FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- (From PLU Sports Information Office) One streak continued and another came to an end as the Whitworth University Pirates swept the men’s and women’s team titles at the Northwest Conference Swimming Championships that concluded Sunday at the King County Aquatic Center.

Click Here for Sunday Results.

On the women’s side, Puget Sound’s incredible 11-year dominance at the top of the Northwest Conference heap came to an end as Whitworth used 10 event victories and outstanding depth to out-score the Loggers, 793-692. The Pirates entered the final evening of competition with a 48-point advantage and added to that margin during the final six events. Rounding out the team scores were Whitman with 411, Lewis & Clark with 392, Willamette with 258, Linfield with 249, Pacific Lutheran with 247 and Pacific with 130.

The Whitworth men won only three of the 18 events, but they still used outstanding depth to garner their sixth straight championship, scoring 703.5 points to pull away from Puget Sound, which finished second with 601 points. Linfield placed third with 489, followed by Whitman with 443.5, Pacific Lutheran with 402, Lewis & Clark with 206, Willamette with 159 and Pacific with 147.

Whitworth’s Steve Schadt earned NWC Women’s Coach of the Year honors, while Puget Sound’s Chris Myhre received the NWC Men’s Coach of the Year recognition from his peers.

Outstanding Women's Swimmer Natalie Turner

For the second straight year, Whitworth’s Natalie Turner won three events to earn recognition as Outstanding Women’s Swimmer of the Meet. She got things off to a good start on Sunday night for the Pirates with a victory in the 1650 freestyle, pulling away from Puget Sound’s Sarah Mirick to win by almost 13 seconds in a conference meet record time of 17:28.98. Rebecca List was fifth and Robyn Lewis took sixth for the Bucs.

The women’s 200 backstroke featured defending champion Nancy Alexander from Whitman, who came into the final with the third best preliminary time. Alexander took the lead about 120 yards into the race and then held off a charge by Whitworth’s Marjorie Turner. Alexander’s winning time was 2:09.99, just .04 ahead of Turner (2:10.03). Only minutes after swimming the 1,650, List finished eighth for the Pirates.

As they did in Friday’s 50 freestyle final, Whitworth teammates Brittany Gresset and Ashley Lecoq went head-to-head in the 100 freestyle, and for the second time in as many races it was Gresset who won the event in a time of 54.10. The win was the second straight in the 100 freestyle for the Whitworth junior. Lecoq's time was 54.56.

4-time 200 butterfly winner Sam Kephart

Puget Sound senior Amy Polansky continued her dominance in the women’s breaststroke events, winning the 200-yard event for the third straight year with a time of 2:27.65, six seconds faster than runner-up Kelly Reynolds from Whitworth (2:34.00). Brenda Foster added a fifth place finish in the event.

Whitworth’s Samantha Kephart showed that she is virtually untouchable in the butterfly. The NCAA Division III record holder, Kephart won her fourth consecutive 200 fly championship in a time of 2:05.14. She has now swept four straight titles in both the 100 and 200 butterfly events. Yasi Kheshgi (4th), Christine DeHaven (6th) and Rachel Longton (7th) gave the Pirates a dominating performance in the event with 60 points in the championship final.

Fittingly, the final meet’s final event, the 400 freestyle relay, went to Whitworth (Gresset, Kephart, Lecoq, Turner) with a meet record time of 3:33.97.

The Whitworth men entered Sunday’s final session with an 83.5-point lead and they maintained that margin throughout the evening. David Dolphay got the Pirates off to a good start, winning the 1650 freestyle for the third straight year in a time of 16:19.44

3-time 1,650 freestyle winner David Dolphay

The men’s 200 backstroke went to Jackson Kowalski from Puget Sound in a winning time of 1:54.02. Whitworth's Luke Stocker took third place for the second straight year and Aden Coleman was seventh.

Linfield’s Dom Rieniets wrapped up the Outstanding Men’s Swimmer of the Meet award with a victory in the 100 freestyle final. Rieniets won the event in a meet record time of 46.08, finishing just ahead of Whitworth's Michael Woodward, who was second in 46.97. Justin Brandler added a third place for the Pirates, while Kris Asleson was seventh.

In the men’s 200 breaststroke, Puget Sound junior Paul Hughes edged Bryan Clarke from Whitworth 2:05.94 - 2:08.68). Daniel Bergman added a sixth place finish for the Pirates.

Pacific Lutheran freshman Jay Jones raced to victory in the 200 butterfly in a time of 1:56.61. Jason Hunter finished fourth and Josh McDowell was fifth for the Bucs.

The meet’s final event, the men’s 400 freestyle relay, may have been the most exciting as Linfield Whitworth in the final 50 yards to win in a time of 3:10.04. Woodward, Asleson, Brandler and Dolphay posted a season-best time of 3:10.44.