Bearcats Fall to Whitworth in Swimming; Wei and Ludwig each Win an Event

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

SALEM, Ore. -- Whitworth University earned Northwest Conference wins against Willamette University in men's and women's swimming on Saturday, Nov. 17 at the WU Natatorium. The Pirates won the men's competition, 139-66, and placed first in the women's competion, 142-61.

The Whitworth men's team remained undefeated at 4-0 overall, 4-0 in the NWC. The Pirate women's team improved to 3-1 overall, 3-1 in the NWC. Both of Willamette's teams slipped to 0-3 on the season, 0-3 in the NWC.

Willamette won two events, as Min Wei (Fr., Fushun, China/Cascade HS) took first place in the women's 100-yard butterfly and Derek Ludwig (Jr., Moraga, CA/Campolindo HS) placed first in the men's 100-yard butterfly.

Wei's winning time in the women's 100 butterfly was 1:04.35, as she won by 0.55 over Molly Vogt of Whitworth, who placed second in 1:04.90. Niki Kates (Jr., Truckee, CA/Forest Charter School) was third for Willamette in 1:06.54.

In the men's 100 butterfly, Ludwig won by earning a time of 54.91 seconds. Hunter McKenzie from Whitworth was second in 57.04 seconds, while Daniel Fang (So., Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Catholic HS) of Willamette placed third in 57.87 seconds.

The Bearcats also were credited with a win in the men's 200-yard medley relay after Whitworth's top relay team was disqualified for an illegal start. Willamette's time in the race was 1:45.34 by Ludwig, Mykah Fujiwara (Sr., Kaneohe, HI/Punahou School), Fang and Evan Segimoto (So., Alamo, CA/The Athenian School).

"Our meet against Whitworth today was another tough meet against a top team in the conference," Willamette Head Coach Brent Summers said. "Today was the first time we competed on both Friday and Saturday this season, and I was excited to see how we would do. We had many good swims today and a couple of nice wins. Min Wei and Derek Ludwig both came away with great wins.

The Willamette women's team placed second in several events.

Wei, in addition to winning the 100-yard butterfly, grabbed second place in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:14.61. Rachel Harvill (Jr., Alamo, CA/Monte Vista HS) took second place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 57.50 seconds. She was less than one second behind the winner, Isabella Hackney of Whitworth, who was timed at 56.51 seconds.

Anna Burdine (Sr., Seattle, WA/Mount Rainier HS) was second in the 1,650-yard freestyle for the Bearcats in 20:14.69. Kiley Lin (Sr./Jr., Palo Alto, CA/Henry M. Gunn HS) of Willamette achieved second place in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.99. She finished 0.78 behind Eve Vetter of Whitworth, who won the race in 1:01.77. Willamette's women took secod place in both relay events, as the Bearcats completed the 200-yard medley relay in 1:57.20 and recorded a time of 1:49.18 in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Lin attained a strong third place finish in the 50-yard freestyle in 26.77 seconds. Hannah Galbreath of Whitworth won the race in 26.43 seconds, while Vetter was second in 26.51 seconds.

Willamette earned second place in two individual events during the men's competition.

Ben Fritz (So., Los Gatos, CA/Leigh HS) was second in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 17:45.84. Colin Hakeman (Jr., Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS) placed third just a few seconds later in 17:51.30. Fujiwara was second in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:03.79.

Big Moment of the Meet for Willamette

Min Wei won the women's 100-yard butterfly in 1:04.35, as
she held off Molly Vogt of Whitworth, who placed second
in 1:04.90. Wei added a second place finish for the Bearcats
in the women's 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:14.61.
Wei also swam the second leg in the women's 200-yard medley
relay to help Willamette take second place in 1:57.20.