Pirates Win Both NWC Sprint Pentathlon and Relay Meet

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth University swimming teams got off to a strong start to the 2009-10 season. The Pirate men and women each rolled to team wins at the NWC Sprint Pentathlon on Friday night at Pacific Lutheran, then Whitworth won the combined team score on Saturday afternoon during the NWC Relays at Puget Sound.

Each swimmer in the NWC Sprint Pentathlon completes in the same five events - 50 yards of each stroke plus a 100-yard individual medley. All five times are combined for a total time and Whitworth's women had three of the top five performances. Ashley Locoq was the individual winner with a combined total of 3:00.97, while Natalie Turner was second (3:04.31). Jennifer Benson took fourth overall (3:04.59) and Anna Case came in 7th (3:08.31), giving the Pirates more than half of the top seven swimmers.

Each of the five events is scored. The final women's team scores were: Whitworth 247.5, Puget Sound 124, Linfield 115.5, Lewis & Clark 102, Pacific Lutheran 79.5, Willamette 73, Pacific (Ore.) 33.5.

The Whitworth men were even more dominant, finishing with the top three individuals and five of the top seven. Michael Woodward won with a combined total of 2:35.78, while Rory Buck was second (2:37.01) and Kalen Darling was third (2:38.38). Daniel Bergman was fifth (2:41.14) and Quinton Darling was seventh (2:43.40).

The final men's team scores were: Whitworth 357.5, Puget Sound 135, Linfield 128.5, Pacific Lutheran 84, Pacific 36.5, Lewis & Clark 33.5.

On Saturday the men's and women's teams combined to compete in the NWC Relay meet. The team scores were: Whitworth 93, Puget Sound 72, Linfield 46, Pacific Lutheran 41, Pacific (Ore.) 27, Lewis & Clark 25, Willamette 23.

The Pirates won 11 of the 16 contested relays. None of the relays provide official times for the 2009-10 season.

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