Willamette Women, Whitman Men Win Dual Swimming Meet

This article was delayed due to problems with the timing system at the WU Natatorium.

By Timothy Walsh, Athletics Communications Writer

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University women's swimming team and the Whitman College men's swimming team earned wins on Saturday, Nov. 7, in a Northwest Conference dual meet at the Willamette Natatorium.  The Bearcat women's team defeated the Missionaries 116-89, while the Whitman men's team downed Willamette 116-88.

Willamette's women are now 1-1 overall and 1-1 in the NWC. The Bearcat men's team is 0-2 overall and 0-2 in the NWC. The Whitman women's team is 0-4 overall, 0-2 in the NWC, and the Missionaries' men are 2-1 overall, 2-0 in the NWC.

The Willamette women's team took first place in seven of the nine individual events.

Anna Burdine (Fr., Seattle, WA/Mount Rainier HS) won the 1,000-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle, and Cassie Tallman (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) placed first in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly.

Rachel Harvill (Fr., Alamo, CA/Monte Vista HS) prevailed in the 50-yard freestyle, while Kiley Lin (Fr., Palo Alto, CA/Henry M. Gunn HS) took first in the 100-yard backstroke, and Ashlyn Witherwax (So., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) won the 100-yard breaststroke.

Burdine's winning time in the 1,000-yard freestyle was 11:43.91, and she won the 500 freestyle in 5:40.59. Tallman was timed at 2:02.86 to win the 200 freestyle, and Lin finished third in that event at 2:06.85. Tallman registered a time of 1:02.38 to win the 100 butterfly.

In the 50 freestyle, Harvill's time of 26.37 seconds edged out Whitman's Josie Furbershaw time of 26.60 seconds. Jamie Johnson (So., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) placed third in the event with a time of 26.99 seconds, just 0.39 out of second place.

The Bearcats also earned first and third place in the 100 backstroke, with Lin's first place time of 1:01.54 followed by Whitman's Cameo Hlebasko in second at 1:03.44, and Michaela Zuber (Sr., Sacramento, CA/Sheldon HS) in third at 1:04.29. Witherwax earned Willamette's final first-place individual finish with her time of 1:08.93 in the 100 breaststroke.

WU also earned first place in the women's 200-yard medley relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay. The winning team in the medley relay, which was timed at 1:54.91, included Zuber, Witherwax, Tallman, and Harvill. Taking first place in the freestyle relay in 1:43.66 were Harvill, Zuber, Johnson, and Lin.

For the Willamette men's team, Alika Masei (Jr., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) won two events and Shelby Merrill (Jr., Thousand Oaks, CA/Westlake HS) placed first in one event.

Masei finished first in the 100-yard backstroke in 55.80 to win by 0.14 over Jared Sears of Whitman. Masei won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:02.23 Merrill placed first in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:47.11.

Mark Yuvienco (So., San Jose, CA/Bellarmine College Prep) earned second place in two events. He was second in the 100-yard butterfly in 53.56 seconds and took second in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:03.43.

Reuben White (So., Portland, OR/Westview HS) placed second in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:49.57, while Dan Aki (Jr., Union City, CA/James Logan HS) was second in the 400-yard individual medley in 4:34.98.

Whitman won both of the men's relays, defeating a team of Masei, Mykah Fujiwara (Fr., Kaneohe, HI/Punahou School), Aki, and White in the 200-yard medley relay, and besting Willamette's squad of Merrill, Scott Lucero (Fr., Alta Loma, CA/Los Osos HS), Baker Armstrong (Fr., Fresno, CA/Bullard HS), and Yuvienco in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Whitman's winning times were 1:54.91 in the 200 medley relay and 1:28.00 in the 200 freestyle relay.

Willamette will swim again on Friday, Nov. 13, when the Bearcats visit the University of Puget Sound at 6 p.m. (PST).