Against one of the top programs in the conference, the Washington State Cougar swimming team fell short as the UCLA Bruins took the win both Friday and Saturday in the first home dual meet of the year for the Cougs.

In the first matchup against UCLA Friday, the Bruins finished with a final score of 133-67.

Ali Mand was WSU’s leading performer as she managed to pull off a first-place win in the evening’s fourth event, the 50 free. She completed the race in 24.25 seconds while her compatriot, freshman Haley Rose Love, finished third in 24.38 seconds.

While the team could not notch up the first place win, the Cougs came in second in more than half of the individual events.

In the 200 yard butterfly Elise Locke tabbed in a second place finish. Also finishing second on the day were Emma Johansson, Loree Olsen, Emma Ronczkowski, and Presley Wetterstrom in the 100 free, 200 backstroke, 500 free, and 200 breaststroke, respectively.

The team’s overall performance was highlighted as they achieved a second place in the 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:35.17. Johansson, Mand, Love, and Anne Kenney manned the relay team.

“This was a good meet for our kids, they’re getting better every month,” Head Coach Tom Jager said. “It was a good start, something to base off the rest of the season. Ali Mand swam great, really fought in everything she swam. The freshmen were solid, which is good.”

The Bruins opened and closed the evening with extraordinary results, breaking Gibb Pool’s record in the 400 medley relay. Madison White, Jessica Khojasteh, Noelle Tarazona, and Ting Quah broke the record with 3:46.85. UCLA’s team of Linnea Mack, Quah, Kathryn Murphy, and Monica Dornick finished with a time of 1:33.75, another pool record. Individually, the Bruin’s Lauren Baker finished off with a time of 9:56.02 in the 1000 free, also a record breaking time.

In the second day of the dual meet, the Cougs fell short with a final score of 142-80.

Nicole Proulx was WSU’s leading scorer on Saturday morning with 13 points. She highlighted the 100 free, winning with a time of 51.61 seconds. She finished second in the 200 free (1:53.42), and swam the first leg of the 400 free relay as the team rallied into second place.

Johansson also tabbed in two second place finishes in the 50 fly (25.10 seconds) and the 100 backstroke (57.29).

In the final event of the afternoon, the Bruin’s relay team of Quah, Mack, Murphy, and Dornick broke the Gibb Pool record once again in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:25.66. This concluded UCLA’s fourth pool record of the weekend.

“I like two things today; I liked the way our team performed and I like the way UCLA performed,” coach Jager said after the meet Saturday. “They are on a roll this year and they’re in the top 10. That’s good for our team to see.”

Washington State is now 2-4 in dual meets this season.

The Cougars will stay home for their next competition and dual meet of the season Jan. 24 against Oregon State in Gibb Pool.