2008-2009 Season on a Roll!

With just three weeks before Conference Champs and only two dual meets left, the 2008-09 season has been exciting and the best is still to come!


The Claremont trip was a raging success with amazing sunshine and fun. In the midst of increasing yardage and intensity, we still found time for a beach day and lots of hot tub time. It was especially welcome to put on shorts and sunscreen after the unusually heavy snow in the Northwest. Most importantly, the training level we achieved will carry us through Conference!

The men's team has continued to improve over the season and have already had some fantastic dual meet performances from individuals and relays. Ysbrand Nusse, Jamie Nusse, and Noel Sollom-Brotherton have had consistently excellent races this season capped with a school record in the 200 backstroke for Noel in our dual against Whitworth! However the depth of the team has been the most impressive aspect to watch this season. There have too many good races to name! Freshmen Mitchell Lee, Matt Liedtke, Matt Rowett and Chris Bendix have all added to the team with both their work ethic in practice and their great swimming at meets. A close win against Linfield gave the Whitman men a fast start and they haven't looked back!

The women's team had several solid dual meets as well. With a slightly smaller squad this year the women have stepped up to take on more events and more pressure. The result has been greater versatility and lot of exciting new races. Lauren Flynn and Chelsea Klinger have led the women in races and have stepped up to new leadership roles as upper classmen this year. Senior Courtney Fitzpatrick continues to contribute solid swims to strong relays and positive practices. Our freshmen have already matured into stronger swimmers and teammates. Linnea Scott has been leading the distance lane while Monica Boshart takes on the breaststroke. Our junior class has been pivotal in leadership and racing. Captains Sidney Kohls, Kendi Thomas and Lauren, along with Chelsea and Jessie Neill have shaped the team with their attitudes and racing. With Kendi Thomas' return from study abroad in Costa Rica, she will hopefully add some strong races at conference for the team.

Our last two dual meets of the year UPS (in Tacoma, 5pm) and College of Idaho (home, 3pm) will wrap up our regular season and we hope to see some friends and family! As College of Idaho will be our last home meet, we will briefly honor our seniors for their contributions to the team before the meet. It's always hard to say good-bye!

Thanks for your support of Whitman swimming!

Erin Pettersen goes to Nationals!

Erin Pettersen is representing Whitman for the first time at the NCAA Div. III National Meet. She placed 45th in the 50 Free, 24th in the 100 Fly, and 18th in the 200 Fly (2nd Alternate!). Getting to Nationals is an amazing feat and we are all incredibly proud of Erin.

As Erin said, "I've had a really awesome experience and I'm very proud of how I swam even though I didn't swim any best times. I feel honored to have been able to represent Whitman at the National level."

You can see complete results at http://athletics.wooster.edu/swim/ncaa2008/women/.

Way to go, Erin!

Making Waves in Federal Way

Whitman ladies place third, men place fourth at Northwest Conference Championship!

Whitman took the Conference by storm this past weekend! Not only did our men place higher than they have in recent history, but their swims this weekend were strong enough to make Linfield, historically a men's team powerhouse, sweat. Eric Molnar and Ysbrand Nusse represented the men's team extraordinarily well in the 400 IM. Ys was the number 1 seed after the morning prelims, and Eric ended up achieving the first individual title on the men's team in 7 years. In fact, Whitman represented 50% of the podium for that race with Chad Trexler (8th), Nick Wood (7th), Ysbrand (2nd) and Eric (1st). In addition, the men's team broke school records in the 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay, and 200 Free Relay, and Jamie Nusse posted a new record in the 500 Freestyle, breaking the current record, set in 1999.

The ladies had an equally spectacular meet. The 200 Free Relay team of Lauren Flynn, Erin Pettersen, Kate Pringle, and Courtney Fitzpatrick set a new school record. Erin also posted new school records in both the 100 and 200 Fly, having two swims strong enough to post very strong provisional qualifying times for the NCAA Div. III Nationals. We'll find out at the end of the month if she will be invited to attend that meet, and if she is, it will be the first time Whitman swimming has gone to Nationals since becoming NCAA almost 15 years ago. Nancy Alexander had a fabulous 200 Backstroke, being crown Conference Champ for her third consecutive year (see picture!). Everyone had great swims, and our depth helped make the meet a success.

Thank you to all the parents, alums, and fans who helped make this meet such a success. Whitman is the loudest, most enthusiastic team, and this is true for our fans as well as our athletes. Thanks for being there!

Two of our swim moms were right when they made our sign... all you need is STL!


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