Women's Team Fortitude Keeps Them Undefeated

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Whitman and Lewis & Clark’s Women’s teams have a rivalry born out of the NWC Championships, many years in the making.  2005 marked the beginning, where Whitman bested LC at the NWC Championships 586-248, Whitman 3^rd and LC 7^th.  The following year, the tables turned as LC took 2^nd with 528 points to Whitman’s 4^th place effort of 470 points.  A string of extremely close championship meets over the next five years brought the rivalry to the highest level: In 2007, Whitman’s women defeated LC 407-400, for a third place finish.  In 2008, Whitman was on top yet again, placing third overall with 411 points to LC’s 392.  In 2009, LC defeated Whitman soundly for a third place finish with 456 points to Whitman’s fourth place effort of 320.5 points.  In 2010 and 2011, LC and Whitman found themselves locked into two program-defining battles for third place.  LC came out on top in both of those contests, edging out victories of 356-355 in 2010, and 449-448 in 2011.  The odds of any two teams being separated by only one point after 18 events and three days of competition are astronomically low.  The difference between 3^rd place overall and 4^th place overall was ultimately determined by a 16^th place finish in one individual event.  The 2012 Championship brought revenge to our women’s team.  Whitman placed 3^rd with 506 points.  Lewis & Clark was 6^th with 303.

This history was not forgotten on Friday night’s contest between Whitman and Lewis & Clark.  Whitman was down five points with only the 100 breaststroke and 200 free relay remaining.  After a 1-2-3 sweep in the breaststroke to pick up 16 points, and another 1-2 finish in the 200 free relay to pick up another 15 points, Whitman’s women won the meet easily 113-92.  Whitman’s breaststroke dominance and powerful final relays outscored LC 31-5 over the final two events—proving that breaststroke continues to be a Whitman stronghold, and that when it comes down the the end, our women can get it done.  

Friday night's drama only set the stage for Saturday’s showdown against Pacific.  After an incredible 102.66-102.33 upset over reigning conference champions, University of Puget Sound, last weekend, Pacific’s women had momentum to carry into another tough weekend of meets against Whitworth on Friday and Whitman.   Falling to Whitworth on Friday night, Pacific came to the pool on Saturday making it clear that though they were defeated the previous night they were ready for battle. 

Whitman easily won the 400 medley relay.  After the early relay victory, Whitman picked up 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th in the 1000 free, 2^nd and 3^rd in the 200 free, 2^nd and 3^rd in the 50 free, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th in the 200 IM, and 2^nd and 3^rd in the 200 fly.  It was Cameo Hlebasko’s continued dominance in the 200 backstroke that notched Whitman’s first individual event victory with a time of 2:12.43.  She hasn't lost a dual meet race in the backstroke yet this year.  Ashley Jay lost a tough race in the 500 free, falling to 2^nd but going a season-best 5:25.58.  Going into the 200 breaststroke Whitman was down by 13 points.  

Once again, it was the breaststroke that decided the meet for our women.  Claire Collins swam to a win with a 2:29.70 in the 200 breaststroke, just out-touching Senior teammate Genay Pilarowski who  finished second at 2:29.71.  Freshman, Elise Tinseth, was 4^th at 2:33.88.  Following the breaststroke, Whitman finished the meet with a definitive 400 free relay performance.  Senior, Helen Jenne led off, followed by Freshman, Kendra Clinton, Sophomore, Ashley Jay, and Freshman, Cameo Hlebasko.  They won the relay by nearly five seconds and averaged :55.2 per leg.  The final score was Whitman 104, Pacific 101.

Saturday’s victory was a true team effort.  Whitman won just 4 out of 11 events—only 2 out of 9 individual events.  The difference-makers were the swimmers fighting for the one and two points awarded to fourth and fifth place.

These are big victories for our women’s team.  But their toughest contests are yet to come.  Pacific Lutheran and Whitworth’s teams both also hold 4-0 Conference dual meet records.  University of Puget Sound is 3-1, their only loss to Pacific.  Whitworth defeated Pacific and Lewis & Clark easily in their match-ups, and UPS defeated Lewis & Clark as well.  PLU also took down Pacific's women by a significant margin.  Our women face off against PLU, UPS, and Whitworth in January.  By then, we will have only gotten faster as we will have welcomed back Juniors Ellen Banks and Keller Hawkins from a semester of studying abroad.  We will also be joined by Senior, Charlotte Graham, who missed last weekend due to an academic conflict.  Senior, Katie Chapman—who will miss fall competition due to an ACL replacement—is also scheduled to return to competition in January.

This Saturday, November 17^th, Whitman is hosting the NW Invitational.  Three other teams will be here for the one-day meet: Whitworth, Pacific, and College of Idaho.  The meet starts at 1pm at the Paul Harvey Pool and will be a 32-event-order format meet—all five freestyle events will be swum, plus the 200 IM, 100’s and 200’s of each stroke, the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay. 

Looking Towards the Future

Last weekend marked the beginning of Whitman's NW Conference dual meet season.  Whitman's men and women won in both contests, defeating Linfield on Friday night and Willamette on Saturday afternoon.  For a full recap about the weekend's meets click here...but keep reading for some fun analysis of the weekend's times and a promising look towards the future. 

