The swim teams cruised their way to another decisive win on the road today in a meet against Willamette. The women finished with a total score of 151 to Willamette's 52; the men's final score was Whitman 137, Willamette 66. These wins improve the NWC dual meet record of both the men and the women to 2-0.
 
Keeping spirits and energy levels high throughout the meet, the swimmers cheered each other on through events as short as 22 seconds and as long as 22 minutes.
 
"There was a lot to be proud of today," said Head Coach Jennifer Blomme. "There was a good energy on the team, good racing, and especially some strong finishes."
 
Though most have a season or less of collegiate racing experience, the swimmers swam smart, fast races and found no shortage of exciting matchups. Once again, members of the team's large first-year class were in the center of the action, posting Whitman's fastest times in nine of the 20 total individual races.
 
Zoey Watts '17, Shannon Plunkett '17 and Dalton Cooper 17 led the charge on both distance events for the second time this weekend, swimming both the 500 yard freestyle and the 1,650 – a full mile – during the afternoon event. Kincaid Hoffman '17 also swam the mile and the 500 the for the first time in his college career today, and raced competitively with Willamette's Zander Le Bel in both. To the tune of a dozen cheering teammates, Hoffman finished his mile in 18:45.49 to take third place, and completed the 500 in 5:27.23 for fourth.
 
Hoffman's eager energy was represented across the board during this weekend's competitions in the 12-person first-year class.
 
"It's an incredibly young team," said junior co-captain Nic Win '15. "And with that there are some advantages, which where apparent this weekend. The energy level on deck, and in the pool, was great - especially for this early in the season. Right from the get-go, there was lots of energy."
 
Cole Weinstein '17 took on his first collegiate 400 yard Individual Medley, in which each swimmer completes 100 yards of each of the four strokes. Weinstein brought home the gold in the event with a 4:23.82; Win took second in 4:33.72. With powerful, loping strokes, Weinstein also won the 500 yard freestyle by eight seconds with a 5:10. 63.
 
Sean Terada '17 battled Willamette's Alex Guffey for first in the 200 yard freestyle, coming out on top with a 1:48.91. Win duked it out with Willamette's Alika Masei in a fierce 100 yard backstroke race, ultimately finishing a close second in a 55.10. Loic McGiverin-Odeide '16, a sprinter from Puerto Rico, swam to quick victory in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 22.65, beating out Willamette's second-place finisher by 1.5 seconds.
 
"I think people were super gutsy today," said senior backstroker and sprinter Keller Hawkins '14. "A lot of people swam things they've never swam before, and really raced. I think it just shows how much they love what they do." For her part, Hawkins swam the opening legs on both winning relays, and finished third in the 100 yard backstroke with a 105.93.
 
Shanley Miller '17 led a 1-2-3 Whitman finish in the women's 400 yard Individual Medley with a speedy time of 5:00.17; Ashley Jay '15 and Teylor Greff '16 swam to second and third in the event.
 
In the 500 yard freestyle, a mid-distance event in which swimmers complete 20 lengths of the pool, Elise Tinseth '16 took first in a smart 5:37.74; women's team co-captain Melanie Notari '14 nabbed second place with a 5:41.64. Notari and Tinseth also swam together in the 100 yard butterfly, which Notari won in 1:01.70.
 
Tai Hallstein '17 again posted wins in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle races, tearing through the water in 25.06 seconds in the 50, and taking first with a 54.94 in another Whitman 1-2-3 punch in the 100 yard distance. Women's team co-captain Ellen Banks '14 and Josie Furbershaw '17 finished second and third.
 
The last event of the meet, the men's 200 yard freestyle relay, sophomore Will Erickson '16 teamed up with first-years Dane Kawamoto '15, Cole Weinstein '17, and Terada. The four men outswam their Willamette counterparts with a total time of 1:31.68 to take first place in the event and end the weekend on another high.
 
We have learned a lot about our races this weekend," said Blomme. "Although we are doing a lot of things right, we can improve a lot too. With just some minor changes at our walls, with our underwaters, we will se some major improvements. Looking forward to next weekend already!"
 
The team will host dual meets against Lewis & Clark College and Pacific University next Friday and Saturday at Whitman's Harvey Pool.
 
For complete results, click here.
 
 
This story was contributed by Elizabeth Arnosti.