Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
CSU Bakersfield
'Dogs Take Down CSU Bakersfield 178-122
1/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
By Jason Kelm
jakelm@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - In its first competition since mid-November, the Fresno State swimming and diving team defeated CSU Bakersfield 178-122 on Sunday afternoon at the Fresno State Aquatics Center. Of the 16 events, Fresno State placed first in 12 of them.
"I'm really proud of our swimmers," Fresno State head coach Jeanne Fleck said. "Generally, after coming back from winter break, it takes us some time to get back into competition mode. This performance is really indicative of the season we've had so far. They just keep performing better and better."
The Bulldogs (5-1) were led by senior Leah Hatayama, who placed first in the 50 freestyle (24.20), 100 free (52.13) and 200 free (1:53.55). Freshman Ugne Mazutaityte grabbed first in the 100 backstroke (56.76) and 200 back (2:01.05), while junior Hailee Baldwin placed first in the 200 breaststroke (2:21.27) and the 200 individual medley (2:08.76). Junior Esme Gullick had a first-place finish in the 100 butterfly (58.26).
"This is the first time [Hatayama] has won first in all three freestyle events in one meet, which is exciting," Fleck added. "And I can't say enough about how well [Mazutaityte], [Baldwin] and [Gullick] are swimming right now."
Fresno State's relay teams in the 200 medley and the 400 free also finished first.
Freshman diver Irina Nikolaeva had a career day, taking the top spot in the 1-meter (284.33) and 3-meter (276.38) dives.
"[Nikolaeva] focused on making the changes we've been working on and was successful," Fresno State head diving coach Taryn Patrick said. "This will be a good confidence booster for her going into our next meet."
The Bulldogs are now 5-3 against the Roadrunners (1-4) during head coach Jeanne Fleck's tenure, including 3-1 at home. This was Fresno State's first win in the last three meetings against CSU Bakersfield.
The 'Dogs face UC Davis (2-2) on Friday at 1 p.m. PT.
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Players Mentioned
