WU Wins all 11 Events to Roll Past L&C in Women's Swimming
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Willamette University won all 11 events, four Bearcats each won twice, and WU earned 1-2-3 finishes in four events, during a 159-40 victory in women's swimming against Lewis & Clark College on Thursday, Jan. 25. The meet at the Zehntbauer Swimming Pavilion, originally set for Saturday, Jan. 13, was rescheduled due to the weather.
The Bearcats ended the meet at 1-4 overall, 1-4 in the NWC. Lewis & Clark dropped to 1-4 on the season, 1-4 in the NWC.
Winning two events were Sarah Jenner (Jr., Normandy Park, WA/Stanford Online HS), Alayna Kisiday (Jr., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS), Leah Howell (Fy., Bremerton, WA/Central Kitsap HS), and Tessa Ciatti (Fy., Bellingham, WA/Squalicum HS). Anna Hornbeck (Jr., Bend, OR/Bend HS) took first place in one event. Four other Bearcats combined their efforts to win the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Jenner grabbed her first win of the evening in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 20:10.06. Teammate Ana Kaldy (Fy., South Beach, OR/Newport HS) was second in 20:15.63. Jenner also took first place in the 500-yard freestyle as she led a 1-2-3 finish. Her winning time in the 500 free was 5:53.58. Kaldy was second in 6:00.13 and Abbey Staniec (So., Stockton, CA/Lincoln HS) was third at 6:04.88.
Kisiday won the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events. In the 100 freestyle, she was timed at 55.65 seconds. Kate Milne of L&C was second in 56.49 seconds and Jacqueline Hall (Jr., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) of the Bearcats placed third in 59.22 seconds. In the 200 freestyle, Kisiday's winning time was 2:03.36 as she won by 3.87 seconds over Milne, who took second in 2:07.23.
The two events where Howell earned a win were the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke.
Howell recorded a time of 26.45 seconds in the 50 freestyle to edge out teammate Lydia Schmitt (Fy., Olympia, WA/North Thurston HS), who finished second in 26.71 seconds. Schmitt held off Aniqah Gaffoor of Lewis & Clark, with Gaffoor taking third in 26.78 seconds. In the 100 backstroke, Howell led a 1-2-3 result for the Bearcats as she touched out with a time of 1:03.77. Tatum Good (Jr., Scottsdale, AZ/Scottsdale Prep Academy) was second in 1:04.01 and Emma Noffsinger (So., Arvada, CO/Northglenn HS) claimed third in 1:06.90.
Ciatti's two wins were in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard butterfly. In the 200 I.M., Ciatti attained a first place time of 2:20.89, as she held WU finish 1-2-3. Good placed second at 2:25.94, while Hall placed third at 2:27.47. The 100 butterfly was won by Ciatti in 1:02.50. Schmitt followed in second place for WU at 1:0401. Gaffoor was third for L&C with a time of 1:04.48.
Willamette's final 1-2-3 sweep was in the 100-yard breaststroke, led by Hornbeck in first place at 1:12.29. Second place went to Jenner, who completed the race in 1:14.66. Ali Cosbey-Lewis (Fy., Tucson, AZ/BASIS Oro Valley HS) was third in 1:16.51.
The 200-yard medley relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay both ended in wins for the Bearcats. In the 200 medley relay, WU's team of Howell, Hornbeck, Ciatti, and Kisiday registered a time of 1:54.01 to win by 4.55 seconds over L&C. In the 200 freestyle relay, the Bearcats were timed at 1:53.50. Swimming on the freestyle relay were Ella Isaacson (Jr., Saint Paul, MN/Central HS), Staniec, Kaldy, and Hornbeck.
Willamette will battle against Linfield University at the WU Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 27. It will be Senior Day for the Bearcats. Meet time is scheduled for 11 a.m. PST.