MALIBU, Calif. – Swimming and Diving kicked off the season in Malibu this weekend at Pepperdine University in the annual Rodionoff Invitational, with the Cougars coming in third of five Division III programs in their first year competing at that level.

The Cougars were selective about which events they competed in, but the ones they chose they performed quite well in.  The quartet of Mikaela Maemura, Gillian Sato, Ashley Cochran, and Sydnee Wilson got the team started with a win in the 200 medley relay, beating the other D3 programs in attendance with a time of 1:49.73, two seconds ahead of a group from Cal Lutheran.  The Cougars' second team of Ellie Sivesind, Adelle Brush, Pierson Reiger, and Abby Keller finished in sixth, also breaking the 2:00 barrier at 1:58.63.

Wilson competed in the 200 freestyle, coming in second overall with a time of 1:58.12, one of only two D3 swimmers to crack two minutes.  Kya Guikema, Sivesind, and Reiger also finished in the top-10 among D3 swimmers in the event.

Maemura then took her turn in the spotlight.  First, the junior came in third in the 100 butterfly, finishing in under a minute at 59.47 seconds; while Cochran took fourth at 1:00.19.  Then, Maemura led a 1-2 finish in the 100 backstroke, as she (58.88) and Sato (59.90) were the only two D3 swimmers to complete the event in less than 60 seconds. 

Wilson (24.25) and Sato (25.11) then took second and third, respectively, in the 50 freestyle.  Guikema earned some valuable points in the distance events by winning the 500 freestyle in a time of 5:23.75.  And to cap off the swim portion of the events, the relay team of Wilson, Maemura, Sivesind, and Sato came in second in the 400 freestyle relay at 3:38.66.

On the springboards, Brooklyn Melvin get her season off to a good start, placing fourth in the D3 1-meter competition with a score of 198.40.  Overall, the Cougars placed third among D3 schools with 129 points, despite not competing in nearly half of the events at the meet.

The Cougars will take their road show as far north as the NCAA goes next weekend when they compete in a pair of dual meets at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks on October 16-17.