Linfield Men, Whitworth Women Take Early Leads in NWC Swimming Championships

Photo: Willamette University Athletics

WALLA WALLA, Wash. - The Linfield College men and the Whitworth College women have grabbed early leads in the race for the 2007 Northwest Conference swimming crowns.

The NWC Championship Meet, taking place at the new Paul and Louise Harvey Pool on the Whitman College campus, ended with Whitworth in front in the women’s team scoring with 212 points.

The University of Puget Sound, the 10-time defending champion, scored 199 points and was in second place in the eight-school field.

Linfield slipped into first place in the men's team scoring with 185 points.

Puget Sound was second with 158 points while Whitworth, the four-time defending men's champion, was in third with 156 points.

The men's competition on opening day ended with a bit of controversy when the Whitworth 400-yard medley relay team was disqualified after placing second in that event to Puget Sound.

The disqualification, which race officials said was due to an early exchange from the backstroke to butterfly legs of the relay, cost the Pirates 34 points in the team scoring.

The Whitworth women built their first-day lead on first-place performances in both relays and all three individual events.

Natalie Turner, a Pirate first-year swimmer, won the 500-yard freestyle in 5:03.20, dropping the event’s two-time defending champion, Samantha Kephart, a Whitworth junior, into second place.

Katelyn Erickson, also a Whitworth junior, won the 200-yard individual medley in 2:12.06, beating the defending champion, Lewis & Clark’s Lindsay Nixon, by more than three seconds.

In the women’s 50-yard freestyle, Whitworth sophomore Brittany Gresset defended her event title with a winning time of 24.62.

Mica Bailey, a first-year swimmer at Pacific Lutheran, was the runner-up in 25:14.

Gresset, Turner, Erickson and Kephart combined efforts for Whitworth victories in the two women’s relays.

They won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:37.67, a new meet record, and finished first in the 400-yard medley relay in 4:00.15.

The Linfield men picked up first-place ribbons in two of the three individual events and one of the two relays.

Kevin Caple, a Linfield junior, won the 200-yard individual medley in 1:55.90, beating Whitworth junior Bryan Clarke by more than two seconds.

Freshman Dom Rieniets notched Linfield’s other victory, winning the 50-yard freestyle in 21.24. Puget Sound sophomore Bret Schluederberg was the runner-up in 21.60.

David Dolphay, a Whitworth junior, won his second consecutive title in the men’s 500-yard freestyle. He finished in 4:39.16, beating Linfield sophomore Josh Parfitt by more than two seconds.

In the men’s opening relay, the 200-yard freestyle, Caple, Rieniets and Parfitt teamed with Eric Kowalski for a Linfield victory in 1:26.64.

In the concluding relay, the 400-yard medley, Puget Sound's Schluederberg joined with teammates Jackson Kowalski, Paul Hughes and Garrett Shields for a winning time of 3:29.34.

The meet, which continues through Sunday, resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday with preliminary heats in several events.

Men’s Team Scores (Day One): Linfield 185, Puget Sound 158, Whitworth 156, Whitman 107, Pacific Lutheran 95, Willamette 86, Lewis & Clark 76, Pacific 6.

Women’s Team Scores (Day One): Whitworth 212, Puget Sound 199, Lewis & Clark 120, Whitman 107, Linfield 99, Pacific Lutheran 64, Pacific 57, Willamette 33.

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