Yuvienco Wins 200 Butterfly, Lin Sets Record in 100 Backstroke, at NW Invitational

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- Mark Yuvienco (So., San Jose, CA/Bellarmine College Prep) won the men's 200-yard butterfly and Kiley Lin (Fr., Palo Alto, CA/Henry M. Gunn HS) set a school record in the women's 100-yard backstroke to highlight a successful day for the Willamette University swimming teams as the Northwest Invitational concluded on Saturday, Nov. 21. Willamette hosted the two-day event at the WU Natatorium.

Yuvienco registered a time of 1:56.28 to take first place in the 200 butterfly. He won by 0.61 over second place finisher Jake Klassen from College of Idaho. Klassen earned a time of 1:56.89. Seth Villeda of Pacific Lutheran University was third in 1:58.07.

Lin placed second in the 100 backstroke, but became the first women's swimmer in Willamette history to break the 1-minute mark in the event. Her time was 59.92 seconds. The previous Willamette record was 1:00.04, set by Laura Juckeland in 1995.

Sam Anders from University of Puget Sound won the 100 backstroke on Saturday in 59.49 seconds. On Friday, Lin won the 200-yard backstroke in 2:09.02, while Anders placed second at 2:10.64.

In addition to Yuvienco, other top swimmers for Willamette in the men's 200 butterfly were Andrew Lum (Sr., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) and Dan Aki (Jr., Union City, CA/James Logan HS). Lum finished ninth in 2:03.45 and Aki was 11th in 2:04.15.

Lin was one of two Bearcats in the top eight of the women's 100 backstroke. Michaela Zuber (Sr., Sacramento, CA/Sheldon HS) took seventh place in 1:01.94.

Cassie Tallman (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) provided Willamette with second place in the women's 100-yard breaststroke in 1:08.92. Ashlyn Witherwax (So., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) was fourth in 1:10.34. Tallman finished just 0.21 behind the winner, Shanell Sullenberger of Pacific Lutheran University, who was timed at 1:08.71.

The Willamette women placed third in the 200-yard medley relay to open the second day. Willamette's time was 1:53.27, with Lin, Witherwax, Tallman and Rachel Harvill (Fr., Alamo, CA/Monte Vista HS) swimming for the Bearcats. Pacific Lutheran won the relay in 1:50.93 and Puget Sound was second at 1:52.51.

Yuvienco added a third place finish for the Willamette men's team in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:24.10. Klassen from College of Idaho took first place in 4:15.91. Aki of WU was 10th in 4:35.47, while Josh Bumgarner (Jr., W, Albany, OR/Crescent Valley HS) was 11th in 4:37.12.

Willamette's Reuben White (So., Portland, OR/Westview HS) took fourth in the men's 200-yard freestyle, as he completed the event in 1:47.80. He was just 0.18 out of third place. The 200 free was won by Nick Mitchell of UPS in 1:44.90.

In the men's 1,650-yard freestyle, Baker Armstrong (Fr., Fresno, CA/Bullard HS) of WU placed fifth after recording a time of 17:03.66. Shelby Merrill (Jr., Thousand Oaks, CA/Westlake HS) added a 10th place finish in 17:26.55.

Other Top Willamette Results

Willamette took fourth in the women's 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:48.39. Lin, Zuber, Harvill and Jamie Johnson (So., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) swam for the Bearcats.

The Bearcats registered fifth place in the men's 200-yard medley relay at 1:41.18. WU athletes in the event were Jason Bayang (Jr., Wahiawa, HI/Hoala School) , Alika Masei (Jr., Salem, OR/West Salem HS), Yuvienco and Armstrong. Pacific Lutheran was first in 1:37.68.

Kate Harvey (So., Atlantic Beach, FL/Duncan Fletcher HS) earned eighth place and Anna Burdine (Fr., Seattle, Wash./Mount Rainer HS) was ninth in the women's 1,650-yard freestyle. Harvey's time was 19:39.93. Burdine touched out just under six seconds later at 19:45.76.

In the men's 100-yard backstroke, Bayang was eighth with a time of 57.54 seconds. Masei placed 10th in the men's 100-yard breaststroke. He was timed at 1:02.30.

Final Team Standings

Pacific Lutheran placed first in the women's team standings with 575 points. Puget Sound was second at 341, with College of Idaho in third at 238. Willamette gained fourth place at 222, Whitworth was fifth at 188, Lewis & Clark College took sixth at 174, Mills College (Calif.) was seventh at 59, Pacific University placed eighth at 33 and Southwestern Oregon Community College was ninth with 27 points.

In the men's team standings, Puget Sound was first with 352 points. Whitworth finished second with 351.5 points and Pacific Lutheran claimed third at 319. College of Idaho was in fourth place at 219.5, Southwestern Oregon CC placed ffith at 198, and Willamette was sixth at 195. Lewis & Clark followed in seventh at 118. Pacific took eighth at 86 and Trinity Lutheran College (Wash.) placed ninth with 18 points.