SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific's swim team ended 2025 on a high note, defeating both host Westmont and Concordia in a three-way meet Saturday morning.  The Cougars narrowly edged out the host Warriors 135-108; and blew away the smaller contingent sent by the Golden Eagles, 193-40.

How It Happened: The Cougars dominated in event wins, finishing first in 9 of the 13 events that were competed in the pool.  That run started with the 4x50 medley relay, which the quartet of Mikki Maemura, Courtney Seljeseth, Angelica Benitez, and Gillian Sato claimed in a time of 1:51.19, a full two seconds ahead of the next fastest team.  Benitez then led the most dominant performance of the day in the 100 individual medley, where the top four finishers all wore an Azusa Pacific cap.

Maemura earned her first individual event of the day next, winning the 50 butterfly in a time of only 26.52.  A few minutes later, Benitez earned a second win of the day as she and Sydnee Wilson finished 1-2 in the 50 breaststroke.  Kya Guikema took high honors in the distance event, covering 1000 yards in 10:59.86.  That was followed by Ashley Cochran nearly breaking the 60-second mark in the 100 butterfly, winning in a time of 1:00.15.

In the latter events of the day, Maemura picked up a second individual win in the 100 backstroke (1:00.92); Wilson earned a first-place spot of her own in the 100 freestyle (53.59), and to cap off the day, the team of Wilson, Aleena Herrera, Abby Keller, and Ellie Sivesind captured first in the 4x50 freestyle relay, touching the wall in a time of 1:41.34.  In all, this marks the fifth-consecutive season that the Cougars have gone on the road to Santa Barbara and defeated Westmont in a dual meet.

Up Next: The Cougars will take care of final exams and enjoy the Christmas break before jumping back into the pool for their annual Alumni Day on January 3 at Slauson Pool.  Their next scheduled competition will come a week later at the Orange County Invitational back at Aliso Viejo.