to his work ethic, saying, “breaking the 43 second barrier in the 100 Free and breaking the school record twice in two days, was a result of his drive and commitment to the details.”
Nogeuira put on a clinic, earning four first place finishes along with one third and one fourth-place finish. The redshirt senior touched first in the 200M IM (2:03.55), 400M IM (4:32.07), 100M Back (56.12), and 200M Back (2:03.64). The third-place finish was in the 200M Breast (2:23.54) and a time of 23.73 was good for fourth place in the 50M Free.
Boggess also cleaned up, finishing first in both the 400M Free (4:19.74) and the 200M Free (2:03.40). The redshirt junior also picked up a third-place victory in the 100M Fly with a time of 1:01.53.
Lastelic rounded out Santa Barbara’s effort at the Husky Invitational, earning a first-place win in the 400M Free (3:58.93) in addition to earning fourth in the 100M Free (51.29).
The Gauchos will return to competition on Friday, Jan. 10 as they take on UNLV at Campus Pool at 5:00 p.m.
