SOUTH GATE, Calif. --- After a break of about a month, Biola Swim & Dive jumped back into the competition pool on Friday as they began the three-day Collegiate Winter Invite hosted by the University of La Verne.

This is a meet the Eagles have a long history with and one the team has typically used as a chance to swim their best times of the season and get qualified for NAIA nationals. There is no NAIA nationals this season, but the goal is still the same: swim fast.

"I can't even put into words how impressed I am with how this team kicked-off this invitational today," said Head Coach Ryan Kauth. "Coming off of two of arguably the hardest training months that most of these swimmers have endured their entire careers, I knew they were fit enough to handle all of their races, it was just going to be a matter of how they approached the challenge mentally."

The opening day featured the 200-freestyle relay, 500-freestyle, 50-freestyle, 200-IM and 400-medley relay. The team had two sessions of swimming with prelims in the morning and finals at night, similar to the structure of the old national championship meet.

Biola had a strong start right out of the gate as their 200-freestyle relay won the women's race. The Eagles' team of Lisa Tixier, Thomine Mortensen, Jenny London and Emily Silzel recorded a 1:37:40 to finish just over two seconds ahead of the second-place team from Concordia. The men's team also recorded a top-3 finish in the first event as Matthew Roe, Andrew Benson, Daniel Vale and Tom Franicevich swam a 1:27.03 and placed just over a second out of first.

The Eagles had a pair of top-5 finishes in the 500-freestyle as Jake Allen (4:52.70) and Sophia Dammann (5:21.83) each finished fifth.

Lisa Tixier and Raymond Kam both finished inside podium position in their 200-IM events. Tixier was in a shootout with Madeleine Dodge (CUI) and Elodie Poo Cheong (APU) and placed third with a 2:10.53. Kam recorded a 2:00.19 to finish second behind a guy from Redlands who dominated the race.

The quickest race of the day saw Rebecca Brandt and Franicevich both earn individual top-5 honors. Brandt finished the women's 50-freestyle in third place (:25.11) about two-tenths of a second back from the leader, while Franicevich finished fourth with a :22.06.

"This meet presented an opportunity for them to showcase all of the training they've put in. I tried to remind them that they had already accomplished the most difficult part and now it was just about relaxing, and racing," said Kauth. "The psych sheets for day one had six swimmers ranked in the top-8, and after the preliminary swims, we were able to finish with 13 swimmers ranked in the top-8, which was a huge confidence booster for us.

Finally just like they opened the day well, Biola's relays performed well in the 400-medley relay to finish the day. The women earned another win with a 3:55.98 and once again had about a two-second buffer over the second-place team.

The men placed third with a 3:36.26. After day one of competition the Eagles' women sit second in the team standings with 520 points. The men sit third with 402.

"It was a very exciting and emotional day of racing, but I reminded them that this is a three-day event, and we've only gotten through day one," said Kauth. "It's on us as a team to stay humble and focused in order to keep the momentum going into the next two days. We did some amazing things, but I we're definitely not satisfied. They're looking forward to continued competition."

Competition continues Saturday and concludes Sunday morning.