Head Coach Nick Rodionoff and his crew of Pepperdine swimmers and divers wrapped up the 2008-2009 season on a high note by capturing a third-place finish at the PCSC Championships in Long Beach Calif. In addition for the second time in his nine years at the helm of the Waves Rodionoff was named PCSC Coach of the Year.
The Waves’ team point total of 1025 throughout the four-day tournament was third highest in a field of 14 schools. UC San Diego took home the gold with 1403 points followed by Loyola Marymount which tallied 1381 points.
On Wednesday Pepperdine divers led the way as senior Amanda Pond and her teammates dominated the 3-meter springboard competition boosting the Waves to the top of the leaderboard after the first day of the tournament.
Pond sophomores Tiffany Martz and Shannon Hedman and freshman Leslie Wade notched the top four spots respectively off the 3-meter springboard accounting for 159 of Pepperdine’s 215 points on Wednesday. Pond’s conference diving victory was the first by a Wave since 1992 when Deanna Fenno won the 3-meter title.
“In diving you only have one chance to get your dive so it’s important to stay calm Pond said. I’ve been diving for about six or seven years so I know I can do the dive. So it’s just about how I can execute the dives.”
“I wasn’t expecting to win – I just had a really great meet and … I couldn’t have asked for a better finish to my collegiate career.”
In the 200 medley relay freshman Rachel Coté junior Dani Kimmel sophomore Francesca Cyphers and senior Haley Wilson combined to finish in second with a time of 1:46.35 breaking the school record set in 2007 by Kimmel Wilson Ali McLeod and Amy Nightingale.
Pepperdine divers carried their winning ways into the second day of events as Martz Pond and freshman Kristin Scribner swept the top three spots in the 1-meter springboard competition. Martz’s victory along with Pond’s on the previous day marked the first time in school history that a set of divers earned PCSC titles in the same meet.
“[Diving] is really a very unpredictable sport Rodionoff said. So it was pretty surprising to tell you the truth. They’re a very good team but to have them all perform well was exceptional … it got us off to a good start.”
Later that day swimmers Wilson Kimmel Coté and sophomore Kayleen Hicks combined to finish at 1:36.52 in the 200 freestyle relay good enough for third place in the event and second in Pepperdine’s record books. In the 50 freestyle Kimmel and Coté recorded personal bests with times of 24.11 and 24.18 seconds respectively and the Waves concluded Thursday in second place with 509 total points.
On Friday Coté proved she was a fierce competitor claiming the 100 backstroke crown. She hit the wall after 56.61 seconds to edge out Alaska Fairbanks’ Mar Brunet by a half second.
Kimmel also had a successful day finishing as the runner-up in two events: first in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.57) and later as second leg in the 400 medley relay (3:53.91) alongside Coté Cyphers and Wilson.
Freshman Madison Krall came out strong Saturday. Her time of 17:14.15 garnered her second place in the longest event of the tournament the 1650 freestyle and also established a personal best by more than 25 seconds.
The team of Hicks Wilson Kimmel and Coté notched a fourth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (3:35.1) the concluding event of the PCSC Championships.
“I knew we had so much talent and potential on our team and this meet gave us the opportunity to show it Pond said. Everyone came through. We expected to do well … but all of us did really great.”