By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University swimmers won 10 events during their dual meet against Lewis & Clark College on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the WU Natatorium, but the Pioneers outlasted the Bearcats for a slim 104-101 victory in the women's competition, while L&C grabbed a 116-89 win in the men's competition. The team victory in the women's dual was decided in the final event, the 200-yard freestyle relay, with L&C taking first place by 0.09 to clinch the win. A triumph by Willamette in the 200 free relay would have given the Bearcats the win.

The Lewis & Clark women improved to 2-3 overall, 2-3 in the Northwest Conference, while the Pioneer men moved to 3-3 on the season, 3-3 in the NWC. The Bearcat women fell to 0-6 overall, 0-5 in the NWC, with the Willamette men ending the meet at 1-5 overall, 1-4 in the NWC. The Bearcats and the Pioneers provided lots of close finishes, either for first, second or third place in many of the races.

Min Wei (So., Fushun, China/Cascade HS) had a huge day for the Bearcats. She won the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard breaststroke in addition to swimming the third leg on Willamette's winning 200-yard medley relay team. Olivia Frenkel (Fy, Fairfield, CA/Angelo Rodriguez HS) of Willamette also won two individual events, with first place finishes in the 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle. Also winning an individual event for the Willamette women's team was Corinne Pierson (So., Port Townsend, WA/Port Townsend HS) in the 100-yard backstroke.

Individual winners for the Bearcat men's team were Ben Fritz (Jr., Los Gatos, CA/Leigh HS), Colin Hakeman (Sr., Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS), Ben Hedman (Sr., Davis, CA/Davis HS) and Will Compton (Fy., Portage, MI/Portage Northern HS). Fritz took first place in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Hakeman won the 400-yard individual medley. Hedman placed first in the 100-yard butterfly to top a 1-2 finish, and Compton led a 1-2 finish in the 500-yard freestyle by edging out Fritz for the win.

In the women's 200-yard medley relay, Willamette's winning time was 1:58.48, as the Bearcats defeated the Pioneers by just under five seconds. L&C was timed at 2:03.47. In addition to Wei, the winning relay team included Pierson, Cameron Taggesell (Jr., Sonoma, CA/Sonoma Valley HS) and Niki Kates (Sr., Truckee, CA/Forest Charter School).

Wei bested the field in the women's 100-yard butterfly by completing the race in 1:03.15, as she registered a margin of victory of 6.38 seconds. Wei grabbed a much closer victory in the women's 100-yard breaststroke by achieving a time of 1:12.16, with Taggesell completing a 1-2 finish for Willamette in 1:13.07. Alys Chang of L&C was third at 1:13.95.

Frenkel's double in the 100 free and 200 free included a time of 58.61 seconds in the shorter race. She won the 100 by 1.10 seconds over Claire Greene from Lewis & Clark, who took second in 59.71 seconds. In the 200 free, Frenkel prevailed in 2:08.71. Pierson led a 1-2 finish for WU in the women's 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:03.37. Jensine Rasmussen (Sr., Tacoma, WA/Stadium HS) was second in 1:06.40.

In the men's 1,650 freestyle, Fritz led throughout the race and registered a winning result in 17:38.10. Compton's win in the men's 500 freestyle was earned in 5:01.01, with Fritz in second place at 5:03.25.

Hakeman finished strong in the men's 400-yard I.M. on his way to taking first place in 4:30.41. Keagan Gale of L&C finished second in 4:33.53.

Hedman won the men's 100-yard butterfly for Willamette with a time of 55.24 seconds, as he narrowly held off teammate Derek Ludwig (Sr., Moraga, CA/Campolindo HS). Ludwig completed the 1-2 finish for the Bearcats by placing second in 55.63 seconds.

In addition to the close finish in the women's 200-yard freestyle relay, the meet included two tight races in the men's relay events.

Lewis & Clark won the men's 200-yard medley relay in 1:43.29, holding off Willamette by 1.33 seconds. L&C's relay group included Eric Norman, William Witmer, Matt Jackson and JP Greenr. WU's team of Will Reeves (Fy., Kirkland, WA/Home Schooled), Ben Nickell (Fy., Boulder, CO/Fairview HS), Ludwig and Greg Wells (So., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS) registered a time of 1:45.82.

The men's 200-yard freestyle relay was won by Lewis & Clark by 0.35, as Andrew Butcher, Ian Shepel, Sam Raphael and Kyle Monteleone finished in 1:31.85. Willamette's time of 1:32.20 was accomplished by Fritz, Keaton Adams (So., Colorado Springs, CO/Doherty HS), Alex Hougan (Sr., Olympia, WA/Olympia HS) and Ludwig.

Willamette will swim at Pacific University in an NWC dual meet on Friday, Jan. 24. The meet is set to begin at 6 p.m. (PST).