Written by Mark Colachico, Willamette Athletic Communications Writer

TACOMA, Wash. - In their final Northwest Conference meet of the year, Willamette's swimming teams dropped a dual match with the University of Puget Sound, falling 153-52 on the women's side and 121-82 in the men's events on Saturday, Nov. 11, inside Wallace Pool.

Mark Yuvienco (Sr., San Jose, CA/Bellarmine College Prep) was the shining light for the Bearcats, as he won the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 1:58.51 to outlast teammate Ben Hedman (So., Davis, CA/Davis HS) by just under four seconds.

Along with his victory in the 200-yard butterfly, Yuvienco also posted a runner-up showing in the 200-yard individual medley thanks to a time of 2:03.47.

The other highlight of the afternoon would come in the men's 200-yard freestyle, as Daniel Fang (Fr., Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Santa Margarita Catholic HS), Colin Hakeman (So., Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS), and Alex Hougan (So., Olympia, WA/Olympia HS) all finished in the top four. The Bearcats trio would post times of 1:50.41, 1:56.34, and 1:56.52, respectively, to finish second, third, and fourth individually.

On the women's side, Cassie Tallman (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) turned in a pair of second place finishes, earning runner-up honors in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:22.44 and in the 200-yard breaststroke thanks to a time of 2:34.47.

Jamie Johnson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) and Kiley Lin (So., Palo Alto, CA/Henry M. Gunn HS) also turned in second place finishes for Willamette, as the Bearcat duo finished in the runner-up position in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly, respectively. Johnson was clocked at 58.33 seconds in the freestyle, while Lin posted a time of 2:22.38 in the butterfly.

Willamette will return to action on Friday, Dec. 1, to start the three-day CAT Senior Open that will be held inside the Osborn Aquatic Center in Corvallis, Oregon.