MALIBU, Calif. --- On Saturday, BU Women's Swim and Dive completed their perfect season, finishing 7-0 on the year while taking down all five NCAA Division I opponents they faced. Today's victory against Pepperdine continues to prove that this team is a force to be reckoned with and that they can compete at any level. 

Head Coach Ryan Kauth was sure to take in the moment and advised his team to do the same. "Today was one of the most memorable, if not the most memorable and most emotional day that I've had as head coach at Biola University," said Coach Kauth. 

Kauth and his team knew the importance of today's meet. It's not every day you get to compete and try to close out a perfect season. "Starting the day you have that thought in the back of your mind, the idea of going undefeated in a regular season. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Kauth. 

BU has faced plenty of challenges this season especially during tough dual meets, which pose so many challenges and tough competition. According to Coach Kauth, this 2021 season is the toughest schedule his program has ever had during his time as head coach at Biola. 

Unlike their other meets, Biola had everything to lose going into their dual meet with Pepperdine. They had a perfect season to lose. I told the team to have confidence," said Kauth. "You're not here because you got lucky, you're here because you're extremely talented and extremely hard working. This is a special program. 

Today's dual meet was tight from start to finish with neither team able to pull ahead by more than 12 points. Both teams brought a ton of energy and it was close all day. Half way through the meet, Kauth tried to shift his team's focus off of the competition and back onto their team. He encouraged them to focus on cheering for their teammates and pressing into each others races. "I wanted to take the pressure away from them and purely support each other and enjoy the moment," said Kauth. 

With two events remaining, BU was down 81-88 and had a 15 min break standing between them and continuing to compete towards a possible perfect season. Kauth reminded his team that these are the moments you train for, the moments you get into sports for. His message was simple, "I believe in you, take a moment and embrace what's going on here because we have two events left and we can do this." 

Biola knew that the 100-yard-breaststroke was going to be a tight race and that they needed to win the race or else the meet was over. With freshman NCAA qualifier Grace Kling and sophomore Anna Haaksma set at their blocks the Eagles were confident. The race was tight the entire way, during the last ten yards BU was able to pull out the victory. Haaksma touched the wall first with a time of 1:07.93 followed by Kling (1:07.95) and Pepperdine's Emily Mortin (1:08.02). 

The Eagles went into the very last event, the 400-yard-freestyle, tied 88-88. Kolya Vos led off for BU followed by Meredyth Rubie, Meghan Tolman and veteran junior Kasidee Pascoe anchoring. "You just knew, you just had a feeling they were going to pull it off," said Kauth. 

With energy surrounding the pool from both teams, Biola came out victorious finishing over three-seconds faster than Pepperdine to end the meet and secure the perfect season. 

It was an exciting moment for both teams to embrace that and take hold of the moment and accomplishment. "When they touched the wall first and we won the meet, it's something I'll never forget," said Kauth. "It's something I'll be able to carry with me for the rest of my career."

With such a talented women's program the moment was something the Eagles fought and worked incredibly hard for. They earned it. 

BU saw multiple first place finishes on the day starting with a 200-yard-IM relay victory. Meghan Tolman took first in the 50-yard-freestyle (:24.31), Vos took first in the 100-yard-freestyle (:53.19) and Liza Parahnevich took first in the 100-yard-backstroke (1:00.50). Haaksma and Kling finished first and second in the 100-yard-backstroke while the 400-yard-freestyle relay team closed out the win for the Eagles. 

"I am blessed to be able to coach this program, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity," said 

Also competing on Friday and Saturday was BU Men's Swim and Dive. On the 3m board for the men, Westin Dawe scored 144.60 points while Luke Hansen scored 110.65 while Eliana Cote and Ashley Vitale scored 183.20 and 156.60 respectively for the women. From the 1m board were Dawe (150.80) and Hansen (124.05) continued to fine tune their craft while Vitale (187.90) and Cote (176.40) finished back-to-back yet again. 

With NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships just four days away, the team has shifted their focus. How do Kauth and BU Swim and Dive plan to follow up a perfect season, by winning a team championship of course. This is a strong-fearless group of young women who have shown they are a force to be reckoned with. 

Next up for Women's Swim and Dive are the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships from Mar. 17 - Mar. 20 in Birmingham, Al. Check athletics.biola.edu for live streaming and live results updates.