LA MIRADA, Calif. --- In a tune-up for the upcoming postseason meets, Biola finished third of three against Concordia and Azuza Pacific, but individually looked sharp as its swimmers look to peak at the right time.
 
For the women, Kelly Arth joined the national qualifiers for her 2:03.17 in the 200-freestyle. She also qualified for the NAIA National Championships in the 200-freestyle last season.
 
"It was really exciting for the entire team to see Kelly get her first nationals cut of the year," said Head Coach Eddie Shepard. "She has been so close to a cut on several occasions, and I think that her fast swim early in the meet really helped give the team the boost of confidence that they needed to push through their races today."
 
The Tixier sisters had another solid outing, winning a combined four races. Christine Tixer finished first in the 100-butterfly (58.38) and the 200-butterfly (2:14.10), while Lisa Tixier notched the win in the 100-breaststroke (1:08.56) and 200-IM (2:09.65).
 
On the men's side, a handful of strong individual finishes climaxed in a particularly impressive 200-freestyle relay win. Bretton Smith, James Daughters, Cort Sharp and Edward Campana, who won the individual 50-freestyle (21.60), rallied for the impressive relay display. The quartet out-touched the group from Concordia by over three seconds.
 
"On the men's side, one highlight for me was the 200-freestyle relay," said Shepard. "Those four guys really wanted to get out there and race and they put up four strong splits and a first-place finish."
 
Shane Brinson and Chad LeJeune were the other Eagles to collect first-place finishes. Brinson placed first in the one-meter dive (282.45) and three-meter dive (274.95), and LeJeune won the 100-breastroke (1:02.31) and 200-breastroke (2:24.17).
 
"Overall, I think our team looked a lot stronger in the meet this weekend than we did last weekend," said Shepard. "Based on how we swam today, I think that the team is in the right place for us to have an extremely successful end to our season."
 
The Pacific Collegiate Swim & Dive Conference championships are next on the schedule for the Eagles. The meet is from Feb. 18-21 and will be held at the SPLASH! Aquatic Center.