Form Prevails for CSUN at Swim Meet

Everything went according to plan for Cal State Northridge swim Coach Pete Accardy in the first day of competition Thursday at the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. conference championships at Cal State Bakersfield.

“Coming in, I figured the women would win and the men would finish second,” Accardy said.

A look at the team scores after Thursday’s events reveals Accardy’s powers as a soothsayer: The Matador women, with 183 points, are in first place, 50 points ahead of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The Matador men, with 65 points, hold second place behind Cal State Bakersfield, which has 165 points.

The CSUN women, the defending NCAA Division II champions, fared well even though the team is swimming unrested and unshaven. The Northridge 200 medley relay team of Stacy Mettam, Tina Schnare, Chris Breedy and Jude Kylander managed to produce a conference- and pool-record time of 1 minute, 50.94 seconds.

The Matadors recorded 1-2 finishes in the 500 freestyle with Jeanna Giessinger and Michelle Sulak, and in the 50 freestyle, with Kylander and Breedy.

Meanwhile, the performance of the Matador men also pleased Accardy.

The men got a pleasant surprise when Doug Kohler swam a 1:56 in the consolation heat of the 200 individual medley to qualify for Division II finals. Kohler will join 12 other Matadors at nationals.

In the 50 free, Don Mehling (21:56), Ted Hollahan (21:68) and Rohan Taylor (21:81) took third, fourth, and fifth for the Matadors.