Jan. 24, 2013

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

The LMU swimming program will host a double dual on Saturday at 12 p.m., welcoming CSU Bakersfield and Cal Baptist to Burns Aquatics Center. The Lions have already squared-off against CSUB in a double dual, falling to the Roadrunners in San Diego, Calif. on January 12, a day after dropping a decision to Tulane. Saturday's meet will be LMU's Senior Day, as the Lions will honor seniors Sophie Allen, Stephanie Hess, Camille Hopp and Noelani Vargas.

LMU is coming off a second-place finish at the 2013 Beach Cup swimming against San Diego, Fresno State and Pepperdine. The Lions won six events on Saturday to make things interesting and finish second at the two-day competition held at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool on the campus of Pepperdine University. The University of San Diego won the competition with 711 total points, followed by the Lions (681), Fresno State (596) and Pepperdine (210). With the road victory, LMU earns 1.5 points in the Wells Fargo PCH Cup standings, extending its lead to 7-3 over the Waves. LMU finished 30 points out of first place despite not fielding a diving team. San Diego earned 35 points in the diving events, escaping with the first-place finish overall.

LMU's top finish on Friday came in the 200 individual medley where freshman Kristen Clarno placed second in a time of 2:07.84. Fresno State's Alex Madsen won the race in 2:06.72, but LMU did manage to place a second swimmer in the top-five as Stephanie Hess took fourth in a career-best 2:11.65. Kristen Brennand also earned a top-10 finish with a sixth-place finish at 2:12.44. The Lions finished third in all four of the other swimming events on Friday, including the 200 medley relay and 800 freestyle relay.

LMU proved dominant in the breaststroke events on Saturday, finishing in each of the top-four spots in both the 100 and 200 events. Senior Camille Hopp won the 100 in 1:04.64, followed by Rachel Dekar (1:05.29), Hallie Hengels (1:07.46) and Stephanie Hess (1:07.52). Dekar took top honors in the 200, earning a time of 2:18.37, followed by Hopp (2:20.98), Hengels (personal-best 2:22.12) and Hess (personal-best 2:24.93).

LMU's 200 freestyle relay team of Kristen Clarno, Kjirsten Magnuson, Katie Rick and Hopp combined for a time of 1:35.90 to win the event, while Clarno also earned top billing in the 400 individual medley in a career-best 4:27.69. LMU also won the 400 medley relay as Clarno, Dekar, Angelina Prat and Hopp teamed to post a mark of 3:55.53. Sophie Allen, Hengels, Kristen Brennand and Rick also placed in the top-three, finishing third with a mark of 3:58.24.

Angelina Prat had a stellar Saturday, winning the 200 butterfly in a career-best time of 2:04.80 while also placing second in the 100 butterfly at 58.31. Noelani Vargas also earned a second-place finish, taking second in the 200 backstroke to lead a trio of Lions in the top-five. Vargas touched the wall in 2:06.45, followed by Sophie Allen in third (2:06.45) and Clarno in fifth at 2:08.03. Magnuson was the final Lion to finish second, earning her finish in the 100 backstroke at 59.08, joined by Allen in fifth at 59.84.

CSU Bakersfield is coming off a loss to UC Davis in which the Roadrunners won four events but fell by a count of 176-113 on January 19. Cal Baptist is also coming off a loss, this one to UC San Diego. The CBU women had multiple first place finishes, but they failed to take down the Tritons as UC San Diego out swam the Lancers and won by a score of 183-103.

Sophie Allen • Boulder, Colo.
Sophie transferred to LMU from the University of Maryland before her sophomore year and currently stands as the second-fastest 100 and 200 backstroker in LMU history. An MPSF first team All-Conference selection in her sophomore year with a second place finish in the 100 and a fifth place finish in the 200, she is the current LMU record holder in the 400 medley relay as the lead off backstroker. Working hard in the classroom, Sophie earned Academic All-Conference honors in her junior year and currently has the team high GPA as a communications major.

Stephanie Hess • Alamo, Calif.
Steph was recruited to LMU to add depth to breaststroke events and has steadily improved each year to become a Top-24 finalist in both the 100 & 200 breaststroke at the 2012 MPSF Conference Championships. Named Academic All-Conference as a communication major in her sophomore and junior years, she is currently one of LMU's Team Captains.

Camille Hopp • Mission Viejo, Calif.
Camille has been one of LMU's most prolific scorers throughout her four years in both dual meet and Conference Championships. She currently holds program records in the 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, and 400 medley relay. An MPSF All-Conference selection in 2012, Camille placed 5th in the 50 freestyle and 9th in the 100 breaststroke. As a freshman in the PCSC, Camille took home first team All-Conference honors with a pair of second-place finishes in both breaststroke events.

Noelani Vargas • Waimea, Hawai'i.
Noe joined the Lions in her freshman year as a `walk-on' and progressed to becoming one of the top Lion backstrokers in program history. She currently sits as the sixth fastest of all time in both the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke. An All-PCSC Conference selection as a freshman, she was also an MPSF Conference finalist in both backstroke events and the 50 freestyle at the MPSF Championships in 2011 and 2012.