Though there were many great swims last weekend, it was our new swimmers who made a splash in their first races in the events in which they will likely compete at the NWC Championships in February.  Many of them posted times this weekend that would have placed them in the top 16 at last year's NWC Championships--and those who didn't showed that with a solid season of training and a good taper anything can happen.
On Friday night, Elise Tinseth's time of 4:54.48 in Friday's 400 IM would have been fast enough to place 11th at last year's championship.  In the very same event, Jo Brunner placed third with a 5:06.25, which would have been good enough for 14th last year.  Also on Friday night, Cameo Hlebasko's outstanding 1:00.40 in the 100 backstroke would have gotten her a 5th place finish in the event's finals the previous year.  Kendra Clinton's 1:03.17 would have been good enough for 10th.  On the Men's side, of the event, Sam Starr's 54.22 would have gotten him 11th, and Will Erickson would have been 13th.  In the 2012 Championships, the Men's 100 backstroke was one of the strongest fields in the meet.  This year it looks to be even stronger.
In the breaststroke, Jo Brunner's 1:12.38 would have placed her 15th last year.  Nick Wechter's time of 1:04.84 would have put him 11th and Robby Dorn's 1:05.43 14th.  Last year, the Men's breaststroke events were two of the weaker events within the Conference.  However, after the first weekend of meets, the Men's breaststroke is looking like a very strong event across the conference--thanks in part to our freshman class.
Saturday was no different.  Elise Tinseth's 200 freestyle time of 2:03.58 would have gotten her 16th.  Sam Starr's 200 freestyle would have been 15th.  Cameo Hlebasko's 50 free would have placed her 15th.  Kendra Clinton's 200 fly would have placed her 9th.  Cameo Hlebasko's easy win in the 200 backstroke at 2:12.39 would have placed her 6th overall last year--just slightly faster than our own Keller Hawkins' Conference effort of 2:12.63.  Sam Starr and Will Erickson's 2:02.60 and 2:02.64 would have gotten them 14th and 15th respectively.  Last year, there were no Seniors in the top 8 finishers in the Men's 200 backstroke.  This year, it will almost certainly be one of the deepest events of the championship.
In the 200 breaststroke, Elise Tinseth's 2:33.81 would have placed her 15th.  For the men in the 200 breast, the NWC was wide open last year.  This year, like the 100 breast, the field looks to be much deeper.  Still, based on last year's results, Nick Wechter's 2:21.36 would have gotten him 8th, Robby Dorn's 2:28.29 would have gotten him 15th and Kevin Wallin's 2:29.12 16th.
Though there is no predicting what other teams will do when it comes down the the Conference Championships in February, there is no doubt that Whitman's new swimmers are will play a huge role in every event.  We are better than ever.

This weekend's meets against Lewis & Clark on Friday at 6pm and Pacific on Saturday at 11am will be good contests for our women.  Pacific defeated UPS's women last weekend with a score of 102.33 to 102.66 after a 3-way tie for first the 50 freestyle.  The margin of victory was so narrow that the meet was ultimately decided by a fifth place finish--instead of a sixth place finish--in one individual event (Standard college dual meet scoring is 9-4-3-2-1 in individual events, with a maximum of three individuals per team scoring, and 11-4-2 in relays, with a maximum of two relays per team scoring). Pacific's women were defeated by PLU 117-89.  Pacfic's men lost both contests.  L&C dropped both of their meets last weekend against PLU and UPS.

First Meets of the Season!

As usual, Whitman had the loudest team cheer and the most team spirit in our first weekend of Northwest Conference competition.  Last weekend's Sprint Pentathlon at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, and NW Relays at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, were Whitman's first look at the rest of the conference. 

Whitman had a very strong showing on Saturday evening.   Freshman, Cameo Hlebasko was the highest placing Whitman woman, getting fourth overall with a time of 3:02.85.  The meet is scored by adding together times from the five events swum by each athlete: 100IM, and a 50 of each stroke.  Freshman Kendra Clinton also placed in the top 10 with a time of 3:06.34, enough for 10th place.  The Whitman men put three in the top five overall.  Sophomore, Karl Mering won the meet with a combined time of 2:38.49, just beating out Whitworth's Aaron Vaccaro.  Senior, Galen Sollom-Brotherton was 4th with a combined time of 2:39.88, and sophomore, Nic Win, was 5th at 2:41.01.  There were also several individual event winners: Nic Win: 50 backstroke, 25.53; Genay Pilarowsky: 50 breaststroke, 31.90; Paul Chang: 50 breaststroke, 28.04; Karl Mering: 50 freestyle, 21.99. 

Sunday's relay meet was no less impressive as the men and women combined for a second place finish.  Whitman took control in several relays, flashing depth and winning easily in several events.  Freshmen Cameo Hlebasko and Kendra Clinton combined with Senior Libby Arnosti for a dominant 3 X 100 backstroke relay that won the meet in 3:08.07.  Not to be outdone, Freshman Will Erickson and Sophomores Karl Mering and Nic Win followed suit with a blowout victory in their 3 X 100 backstroke relay, posting a time of 2:42.90, nearly five seconds faster than second place UPS.  Following Saturday's rarely contested 100 IM, the swimmers had another shot at the event--this time in a relay.  Seniors, Paul Chang and Galen Sollom-Brotherton combined with Sophomore, Nic Win for a victory in the 3 X 100IM relay, beating second place Whitworth, in 2:47.44. 

Standard 200 and 400 freestyle relays were turned into mixed events, using any combination of two men and two women.  After last season's multiple team relay records in the freestyle relays, it was no surprise that Whitman seized control of the mixed freestyle relays.  Senior, Helen Jenne, Junior, Shunei Asao, Freshman, Cameo Hlebasko, and Sophomore, Karl Mering teamed up to make a powerful relay that won in a resounding 1:34.41.  Exactly one second ahead of second place PLU.  Mering, Hlebasko, Jenne and Galen Sollom-Brotherton combined for an even more dominant 400 freestyle relay, winning easily in 3:26.57. 

Regular Conference dual meets begin this weekend at home against Linfield (Friday at 6pm), and Willamette (Saturday at 1pm).