By Charlie McGuire, Athletics Communications Assistant
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – The Willamette University women's swim team wrapped up the third day of the Northwest Conference Championships on Saturday, February 10 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. The Bearcats are currently in seventh place with the final day of competition coming up on Sunday.
First-year Tessa Ciatti (Bellingham, WA/Sqalicum HS) placed eighth in the finals of the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:53.49. She posted a mark of 4:48.31 in the prelims on Saturday morning. Classmate Lydia Schmitt (Fy., Olympia, WA/North Thurston HS) clocked a personal-best time of 1:01.34 to claim seventh in the consolation final and 15th overall in the 100-yard butterfly event.
Alayna Kisiday (Jr., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) earned a spot in the finals of the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:59.08 in the prelims. She finished sixth in the finals with a career-best mark of 1:58.39
Anna Hornbeck (Jr., Bend, OR/Bend) claimed eighth in the prelims of the 100-yard breaststroke and moved up a spot to capture seventh in the finals with a time of 1:06.88, improving her time by almost a full second.
In the final of the 100-yard backstroke, Tatum Good (Jr., Scottsdale, AZ/Scottsdale Prep Academy) was eighth with a season-best time of 1:00.88.
The 200-yard freestyle relay, the Bearcats closed out the night with a season-best time of 1:41.60 to earn the seventh spot. Leah Howell (Fy., Bremerton, WA/Central Kitsap HS) led off with Schmitt and Jacqueline Hall (Jr., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) in the second and third legs. Emma Noffsinger (So., Arvada, CO/Northglenn HS) swam the anchor leg.
After Saturday's evening session, the women's team standings were led by Whitman College with 406.5 points. Linfield University, which held first place at the end of Friday's competition, slipped into second place with 338 points. The University of Puget Sound was third at 289 and Pacific Lutheran University was fourth at 269. Whitworth University followed in fifth place at 265, George Fox University was sixth at 219, Willamette was seventh at 208, Lewis & Clark College held eighth at 142, and Pacific University was ninth with 101.5 points.
The Bearcats return to action for the final day of competition on Sunday morning, Feb. 11. The opening event of the prelims will begin at 9:30 a.m. PST. Finals will start at 4 p.m. On Sunday, individual events include the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, and 200-yard butterfly. The 1,650-yard freestyle events will be held between Sunday's main sessions. The 400-yard freestyle relay will be the final event on Sunday evening.
