The Master's men's swim team defeated NCAA Division II Concordia-Irvine Saturday 130-125 at the Pacific Collegiate Swim & Dive Conference (PCSC) Relay Invitational held in Irvine, Calif.
It was the first time since the program began in 2018 that a Mustangs swim team won an event, and the first time it finished ahead of an NCAA Division II opponent.
"This is by far the best start to a season we have ever had and a historic day for TMU Swim," said a giddy Curren Bates, head coach of The Master's swim team. "Being able to take down a great team like Concordia on the men's side in a meet format like this really speaks to our team depth. Two years ago we could barely fill out every relay at this meet and to win it today really speaks to the growth of the program."
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The men's team won seven out of 11 relays, and were barely out touched on two of the other four. Three of the relays were the fastest in the NAIA this year -- 4x200 Free Relay (7:04.26), 4x100 Medley Relay (3:34.74) and the 4x100 Free Relay (3:11.71).
Tyler LeDet's time in the 500 Free (4:47.66) and
Desmond Sutanto's in the 200 Free (1:45.32) are both top three in the NAIA so far this year.
The women's team finished fourth in a pool filled with NCAA Division I & II swimmers. Loyola Marymount placed first, followed by Azusa Pacific and Concordia-Irvine. The Lady Mustangs finished ahead of Westmont, which is now competing in NCAA Division II.
TMU had second-place finishes in the 500 Free Relay, 3x100 Butterfly Relay and 4x100 Free Relay against LMU and APU. The 4x100 Free Relay time of 3:39.78, raced by Camryn Bussey, Trudy Patterson, Haven Fasani and Kylee Sears, was the fastest time in the NAIA by over a second.
Emma McMurray's leadoff leg time of 1:02.39 in the 3x100 Fly is in the top 10 in the nation, as was Trudy Patterson's leadoff time in the 3x100 backstroke (1:02.59).
"The girls showed that we are increasing our speed across all events," Bates said. "We were able to be competitive across every relay and showcase our increased depth. We had some really close races come down to the wire with great teams like LMU and APU who are both NCAA ranked programs."
Both men's and women's teams will travel to Surprise, Ariz. Saturday for a tri-meet against Arizona Christian and OUAZ.
