SPOKANE, Wash. -- The 2006-07 swimming season gets off to an official start this weekend as Whitworth heads to Oregon for the NWC Sprint Pentathlon on Friday night at Lewis & Clark College in Portland and the Northwest Conference Relay Invitational on Saturday afternoon at Linfield in McMinnville. All seven Northwest Conference schools will be participating in both meets.

Eight months ago Whitworth's men claimed their fourth straight Northwest Conference title, while the Pirate women finished third after two consecutive NWC runner up finishes. Whitworth hopes that the women have improved enough to challenge Puget Sound's stranglehold on the women's championship.

Head coach Steve Schadt is now in his fourth season leading the Pirates. He has directed the Whitworth men to three straight NWC titles and was the 2005-06 NWC Men's Coach of the Year. Schadt is a Whitworth swimming alum of the class of 1996. He was part of the 1995-96 men's NAIA runner-up team. Yet much of the excite around the 2006-07 season surrounds the women.

Samantha Kephart (Jr., Santa Maria, Calif.) followed an amazing freshman season with an unbelievable sophomore campaign. She is the NCAA Division III record holder (2:00.15) in the 200 Butterfly, and defending national champion in the 100 and 200 Fly events. She earned NWC Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet for the second year in a row at the conference championships in Federal Way last February. Brittany Gresset (So., Seattle, Wash.) earned a trip to the NCAA Championships last season and looks to return and score in three sprint events this year. Katelyn Erickson (Jr., Austin, Texas) has been on the cusp of qualifying in backstroke events the past two seasons and could break through in 2006-07.

Other key returnees for the women include Whitney Barr (So., Dist. Free, Tacoma, Wash.), Katie Furber (So., Free - I.M., Santa Maria, Calif.), Kathleen Lilleness (So., Breaststroke, Burien, Wash.), Bekah List (Jr., Backstroke, Ringold, Ga.), Kailey Nelson (Jr., Freestyle, Puyallup, Wash.), Ashley Scroggy (So., Freestyle, Canby, Oregon), and Jorie Turner (Jr., Backstroke, South Lake Tahoe, Calif.).

Three newcomers could make immediate impacts for the women as well. Yasi Kheshgi (Fr., Butterfly, Evanston, Ill.), Rachel Longton (Fr., Butterfly, Seattle, Wash.) and Natalie Turner (Fr., Freestyle, South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) all come in with career best times at or near NCAA Division III qualifying marks.

NCAA individual qualifier David Dolphay (Jr., Great Falls, Mont.) will lead the Pirate men this fall. Dolphay, was the Co-Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet at the 2006 NWC Championships after winning individual championships in the 1,650 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle and 200 Freestyle. The Pirates return several other high finishers from the conference meet. They include Bryan Clarke (Jr., Seattle, Wash.) in the breaststroke events, Luke Stocker (Jr. Anchorage, Alaska) in the backstroke and the combination of Josh McDowell (Jr., Shelton, Wash.) and Jason Hunter (Jr., Oak Harbor, Wash.) in the butterfly events. Nathan Newberg (Sr., McMinnville, Oregon) is a versatile swimmer who can score in several different events, while Justin Brandler (So., Tacoma, Wash.) provides a solid sprint freestyle presence. Other returning veterans include Scott Adams (Jr., Gilroy, Calif.) and Tom Radke (So., Dinuba, Calif.).

Four freshmen join the team this season, including Kris Asleson (Davidson, N.C.) in the breastroke and Brad Hoine (Port Angeles, Wash.) in the backstroke. Schadt believes both will score highly at the NWC meet this season. Daniel Bergman (Fr., Lynden, Wash.) and On Leung (Fr., Bellevue, Wash.) will give the Pirates solid depth this winter.

The NWC Sprint Pentathlon will give every swimmer a chance to compete in the same five events. Each swimmer will race in the 100 Individual Medley, along with 50 yards of each stroke. A single winner for men and women will be crowned at the conclusion of the meet, based on cumulative time in each of the five events. The NWC Relay Meet is a fun way to kick off the season. No championships relays will be swum, but teams will have an opportunity to compete in several mixed (men and women) races, distance freestyle relays, and relays of 300 yards in each stroke.

Whitworth's season will continue the following weekend with a Northwest Conference dual meet against Lewis & Clark on Saturday, November 4th.