By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- University of Puget Sound downed Willamette University in men's and women's swimming on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the WU Natatorium. The Puget Sound men's team won, 120-85, and the Loggers were victorious in the women's competition, 118-87. Even so, the Bearcats provided a strong battle for Puget Sound, as the Willamette men's team won four events and the Bearcat women's team won four events.
The Puget Sound men's team remained undefeated at 4-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Northwest Conference dual meet standings. The Loggers improved to 3-1 overall, 3-1 in the NWC in women's swimming. Both of Willamette's teams fell to 0-4 overall, 0-4 in the NWC.
Cassie Tallman (Jr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) won two women's events for the Bearcats. She took first place in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:04.51, as she edged out Kayla Dimicco of Puget Sound, who placed second in 2:04.71. Tallman also won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:09.96. Anne Shirey from Puget Sound was second at 1:11.42.
Rachel Harvill (So., Alamo, CA/Monte Vista HS) of WU placed first and led a 1-2 finish in the women's 50-yard freestyle. Her winning time was 25.99 seconds. Jamie Johnson (Jr., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) was second in 26.51 seconds, just 0.02 in front of Kai Haven for the Loggers.
A second 1-2 finish for the Bearcat women's team was recorded by Niki Kates (Fr., Truckee, CA/Forest Charter School) and Jensine Rasmussen (Fr., Tacoma, WA/Stadium HS) in the 100-yard backstroke. Kates was victorious in 1:03.49, while Rasmussen earned second place in 1:05.11.
Event winners for the Willamette men's team were Shelby Merrill (Sr., Thousand Oaks, CA/Westlake HS), Mark Yuvienco (Jr., San Jose, CA/Bellarmine College Prep), Derek Ludwig (Fr., Moraga, CA/Campolindo HS) and Alika Masei (Sr., Salem, OR/West Salem HS).
Merrill came from behind to take first place in the 1,650-yard freestyle. The 33-lap race ended with Merrill holding a slim lead, as he won in 17:23.28. Connor King of Puget Sound was timed at 17:24.94 for second place.
The Bearcats gained a 1-2 finish in the 400-yard individual medley, with Yuvienco earning first place at 4:27.31. Ben Hedman (Fr., Davis, CA/Davis HS) placed second in 4:31.75, after holding off Jonah Rogers, who took third for the Loggers in 4:32.40.
Ludwig placed first in the 100-yard butterfly to lead a 1-2-3 result for the Bearcats. Ludwig's winning time was 54.81 seconds. Yuvienco took second in 55.14 seconds and Hedman was third at 56.81.
Masei finished just in front of teammate Jason Bayang (Sr., Wahiawa, HI/Hoala School) to win the 100-yard breaststroke. Mesei completed the race in 1:02.61 and Bayang was second in 1:02.87. He placed second by the slimmest of margins -- 0.01 -- as Ian Conery of Puget Sound took third place in 1:02.88.
Other Willamette Results
Bayang placed second and Masei took third in the men's 100-yard backstroke. Bayang was timed at 56.08 seconds, just 0.10 behind the winner, Dylan Reimers of Puget Sound, who earned a time of 55.98 seconds. Mesei touched out in 56.16 seconds.
In addition, Bayang achieved second place in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.17 seconds. Mitch Kilgore of Puget Sound won the 50 free in 23.00 seconds.
Anna Burdine (So., Seattle, WA/Mount Rainier HS) and Kate Harvey (Jr., Atlantic Beach, FL/Duncan Fletcher HS) finished second and third, respectively, in the women's 1,650 yard freestyle and the women's 500-yard freestyle. In the 1,650 freestyle, Burdines's time was 19:29.13, while Harvey complete the race in 20:03.79. Burdine was credited with a time of 5:45.45 in the 500 freestule, with Harvey attaining a time of 5:49.37.
Johnson achieved second place in the women's 100-yard freestyle. Her time was 57.84 seconds.
Reuben White (Jr., Portland, OR/Westview HS) earned second place for the Bearcats in the men's 100-yard freestyle. He recorded a time of 51.10 seconds.
Merrill took third place in the men's 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:06.56. He was just 1.5 seconds out of second place.
Puget Sound won all four relay events, but the Bearcats were close to first place in all four races.
In the women's 200-yard medley relay, Puget Sound won in 1:57.84 and Willamette was second in 1:58.80. The men's 200-yard medley relay ended with the Loggers at 1:40.73 and the Bearcats at 1:42.18. Puget Sound finished first in the women's 200-yard freestyle relay at 1:44.07, while Willamettte was timed at 1:45.35. In the men's 200-yard freestyle relay, the Loggers claimed a time of 1:32.84 and the Bearcats finished the race in 1:33.20.
Two-Event Winners for Puget Sound
Four Puget Sound swimmers each won two individual events. Carmen Mena took first place in the women's 1,650-yard freestyle in 19:10.58. She also won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:37.43.
Calista Skog provided the Loggers with wins in the women's 400-yard individual medley and the women's 100-yard freestyle. She defeated five other swimmers in the 400 I.M., as she registered a time of 5:01.19. She won the 100 freestyle in 56.19 seconds.
In addition to winning the men's 100-yard backstroke, Reimers also grabbed a victory in the men's 200-yard freestyle in 1:48.91. Kilgore, after winning the men's 50-yard freestyle, tacked on a win in the men's 100-yard freestyle in 51.10 seconds.
Up Next for the Bearcats
Willamette will swim at the CAT Senior Open in Corvallis, Oregon, on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. The Bearcats will be in action throughout both days of competition.
