Whitworth Wins against Bearcats in NWC Swimming Action
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. --Whitworth University outscored Willamette University in a dual swimming meet on Saturday, Nov. 4. The Pirates won the women's competition 117-88, and also prevailed in the men's team standings 150-55. Whitworth's men improved to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the Northwest Conference, while the Whitworth women's squad moved to 1-1 on the season, 1-1 in the NWC. Both Willamette teams fell to 0-2 overall and to 0-2 in the NWC.
Cassie Tallman (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS), Kiley Lin (Jr./So., Palo Alto, CA/Henry M. Gunn HS) and Jamie Johnson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) each won an event for the Willamette women's team.
Tallman took first place in the 200-yard individual medley. She completed the four-stroke race in 2:20.10. Jamie Siegler of Whitworth was second in 2:22.12. Lin provided a the Bearcats with a win in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.57 seconds. Elizabeth Dressel was second for the Pirates at 27.16 seconds. Johnson finished first in the 100-yard freestyle in 59.19 seconds. She won by more than one second over Olivia Cox of Whitwroth, who placed second in 1:00.33.
The women's 200-yard breaststroke was a close race. Jamie Siegler of Whitworth won the event in 2:33.26. Tallman was second in 2:34.67. Ashlyn Witherwax (Sr., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) of Willamette took third in 2:38.66.
Mark Yuvienco (Sr., San Jose, CA/Bellarmine College Prep) was second for Willamette in the men's 200-yard freestyle. Jake Davies won the 200 in 1:50.16, just 0.16 in front of Yuvienco, who was timed at 1:50.32. Ben Fritz (Fr., Los Gatos, CA/Leigh HS) placed third for the Bearcats in 1:53.07.
Fritz took second place in the men's 100-yard freestyle. George Gonzalez of Whitworth was the winner in 50.63 seconds. Fritz registered a time of 51.23 seconds.
In the women's 200-yard backstroke, Dressel finished first in 2:19.89, but she was followed closely by Willamette athletes Jensine Rasmussen (So., Tacoma, WA/Stadium HS) and Niki Kates (So., Truckee, CA/Forest Charter School). Rasmussen was second in 2:20.29 and Kates placed third in 2:20.80.
Other Bearcats who took second place in an individual event were Colin Hakeman (So., Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS), Kate Harvey (Sr., Atlantic Beach, FL/Duncan Fletcher HS), and Ben Hedman (So., Davis, CA/Davis HS). Hakeman placed second in the men's 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:32.16. Harvey was second in the women's 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:08.99. Hedman finished second in the men's 200-yard butterfly in 2:02.34. Yuvienco was third in 2:03.67.
Mykah Fujiwara (Jr., Kaneohe, HI/Punahou School) barely missed second place in the men's 200-yard breatstroke. Davies of Whitworth won the event in 2:15.80. Blake James was second for the Pirates in 2:24.32, just 0.01 in front of Fujiwara, who was timed at 2:24.33.
The Bearcats were second in both 400-yard freestyle relay races. In the women's race, Willamette swimmers Harvey, Jamie Johnson, Claire Johnson, and Lin achieved a time of 3:58.64. In the men's race, Yuvienco, Fritz, Daniel Fang (Fr., Rancho Santa Margarita/Catholic HS) and Derek Ludwig (So., Moraga, CA/Campolindo HS) combined for a time of 3:23.29.
Molly Vogt of Whitworth placed first in three events for the Pirate women's team. She won the 1,000-yard freestyle in 11:03.14, was first in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:19.18, and added first place in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:27.82.
Willamette will take on Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, Nov. 11. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (PST).