OAKLAND, Calif. --- Biola set the stage with strong performances yesterday and then went out on Saturday and won the entire meet at the 2018 Bay Area Invite. Biola's combined team score of 1,033 points was good enough to lead the six schools participating as they edged the second-place UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs by 20 points.

"I couldn't be more proud of this team, and what they've accomplished to this point in the season. Today was truly the most all-around, team performance I've seen since arriving at Biola over a year ago," said Head Coach Ryan Kauth. "We've had meets where we've broken records, gotten over 50 lifetime best times, but to win our first invitational, was something special that they could share as a group."

Last season, Biola and UC Santa Cruz were also the top two teams at the end of this meet. However, that one went in favor of the Banana Slugs, 1,101-1,035.

"From before the team got off the bus this morning, I told them that they had the ability to truly leave their mark on this program, and create a culture of being one of the most competitive teams in the PCSC, and ultimately, the NCAA," said Kauth. "With a slew of events on each of their plates, they impressed the coaches from start to finish"

It was a busy day for the 26 swimmers Kauth took up to the Bay Area. Most swimmers competed in five or six events on the day, even with it being their third meet day in the past eight days.

There was no holding back, and that resulted in a historic moment for the swim & dive program.

Nicole Chang set the tone for the day with the Eagles' first event victory in event number five, the women's 100-backstroke. Chang went 1:00.74 to beat the second-place swimmer from CSU East Bay by half-a-second. She also placed second in the 200-backstroke with a 2:13.08.

The men were spurred on by a solid performance early on in the 100-backstroke. Clayton Owens and Matthew Roe took second and third to earn a whopping 33 combined points for the team. Owens was just 62-hundredths of a second off the first-place pace.

Kasidee Pascoe, Annie Bristow and Rebecca Brandt all swam 50-free efforts within .19 of a second of one another to go six, seven, eight in that race and add 39 points to the BU board.

"Today, there were standout performances and individuals that contributed greatly to the team's success, but I think that this is a day to celebrate the team and what they did as one," said Kauth. "I'm looking forward to being able to remember this weekend as a turning point for a bright future for Biola Swimming and Diving."

The men also had a great team effort in the 50-free with Roe, Owens and Westin Dawe taking spots three, seven and eight to each score double-digits. Roe led the way with a :22.82, finishing just off the winning pace of :22.37.

The big points always come from the relays, and the Eagles were able to score a bunch of them starting in the 800-freestyle. The women's team raked in 34 by finishing second and the men won the event with a 7:25.60 to bring in 40 points.

Owens was able to pick up Biola's second individual victory by taking first in the 200-backstroke. He and Jake Allen both finished top-3 in the event, with Owens' 2:04.01 being a win by a miniscule five-hundredths of a second.

Another newcomer, Annie Bristow, took home the third win of the day when she beat her seed time by over eight seconds to finish first in the 500-freestyle (5:22.31).

Emily Silzel had a great day as always with a couple second place finishes, and she and Katelyn Harper impressed in the 400-IM by claiming two of the top-4 spots. Harper was second in the race with a 4:45.20 and Silzel fourth with a 4:46.62.

Biola's got another big meet ahead of it with a head-to-head dual at Azusa Pacific this coming weekend. The Eagles and Cougars will meet at Slauson Community Pool in Azusa on Nov. 3.

It will be one of two remaining tune-up meets before the biggest meet of the fall season, the Collegiate Winter Invite.