Bearcats Defeat Pacific in Men's and Women's Swimming

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University swimming teams won 14 of 22 events against Pacific University in a Northwest Conference dual meet on Saturday, Nov. 6, as the Bearcats earned victories over the Boxers at the WU Natatorium. The Bearcats even their records at 1-1 overall and 1-1 in the NWC. Pacific's teams fell to 0-2 overall, 0-2 in the NWC.

Willamette easily won the men's competition, 135-39, against a small quad from Pacific (six swimmers). The Bearcat women's team rallied to edge out the Boxers, 108.5-92.5, with strong swims during the back half of the meet.

"Today we got our first look and feel of a full meet weekend," Willamette Head Swimming Coach Brent Summers commented. "We started a bit slow but built into the meet well. The women's team had a very tough meet against a good Pacific team, and I was pleased with how they rose to the challenge to get the win. The men had a successful meet, swimming well and being able to focus on their race execution. It was also our first chance to swim 200s in the strokes in a meet setting."

Will Compton (Jr., Portage, MI/Portage Northern HS) and Julius Wilhelmi (So., Roseville, Ca/Woodcreek HS) each won two individual events for the Willamette men's team. Compton prevailed in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:13.13 and completed the 200-yard butterfly in 2:11.25 while swimming unopposed. Wilhelmi excelled in the sprints with victories in the 50-yard freestyle (22.50 seconds) and the 100-yard freestyle (51.60 seconds).

Other winners for WU in individual men's events were Robbie Daugherty (Sr., Reno, NV/Damonte Ranch HS) in the 1,000-yard freestyle, Cole Lindberg (Fy., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake Christian Academy) in the 200-yard backstroke, and Ben Nickell (Jr., Boulder, CO/Fairview HS) in the 200-yard breaststroke. Daugherty won the 1,000 freestyle in 11:26.46. Lindberg finished the 200 backstroke in 2:14.02, while Nickell touched out with a time of 2:24.58 in the 200 breaststroke.

Individual event winners for the women's team were Rachel Carlson (Fy., Santa Maria, CA/Orcutt Academy HS) in the 1,000-yard freestyle, Min Wei (Sr., Fushun, China/Cascade HS) in the 200-yard butterfly, Tatum Good (Fy., Scottsdale, AZ/Scottsdale Prep Academy) in the 200-yard backstroke, and Anna Hornbeck (Fy., Bend, OR/Bend HS) in the 200-yard breaststroke. Carlson took first in the 1,000 freestyle in 12:21.71. Wei grabbed victory in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:32.47. Good swam the 200 backstroke in 2:17.59, and Hornbeck completed the 200 breaststroke at 2:35.79.

The Bearcats also won three of the four relay events. In the men's 400-yard medley relay, Willamette registered a time of 3:52.41 through the efforts of Compton, Nickell, Lindberg, and Wilhelmi. WU claimed wins in both of the 400-yard freestyle relay events, with the men's relay finishing in 3:40.40, while swimming unopposed, and the women's relay earning a time of 4:00.21. Swimming for the men were Lindberg, Daugherty, Nick Klein (Fy., University Place, WA/Curtis HS), and Logan Copeland (So., Sparks, NV/Spanish Springs HS). The women's relay included Good, Gwyn Fritz (So., Los Gatos, CA/Leigh HS), Wei, and Jacqueline Hall (Fy., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS).

Willamette won five of the last six women's events to surge to the overall victory. The only event the Bearcats didn't win near the end of the meet was the 500-yard freestyle, as Julianne Abrigonde of Pacific edged out Sarah Jenner (Fy., Normandy Park, WA/Stanford Online HS) of WU by just 1.31 seconds. Abrigonde earned a time of 5:48.70, while Jenner complete the race in 5:50.01.

Earlier in the meet, Abrigonde gained a very narrow win over Jenner in the 200-yard freestyle. Abrigonde's time was 2:08.68, while Jenner finished just 0.15 later at 2:08.83.

The WU women's team helped its comeback by gaining a 1-2-3 finish in the 200-yard breaststroke. Hornbeck's winning time of 2:35.79 led the way, with Katherina Cory (So., Dublin, CA/Dublin HS) in second at 2:42.39 and Jenner in third at 2:44.19.

Willamette will swim at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington in about two weeks on Friday, Nov. 19. The NWC dual meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (PST).