Swimming & Diving Defeats 11 Non-Conference Foes in RCC Open

The Riverside City College swimming and diving program hosted the two-day RCC Invitational which featured 11 non-conference opponents with beginning on Friday morning and concluding on Saturday evening.  Riverside earned its fourth-consecutive dual crown after accumulating a team point total of 1,771 points. The women nearly earned 1,00 points on their own after earning 975 points for a first-place finish, while the men squeaked out a first-place showing after accumulating 846 points.

The women were downright dominant in their home pond by earning the team gold by a 300-point margin. The next-best finisher was Santa Rosa College with 625, backed by a 556 point showing from San Diego Mesa College.

Freshman Amelia Bennett and Liz Bouffort tied with a team-high 57 points throughout the meet. They each hauled in a pair of first-place finishes and one second place finish. Bouffort touched the wall first in the 100 Free (55.33) and the 200 Free (2:00.50), while Bennet reigned supreme in the 100 Fly (1:03.44) and the 200 Fly (2:18.85). All four first-place finishes were below their seed times.

Freshman Hannah Beth Cain followed with 50 points highlighted by second-place showings in the 200 IM (2:20.27) and the 400 IM (4:54.69). Her finish in the 400 IM was approximately 26 second faster than her seed time.

Freshman Michelle Hiller earned two second-place finishes coming in the 100 Free (56.09) and the 200 Free (2:02.27), while freshman Victoria Hernandez earned the silver medal in the 200 Fly (2:20.84)

The men slightly edged Santa Rosa College by nine points to earn first place. The third-place finisher in Grossmont was a steep decline after they tallied a total of 503 points.

Riverside through 26 swimmers in the pool with freshman Erick Fathoni pacing the pack with 73 points. He finishes on the podium four times highlighted by gold medal finishes in the 200 IM (1:52.31) and the 200 Free (1:43.35). He finished the meet with a second-place finish in the 100 Free (45.96) and a third-place showing in the 200 Fly (2:00.09).

Sophomore Javier Bernal followed closely behind with 70 points. His lone win came in the 200 Fly at a time of 1:58.02). He earned a pair of second place finishes coming in the 200 IM (1:59.18) and the 400 IM (4:22.64). Freshman Zack Thelwell placed first in the 200 Back (1:58.77) to round out the top finishers.

Riverside will put their undefeated records to the test on Friday, March 22 by competing in the OEC Meet #2 hosted by Saddleback College.