The Pirates' men's and women's swimming and diving teams opened the 2022 season Friday at the Western State Conference Larry Baratte Invitational at the Ventura Aquatic Center. Ventura's squads placed a combined fourth place of the nine competing teams in the meet named to honor the late VC Hall of Fame coach Larry Baratte. Diver Michael Andrews won the men's 1m diving competition and the men's 200-yard freestyle relay team also claimed gold.
The Pirates finished with a combined total of 106 points on the day in the competition designed to get competitors their first work of the year in a live setting. Cuesta came out on top of the event with 223.5 points followed by Bakersfield (206.5) and Santa Barbara (109).
Ventura had a strong showing in the diving competition. The VC men swept the 1m event with Andrews claiming first with a score of 140.90 followed by Janson Cunningham and Mattia Braccini in second and third. Braccini also claimed silver in the 3m competition.
The Pirate women were second and third in the 1m diving event with Allison Harris and Lauren Pierce, respectively.
VC's 200-yard freestyle relay team of Cunningham, Braccini, Zane Hermann and Collin Spargur also paced the field, winning with a mark of 1:31.81. Spargur also finished second in the 50-yard free and fourth in the 100-yard free. Hermann, meanwhile, was fifth in the 200-yard free and touched in sixth place in the 100-yard free.
Shelby Jackson had the top swimming performances for the Pirate women, claiming silver in the 100-yard backstroke and bronze in the 100-yard butterfly. The quartet of Nicole Hoare, Megan Findlay, Jackson and Pierce finished fifth in the 200-yard medley relay.
VC next hits the pool on Thursday Feb. 17 at the WSC No. 1 meet at Los Angeles Valley College.