Redlands, CA —- On Saturday the Occidental men's and women's swimming teams took a small squad to compete in their first meet of the season. The Redlands Pentathlon was a great way to start the season as it entailed swimming every stroke. While the team wasn't at full capacity, that didn't stop the Tigers from pushing through and having a great meet.  Overall, Kamille Pellettieri and Josh Biggs placed in the Top 10 individually.  Pellettieri finished in sixth for the women with 45 points and Biggs finished in eighth for the men with 31 points.  

Pellettieri started out the meet strong with a 1:01.68 placing fifth in the 100 fly followed by Nathalie Kerrigan (1:02.59, 7th). Despite only a few weeks of practice under their belts, they both came out with really strong races. 

On the men's side Biggs led the pack in the 100 fly with a 53.51 placing fifth, followed by Carter Park in seventh (53.75), and Alex To in 11th (54.19). They showed great grit and determination to place well in the event. 

Kerrigan and To led the way in the 100 backstroke placing 8th and 14th followed by teammates and first years Kyler Brumfield (1:05.58, 13th) and Brandon Kim (57.97, 15th). 

Pellettieri finished fourth overall in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:10.77 followed by Elle Howsen (1:14.44, 11th), and Sophia Vitek (1:15.43, 16th). Oxy's depth in breaststroke was shown brightly in this event.

Biggs continued his freestyle legacy by finishing second in the 100 freestyle in a time of 47.95 followed by Park (49.84, 13th), and To (50.52, 18th). Despite the fatigue of the long meet starting to kick in, the Tigers continued to push their performance. 

Lastly on the women's side, Kerrigan and Pellettieri surged to the finish in the 100 IM placing 10th (1:05.26) and 12th (1:05.79). The men followed suit and charged home with Alex To finishing 12th in 56.59 followed by Park (14th, 57.00), and Biggs (20th, 57.53). 

The Tigers host their Alumni meet on Saturday, October 14, 2023.