By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications, (503) 370-6110
WALLA WALLA, Wash -- Olivia Frenkel (Fy., Fairfield, CA/Angelo Rodriguez HS), Derek Ludwig (Jr., Moraga, CA/Campolindo HS) and Will Compton (Fy.., Portage, MI/Portage Northern HS) each won an individual event during Willamette University's dual swimming meet at Whitman College on Friday, Nov. 15. Frenkel won the women's 200-yard freestyle, Ludwig prevailed in the men's 100-yard butterfly, and Compton took first place in the men's 500-yard freestyle. The Bearcats also claimed first place in the men's 200-yard medley relay in a close race to start the men's competition.
Whitman won the battle between the men's teams, 123-80. The Blues won the women's competition, 167-40. Willamette fell to 0-2 on the season and 0-2 in the NWC in men's swimming and women's swimming. Both of Whitman's teams improved to 3-0 overall and 3-0 in the NWC.
In the women's 200 freestyle, Frenkel placed first with a time of 2:05.45. She won by 2.75 seconds over Lauren Olson of Whitman, who earned second place in 2:08.20.
Ludwig's winning time in the men's 100 butterfly was 54.25 seconds. He won by just over one second. Fisher Munro from Whitman was second in 55.30 seconds. The men's 500 freestyle was won by Compton in 5:03.09. He narrowly edged out teammate Ben Fritz (Jr., Los Gatos, CA/Leigh HS) of Willamette, who took second place at 5:03.20.
Willamette won the men's 200 medley relay by 0.63, as the Bearcats completed the race in 1:43.10. Whitman quickly followed with a time of 1:43.73. Swimming for the Bearcats were Will Reeves (Fy., Kirkland, WA/Home Schooled), Ben Nickell (Fy., Boulder, CO/Fairview HS), Ludwig, and Evan Segimoto (Jr., Alamo, CA/The Athenian School).
"Today's meet against the Blues was a great chance to see where we are at against some of the best competition in the conference. We had some great swims today, and it was the first chance to see some events we haven't raced in a dual meet yet this season."
— Head Coach Brent Summers
Min Wei (So., Fushun, China/Cascade HS) of Willamette placed second in the women's 100-yard butterfly in 1:04.13. Mara Selznick of Whitman won the race in 1:01.54. WU also placed second in the women's 200-yard medley relay in 1:57.56, while Whitman earned first place in 1:53.37. Swimming on the relay for the Bearcats were Corinne Pierson (So., Port Townsend, WA/Port Townsend HS), Wei, Cameron Taggesell (Jr., Sonoma, CA/Sanoma Valley HS), and Frenkel.
In the women's 100-yard backstroke, Pierson was third with a time of 1:03.24. She was edged out for second by Ella Hill of Whitman, who was timed at 1:03.16. Ashley Joe won the 100 back for the Blues in 1:02.25. In the women's 500-yard freestyle, Frenkel placed third at 5:34.22, just 1.75 seconds behind Whitman's Annika Hobson, who took second at 5:32.47. Kathryn Woodburn of Whitman won the 500 free in 5:28.45.
For the Willamette men's team, Fritz accumulated two second place finishes during individual events. In addition to claiming a close second place behind Compton in the 500-yard freestyle, Fritz also grabbed second place in the 1,650-yard freestyle, as he recorded a time of 17:34.05. Whitman's Daniel Bloor was victorious in the men's 1,650 free in 17:21.19.
Ben Hedman (Sr., Davis, CA/Davis HS) was second and Colin Hakeman (Sr., Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS) placed third for WU in the men's 400-yard individual medley. Hedman was clocked at 4:28.94, while Hakeman completed the race in 4:29.83. Peter Fitch won for the Blues with a time of 4:25.45. In the men's 100-yard breaststroke, Nickell of Willamette took second place and was timed at 1:06.94.
The Bearcats placed second in the men's 200-yard freestyle relay. Whitman won the race in 1:30.19, with Willamette finishing in 1:32.84. Freestyle relay swimmers for Willamette were Alexander Hougan (Sr., Olympia, WA/Olympia HS), Jacob Hulti (Sr., Astoria, OR/Astoria HS), Daniel Fang (Jr., Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Catholic HS) and Fritz.
Willamette will swim against Whitworth University on Saturday, Nov. 16. Meet time in Spokane, Washington, is set for 1 p.m. (PST).