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

TACOMA, WASH. -- Willamette University provided the University of Puget Sound with a big battle in Northwest Conference swimming on Friday, Nov. 15, but the Loggers were able to hold off the Bearcats, 113-91. The Bearcats won five men's events, including a pair of 1-2 finishes.

In the women's competition, Puget Sound defeated Willamette, 138-66. Willamette took first place in three women's events.

Puget Sound's men upped their record to 3-0 on the season, 3-0 in the NWC. The UPS women's team improved to 2-1 overall, 2-1 in the NWC. Both Willamette teams fell to 0-3 overall, 0-3 in the NWC.

All of the races were measured in meters since Puget Sound has a short course pool with metric distances.

Shelby Merrill (Fr., Thousand Oaks, CA/Westlake HS) registered two wins for the Willamette men's squad. He took first place in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 9:30.32 and triumphed in the 400-meter freestyle in 4:33.83.

Merrill led a 1-2 finish in the 400-meter freestyle. Zander Le Bel (Jr., Dallas, TX/Richardson HS) of WU was second in the race at 4:39.51, as he held off Warren Asfazadour of UPS, who finished third at 4:40.42.

The margin of victor for Merrill in the 800-meter freestyle was 11.41 seconds. Asfazadour placed second in 9:41.73.

Alika Masei (Fr., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) won for Willamette in the 200-meter individual medley.

Masei's time was 2:18.67, providing him with a margin of 6.36 seconds in front of Jarik Bainco of Puget Sound in second at 2:25.03. Josh Bumgarner (Fr., Wall Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) from WU was third in 2:25.36, while Clayton Jacobson of UPS placed fourth in 2:25.80.

Alex Guffey (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette finished first in the 100-meter freestyle in 55.62 seconds. Second place went to Jacobson in 56.57 seconds. Guffey also placed a close second in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:01.90. Teale Kitson of Puget Sound won the event in 2:01.62.

Also winning an event for the Bearcat men's team was Chris Whitehead (Sr., Sherwood, OR/Sherwood HS) in the 200-meter breaststroke. Whitehead recorded a time of 2:43.03. Bumgarner from Willamette made it a 1-2 finish by taking second place at 2:43.67. Zander Biro of UPS was third at 2:45.45.

Puget Sound had the men's victory secured before the final relay, but Willamette still provided strong competition in a close race. The Loggers' team of Mitch Kilgore, Kitson, Evan Hamamoto and Derek Frenzel finished the 400-meter freestyle relay in 3:48.42. Willamette's team of Andrew Lum (Honolulu, HI/Punahou School), Merrill, Le Bel and Guffey were timed at 3:49.35.

Hope Nelson (Jr., Providence, RI/South Kingstown HS) led the Willamette women's team with a pair of victories. She took first place in the 200-meter freestyle and the 400-meter freestyle.

She prevailed in the 200 free by edging out Bailey Strom of UPS by just 0.13. Nelson's time was 2:16.76, while Strom achieved a time of 2:16.89.

In the 400 free, Nelson was clocked at 4:51.07. Caitlin Fuller from Puget Sound was second at 4:51.91.

Malia Santos (So., Kailua-Kona, HI/Kealakehe HS) of WU was the winner by 0.02 in virtually a photo finish in the 50-meter freestyle. Santos won in 29.03 seconds, with Anne Shirey of UPS in second at 29.05.

Willamette's Erin Parkinson (Sr., Everson, WA/Ferndale HS) took second by 1.29 seconds in the women's 200-meter breaststroke. Shirey placed first in 2:59.09, while Parkinson completed the race in 3:00.38.

Melissa Norrish of Puget Sound won two consecutive women's events for the Loggers. She was first in the 200-meter individual medley at 2:32.83 and then triumphed in 200-meter butterfly at 2:34.05.

The Bearcats will take on Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland, Wash., on Saturday, Nov. 16. Meet time is set for 10 a.m. (PST).