AZUSA, Calif. – The Azusa Pacific swimming and diving team renewed its annual rivalry with Biola Saturday morning at Slauson Pool while also getting a glimpse at a future conference rival in the form of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).  Biola won the meet, with CMS edging out the Cougars for second place.

The Cougars had some strong moments despite the third-place showing.  Aleena Herrera was a close second in the 1000 freestyle, coming to the wall in 10:45.11, barely a second off the leader.  Sydnee Wilson sprinted off the blocks to claim second place in the 50 freestyle with a 24.81.  Herrera again showed off her diverse talents in the lanes with another second-place finish in the 400 IM.

Angelica Benitez got the Cougars their lone event win of the day in the 200 butterfly, claiming first place with a time of 2:10.90, while Ashley Cochran earned third in the same event at 2:11.60.  Wilson and Ellie Sivesind took second and third in the 100 freestyle, giving the Cougars consecutive events with two spots on the podium.  And Benitez closed out the day's highlights with a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:25.42.

The meet was scored as three separate dual meets, with Biola prevailing 151-90 over Azusa Pacific and 143-100 over Claremont, while the Athenas claimed a 140-99 score against the Cougars.  It marks the first time Biola has prevailed over Azusa Pacific in a swimming dual meet since the 2019-20 campaign.  The Cougars had won 11 of the previous 12 meetings. As the Cougars' lone home meet of the season, they took the opportunity to honor the program's six seniors, which besides Herrera included Julianne Bennett, Allison Ferrer, Marcelina Halawczak, Riley Lawler, and Courtney Seljeseth.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will be back in action this coming Saturday down in Aliso Viejo when they compete in the Wyatt Balman Invitational hosted by Soka University.