THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Saturday was a very encouraging day for both nationally-ranked CUI swimming and diving teams as the men and women found vastly different ways to win their dual meets against Cal Lutheran.

The men pulled off a clutch comeback in their final relay race to win by three points while the women dominated from the start against Cal Lutheran and cruised to a 195-76 victory.

The women overcame a number of in-meet injuries and grabbed 13 of 16 events to post that wide margin of victory.  Georgia Caraway and Ryan Burke won two events each and seven other Eagles in the women's dual meet also won events.
 
The men's meet between the Eagles and Kingsmen came down to the final relay. A victory by CLU would lock up a win for them while the Eagles needed a first place finsh and a third place finish in that race.
 
Alberto Cortes entered the water on the final leg a body length behind and rallied in the final length to lead the Eagle "A" relay to the win. At the same time, freshman Thatcher Grooms came home in a season-best performance to earn the invaluable two points for the "B" relay as the Eagles won 132.5-129.5!
 
The men won all five freestyle events. Another highlight in particular was the 1650 free where the trio of Kyle Benjamin, Jonah Pohlmann and Jon Sutherlin placed first, second and fourth, respectively.
 
Pohlmann was recently named PCSC Male Athlete of the Week in early October, joining Burke on the women's side in that rarified air.
 
The Eagles came away pleased with their performances but still eager to improve.  CUI is ranked by the CSCAA in the Top 25 DII Preseason Poll.
 
"We didn't swim particularly fast times and lost some tough races at the end but this team is finding different ways to succeed in middle of a heavy training period," said CUI head coach Bert Bergen. "They want to compete and are learning how to manage their energy output at the collegiate level.  To win a meet on the last relay like that is always exciting.  Cal Lu is a great team for us to match up with."
 
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