ELKHART, Ind. – UC San Diego wrapped up competition at the CSCAA National Invitational Championships on Saturday, March 11. On the final day of the national meet, the Tritons sent 15 swimmers to the finals with Juli Arzave setting a team and meet record in the 1650 freestyle and Andrija Petkovic snapping a 14 year old record.
 
On the final day, the Triton women finished in sixth place with 390.5 points. The University of Tennessee took the championship with 566 points. The Triton men finished in eleventh place with 279.5 points. Queens University of Charlotte took the championship on the men's side with 674 points.
 
During the prelims on Saturday morning, seven Tritons swam personal best times with three new team records set. 15 Tritons moved onto the finals on Saturday night. To move on to finals, swimmers must make one of the top 20 times for the B and A final in the evenings.
 
ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE
Swimming the 100 yard IM in prelims, Tina Reuter set a new team record and swam a personal best in the event with a time of 55.84. Valerie Yue posted a personal best swim in the 200 yard backstroke in prelims with a time of 1:59.95. In the 1650 yard freestyle, Sophia Bell swam a personal best time of 16:44.47.
 
Opening finals with a blazing swim, Juli Arzave set a meet record and team record in the arduous 1650 yard freestyle final. The senior posted a time of 16:14.97 which beat the team record by over 10 seconds and the meet record by nine. After setting a new personal best in prelims, Yue did it again in finals with a time of 1:59.18 in the 200 yard back stroke. Taking third in the 400 yard freestyle relay, Miranda Renner, Tina Reuter, Aneta Wyzga, and Jordan Phillips came within 0.75 of the team record with a time of 3:19.88.
 
ON THE MEN'S SIDE
In prelims, Colton Milne and Nathan Lee both posted personal bests in the 100 yard IM. Milne swam a time of 51.11 and Lee posted a 50.04 time for his personal best and a team record. In the 100 yard free, Andrija Petkovic posted a personal best with a time of 43.28. Petkovic snapped a 14 year old team record held by alum and former head coach Daniel Perdew. Devin Esser posted two personal bests in the 1650 yard freestyle. Esser posted a best time for the 1000 free and the his total best time for the event was 16:00.72.
 
In the men's 400 yard freestyle relay, Andrija Petkovic, Ivan Kurakin, Justin Morsch, and Ryan Kirton came within a second of breaking the team record with a time of 2:56.05.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.