The Pepperdine University women’s swim and dive team hosted its annual Malibu Invite meet on Oct. 16-17. The two-day invitational was the first home meet for Waves’ largest and deepest squad in recent years, which features several returning standouts as well as a talented class of 17 freshmen.
The meet began with diving and distance swimming events on Friday afternoon. Junior first-year Pepperdine diver Tori Occhipinti led the Waves in the one- and three-meter diving competition, scoring 259.75 to place second overall in the event.
Senior Jessica Mosbaugh was the Waves’ top finisher in the distance events, taking first place in the 400-yard Individual Medley (IM) and clocking a personal best and the second best time in Pepperdine history with a 4:31.17. Standout swims also came from freshman Caroline Boone, who took fourth place in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:18.98, and junior Erin Himes, who grabbed fifth in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 19:18.12.
Mosbaugh said she felt great during the 400 IM.
“I think I am in a lot better shape [than previous seasons] at the start of this year, and I think that has given me the confidence to go fast times at the beginning of the season,” Mosbaugh said.
Competition continued on Saturday with the middle-distance and sprint swimming events. Mosbaugh picked up another victory in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.51 after finishing second in the 200-yard distance. Freshman Allie Carter also led the waves with a second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, and senior Allison Naasz swam a personal best time of 24.88 in the 50-yard freestyle.
The Waves concluded the meet with the most overall points out of the seven teams in attendance, including rival Loyola Marymount University.
“Our senior leaders did a great job of leading the way,” head coach Nick Rodionoff said. “Jessica was on fire and got herself into the record books again. At least everyone seemed to have at least one great swim. It was very encouraging.”
The weekend’s performances contributed to what has so far been a breakthrough season for the Waves. The program underwent a series of building years after nearly being cut following the 2009-10 season, and it is finally returning to its former degree of competitiveness with depth in every class.
“Our team has grown in size, which is great because we have swimmers who specialize in every event,” senior Emma Fitzsimmons said. “Practices this year have been harder and more specialized than ever before, and our weights program has changed to become better suited for swimming.”
Assistant coach Sarah Burris, a former Pepperdine swimmer and Class of 2013 graduate, was a freshman when the team was in danger of getting cut and has since watched the program evolve as both an athlete and a coach.
“The team is much more competitive now than when I was on it,” she said. “Now we can afford to be more selective with recruiting because of increased interest in the team.”
Such interest resulted in the program’s largest incoming class ever, boasting 17 freshmen and one new junior.
“Seventeen freshmen is a daunting number, but they have been such a blessing to our team,” Burris said. “Not only are they all extremely talented athletes, but they bring more fun personalities.”
“It’s pretty cool to be a part of a class this big,” freshman sprinter Jessie King said. “There are always freshmen able to hang out and it’s nice to walk around campus and always see teammates. Everyone’s super close.”
The 35-member squad now has the same number of first-year athletes as returning athletes.
“As an upperclassman, it’s important to make [the freshmen’s] transition smoother and help them adjust both in and out of the pool,” Fitzsimmons said.
Championship competitions are still months off in the distance, but the Waves only have three weeks of training before their next meet at Cal Poly on Nov. 6-7.
“I don’t like to put a limit on things — I just want them to enjoy the season and see how good they can get,” Rodionoff said. “The sky’s the limit, so let’s see what we can do.”