LA MIRADA, Calif. --- It was a day filled with personal-bests and national qualifying performances for Biola at day three of the Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference championships.
 
Head Coach Eddie Shepard's squad made waves at SPLASH! Aquatic Center, picking up seven new national qualifying marks, including four by student-athletes who were not previously on the nationals team.
 
Headlining that group of four was Alyssa Roden. Roden has been a special diver all season long for Shepard's squad. She has been winning events and posting solid scores, but until she put up a 206.80 in the finals of the one-meter dive on Friday, she had not been a member of Biola's national qualifying team.
 
"I was so proud of the way Alyssa dove today in order to get the score she needed for nationals," said Shepard. "Our divers work so hard, and it was great to see her hard work get rewarded with this trip."
 
Scott West, Matthew Flodin and Jennifer Walker also joined the nationals squad today, putting up strong swims of their own. West swam a 1:47.77 to finish 15^th in the men's 200-freestyle and hit his national qualifying mark. Flodin added a qualifying time in that same event, finishing 13^th with a 1:47.32.
 
Walker excelled in the 100-butterfly and punched her ticket to Oklahoma with a 1:01.35.
 
"We had a really exciting day today," said Shepard. "The best part was getting four more people qualified for nationals, in addition to those who were already qualified adding more events. The team really carried themselves through a really long day."
 
Victoria Turner, Victoria Andreas and Brandon Hughes also tacked on more events to their schedule at the NAIA National Meet in early-March. Turner qualified in the 100-backstroke, Andreas in the 100-freestyle and Hughes in the popular 200-freestyle.
 
In the midst of all the qualifying, the Eagles were finishing strong in this super-quick meet. Roden and two of the swimmers each finished in the top-eight of their events. At a meet that features 11 of the top swimming programs along the Western half of the United States, that is very, very solid.
 
Christine Tixier took home sixth in her specialty, the 100-butterfly, and Abby Blake finished seventh in the lengthy 400-Individual Medley.
 
"I was thrilled to have several top finishes from our girls who are not rested and tapered," said Shepard. "This is a very good sign for them as we continue to prepare for nationals."
 
The Eagles conclude their time at the conference meet with a final day of swims all day tomorrow.