Coach Jim Fegan and his women’s swimming and diving team experienced a successful run this season performing well in regular season, conference and state competitions.

The Lady Olympians finished the dual meet season undefeated making it the second consecutive season in which the women’s swimming and diving team have clinched the Pacific Coast Conference dual meet championship.

“The team was not challenged in any dual meets, but there have been some great individual swims throughout the season,” said Fegan.

With the help of diving coach Kristie Bowdler, sophomore Megan Looney was able to display her polished diving skills at the PCC and Southern California Championships.

“She’s the best [Bowdler]. This is her first season here and already I’ve learned more from her than I’ve learned in two years on other teams,” responded Looney, who is also a Mesa Press staff member. “She pushes me to do new things and is very encouraging. She knows what she’s doing.”

Looney finished second in the conference meet in both the 1-meter and 3-meter board events.

“It’s great to have the diving program back on track. The divers gave us a big boost all season and finished very well,” replied Fegan.

The Mesa swimmers also performed well during the PCC Championships.

The Lady Olympians secured first place finishes in the 50, 100, 200, 500 and 800 Free Relay, the 50 and 100 Butterfly, the 200 and 400 Medley, and the 50 Breaststroke competition.

“I was pleasantly surprised how well everyone swam at the conference championships. I knew we would do well but I didn’t expect us to swim as fast as we did,” said Fegan.

With the season end approaching, Mesa would add one last dominating performance on an already highly decorated season.

The Lady Olympians went on to conduct several impressive team and individual performances at the California State Championships setting numerous school records in the process.

As a team, Mesa finished respectively in the 200 and 400 Medley Relay events, and also in the 200 and 400 Free Relay competitions.

The Lady Olympians best team effort came during the first two days of the three-day competition.

Mesa clinched the top five twice with fifth place finishes in both the 200 and 800 Free Relay, setting school records in both events.

Mesa College also showcased its individual talent with stellar solo performances.

Freshman Julie Wells finished the 100 and 200 IM events in third place, setting a school record in the 100 IM. Her time of 59.27 was the sixth fastest all-time in community college competition. Wells also finished in fourth place in the 100 Breaststroke events setting another school record of 1:06.75.

Looney would finish the 1 and 3-meter diving events with seventh and 12th place finishes.

Lauren Braswell earned a 16th place finish in the 50 breaststroke events. Braswell also moved up a spot and finished 15th in the 100 Breaststroke.

In the 50 Free event, swimmer Talyssa D’Avila finished in 15th place earning a time of 25.26.

However, the best individuals performances of the championships came from freshman Murphy Wimer. Wimer was one of two competitors to win three individuals titles. She was victorious in the 500 Free and 100 Butterfly events. Wimer swam the second fastest time in state championship history with her performance in the 200 IM.

Mesa finished in fifth place overall at the state championships.

Fegan and his team enjoyed ongoing success all season long and capped it off with dominating performances in their final stand.

“We had a few ups and downs during the season, with injuries and illnesses setting our progress back for a couple of weeks, but I am extremely happy with how the season went, especially the large individual improvements in times from everyone,” said Fegan.

Braswell, D’Avila, Looney, Wells, Wimer, MaryKate Foster and Nicole Macarthur were all named All-State this season.

“It is exciting to know that most of the team is made up of freshmen, so next year should be even better,” he concluded.