SPOKANE, Wash . -- The Whitworth swimming teams head south to Walla Walla, Washington this weekend looking to accomplish a rare title sweep at the Northwest Conference Championships. The Pirates will be aiming for their fifth straight men's conference championship (and sixth in seven years), while they hope to claim their first women's title since 1995 and knock Puget Sound off of the top spot for the first time in ten years. Whitman College is hosting the championship meet in the brand new Harvey Pool.

Samantha Kephart

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Whitworth's women finished 7-0 in NWC dual meets for the first time ever after defeating the UPS women 122-83 in the final dual meet of the season. While that result may appear to bode well for a championship, appearances can be deceiving. The Pirates still have a lot of work to do to overcome a deeper Logger squad in a championship meet format.

But the Whitworth women certainly look to bring home more than their share of gold medals. Two-time NWC Outstanding Women's Swimmer Samantha Kephart (Jr., Santa Maria, Calif.) is once again seeded first by a wide margin in both butterfly events. Natalie Turner (Fr., South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) is seeded at the top of the 200, 500 and 1,650 Freestyles. Brittany Gresset (So., Seattle, Wash.) is ranked first in both the 50 and 100 Freestyles. Katelyn Erickson (Jr., Austin, Texas) is listed at the top of the 200 Individual Medley and near the top of three other events.

David Dolphay

In addition, the women's team is seeded first in all five relay events.

David Dolphay (Jr., Great Falls, Mont.), the 2006 NWC Men's Outstanding Swimmer, will lead the Pirate men once again. He will aim to defend his titles in the 200, 500 and 1,650 Freestyle races. Bryan Clarke (Jr., Seattle, Wash.) is the top seed in the 200 Breaststroke and will also challenge in the 100 of that stroke. Josh McDowell (Jr., Shelton, Wash.) and Luke Stocker (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) will challenge in the Butterfly and Backstroke events, respectively.

But if Whitworth is to win another title, it will be the men's depth that carries the day. All 13 men look good to score in his entered events. Both Linfield and Puget Sound figure to make this the closest men's competition in several years.

The meet will run Friday through Sunday. Preliminary events will get underway at 10:00 am, with Championship Finals starting each evening at 6:00 pm.