Riverside Swimming & Diving Earns Third-Consecutive Dual Victory

The Riverside City College swimming and dive program kicked off Orange Empire Conference (OEC) action on Friday morning after earning first place in their previous two meets. It wa s similar story for the Tigers as the men and women dominated the field by each earning first place for the third-consecutive meet.

The men defeated the field with ease by scoring an overall point total of 733. Golden West was the next best finisher with a total of 468 points to prove the Tiger's dominance.

Freshman phenome Erick Fathoni was dominant in each event he competed in as he accumulated 60 points. He finished lower than his seed time in each event as well. He began the day by touching the wall first in the 200 IM with a mark of 1:57.67. He followed with a first place time in the 200 Free at 1:42.74 and a 200 Breast stroke clip reading 2:07.74.

Freshman Zack Thelwell followed with a pair of first-place finishes beginning with a 21.87 mark in the 50 Free. He closed his day with a 2:01.54 in the 200 Back – approximately five second below his seed mark. Sophomore Javier Bernal earned a first-place showing in the 100 Fly at 56.33 followed by a second place showing in the 200 IM at a time of 2:00.52.

Freshman Sennen Chow was the next-best swimmer for the Tigers as he landed on the podium in two events. He earned the silver medal in the 100 Free at a time of 49.26 and a bronze medal in the 50 Free with a clip of 21.99.

The women found themselves in a closer match up by edging Orange Coast to earn first place. The Tigers earned 574 points, while Orange Coast followed with 521 points.

Freshman Hannah Beth Cain landed on the podium in all three of her events highlighted by a second place finish in the 200 Back with a clip of 2:21.31. She finished third in the 200 IM (2:25.13) and the 100 Back (1:05.5). She finished the day with 49 points.

Freshman Ameila Bennett was the top pointer getter with 51 after placing first in the 500 Free at a mark of 5:36.68. She placed third in the 200 Fly with a mark of 2:23.25. Freshman Veronica Hernandez earned a first-place medal in the 200 Free with a time of 2:08.14, while freshman Michelle Hiller placed third in the 200 Free after touching the wall with a time of 2:08.70.

Riverside will look to keep the winning streak alive at the RCC Invitational beginning on Friday, March 8 at 10 a.m.