The CSU East Bay swim team is stroking their way towards a successful season with newcomer Jenel Lopez leading the way.

The Pioneers paid a visit to Oakland over the weekend for the Mills College Invitational where they placed third amongst five universities from across the state.

The Pioneers finished ahead of Vanguard University and host Mills College, with Concordia University and University Santa Cruz finishing in first and second place respectively.

Junior Jenel Lopez finished first in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyles and placed second in her 200-yard breastsroke race, propelling the lady Pioneers to a top three finish.

On Oct. 14, Lopez broke a school record in the 100-yard freestyle in East Bay’s victory over Mills College in their first dual meet of the season.

Lopez finished the race in 53.26 seconds breaking the old mark of 53.41 set by Murphy Wimer last year.

Lopez’s record-breaking time makes her nationally ranked in the top ten in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II.

“I was really excited that I broke the record but I was super surprised that I broke it so early in the season,” said Lopez.

“It was one of my best times in a while. I’m looking forward to making that record unbreakable at the end of the season and breaking more records, specifically the 50-yard free style and 200-yard freestyle.”

2011 marks the first year that Lopez swims for East Bay.

Lopez is a transfer student from Cerritos College, in the Los Angeles area where she established nine school records and was twice named conference Most Valuable Swimmer.

She also led Cerritos College to conference championships in swimming and water polo in her time there.

“Jenel has been a real gift for us, she’s one of those sprinters that not only has the talent and the gift to do great but she has the work ethic as well,” said Coach Loorz.

“There’s a lot of sprinters out there who can just do the 100 and the 50 [yard freestyle] but that’s not Jenel, she’s already had a good 500 yard freestyle this season, she obviously had a good 100 yard freestyle. She’s one of the best things that have happened to the program this season.”

Although the Pioneer swim squad is small in size compared to other teams in the conference, Coach Loorz says it about the quality of the team and not the quantity.

“We’ve got a pair of swimmers who can make nationals in Jenel and freshman Alyssa Tenney,” said Coach Loorz.

“This is our first time to be eligible to make Division II nationals and we’d like to be there. I look for [Jenel] to get faster as the season goes on. We’d like to be competitive at the national scene and that where we’re headed for.”

This year is Coach Loorz’s second year as head coach and he already believes this year’s team is more equip for success than a season ago.

The Pioneers will meet Cal Baptist and Redlands University this weekend in Redlands before returning home to face off against conference competition UC Santa Cruz at home on Nov. 19.