AZUSA, Calif. – In their first dual meet of the season, the Cougars put on a show for their home fans, taking down Biola by a score of 149-94 Saturday morning at Slauson Pool.

How It Happened:  Biola took an early lead on Friday by winning both diving events, meaning the Cougars found themselves having to make up an 18-point deficit in the swimming portion of the meet.  They quickly cut that gap in half by finishing first and third in the medley relay, then Aleena Herrera and Kya Guikema put together a 1-2 finish in the 1000 freestyle that gave Azusa Pacific the overall lead at 38-36.

Montana White brought home a win in the 200 free by more than eight seconds to pad the Cougars' advantage.  That was followed by another 1-2 finish by second-generation Cougar Sydney Wilson and Madeline Schultz in the 50 free.  After another 1-2 performance by Herrera and Angelina Benitez in the 400 IM, the lead has ballooned to 31 points.

Biola gained some ground in the 200 butterfly, but the Cougars took it right back by placing three of the top four in the 100 free, with Wilson winning her second event of the day.  And with Mikki Maemura turning in a personal best of 2:03.06 to win the 200 backstroke, the Cougars were well on their way to victory, with Herrera's third win of the day in the 500 free the proverbial icing on the cake.

This is the fourth consecutive year in which the Cougars have defeated Biola in a head-to-head meet, and Azusa Pacific leads the all-time series by a count of 19-3.  As the Cougars' lone home meet of the season, they took the opportunity to honor the program's seven seniors, which besides Schultz and White included Paige Colligan, Madison Schneider, Hannah Swailes, Alexandra Szolnoki, and Marci Yanagawa

Up Next:  Azusa Pacific will be right back in action next Saturday when they head down to Aliso Viejo to compete in the Wyatt Ballman Invitational, hosted by Soka University.  The meet is scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m.