FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific women's swim team put together a determined effort on Friday evening, competing against Division I opponent Fresno State as well as Cal State East Bay at the Fresno State Aquatics Center.

Leading the way for FPU was senior sprinter Jillian Lambert who claimed a top-five finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.08, marking the Sunbirds' highest individual placement of the meet. Lambert also posted a strong 54.45 in the 100-yard freestyle, finishing eighth overall.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Charlotte Wilbers continued her strong start to the season with a time of 1:55.52, placing sixth overall and narrowly out-touching Cal State East Bay's Sydney Prentice by just two-hundredths of a second. Wilbers later returned in the 500 freestyle, where she led FPU again with a 7th-place finish (5:17.78).

The Sunbirds showed depth in the longer races, with Cara Moehle (11.28.31) and Natalie Noble (11:39.29) taking sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 1000 freestyle, while Hermione Roe turned in a solid 2:25.88 in the 200 breaststroke, earning sixth overall.

In the 200 butterfly, freshman Mia Manno clocked 2:12.91 for eighth place, rounding out a balanced performance for the FPU mid-distance group.

The Sunbirds also delivered strong relay efforts, highlighted by the 200-yard medley relay team of Wilbers, Roe, Manno, and Lambert, who posted 1:47.04 to take seventh overall. The meet concluded with the 200-yard freestyle relay squad of Tora Nordli, Lili Sramko, Wilbers, and Lambert, touching in 1:40.82.

"Proud of the girls and the progress we're seeing as we get closer to mid-season!" said assistant coach Rebeca Bribiesca Spears. "Cara dropped a personal best in the 1000 free, hitting her fastest since her freshman year and Jillian threw down some great 50s in both her relay and individual. The work is showing. We can't wait to see what's next."

The 'Birds ended the night falling to both teams on points, but it was a strong performance nevertheless against premiere competition. Against Fresno State, the Sunbirds collected a score of 46 to the Bulldogs' 212. On the other hand, the 'Birds boosted to a 50 to combat the Pioneers' 206.

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