By Charlie McGuire, Athletics Communications Assistant
SALEM, Ore. – The Willamette University men's swimming team suffered a 142-60 setback to visiting Whitworth University on Saturday, Nov. 18 at the WU Natatorium. Julius Wilhelmi (Jr., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS) and Nicholas Moore (Fy., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake HS) each claimed a win to lead the Bearcats.
Wilhelmi clocked a time of 49.11 to win the 100-yard freestyle and swam the anchor leg of the third place 400-yard medley relay. Moore touched the wall first in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:39.32 and placed third in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:18.26. Moore also led-off the 400-yard free relay that finished third with a mark of 3:34.77.
Cole Lindberg (Jr., Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake Christian Academy) placed second in the 200-yard individual medley (2:07.27) and captured third in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:10.36. Ash Kiel (So., Carson City, NV, Carson City HS) joined the medley relay and turned in a pair of fourth-place showings in the 200 freestyle and the 200 backstroke with marks of 2:05.19 and 2:22.89, respectively.
Logan Copeland (Sr., Sparks, NV/Spanish Springs HS) and Ka'Olapa Masuko (Volcano, HI/Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii) handled the first two legs of the medley relay and placed third and fourth in the 200 breaststroke. Copeland was third with a time of 2:31.42 with Masuko touching the wall in 2:34.64.
William LaDuca (So., Salem, OR/South Salem HS) and Ethan Davies (So., Hong Kong/Discovery College) joined Masuko for fourth in the 400-yard free relay. LaDuka added another fourth in the 100-yard freestyle, posting a time of 53.47.
Despite the loss, Head Coach Brent Summers was happy with the way the team performed on Saturday. "The men's team ended the fall duals with a good showing against a deep Whitworth team. They did a great job competing in the year's first event swimming 200-yard races." He added, "Moving forward we can use this break to get into the right mindset as we prepare for the Bruin Invitational in December."
The Bearcats will travel to George Fox University on Dec. 2-3 to close out the semester. They are scheduled to return to George Fox for a dual meet on Jan. 12.
