SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth University swimming teams will look to defend their Northwest Conference titles this weekend (Feb. 13-15) at the 2009 NWC Championships hosted by Linfield College at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington.
The Pirate men are aiming for a seventh straight conference title (and eighth in the last nine years). Last season the Whitworth men won only three of the 18 events, but used superior depth to outscore Puget Sound by 102.5 points. Michael Woodward, a sophomore, is the defending champion in the 200-yard individual medley. Yet he may swim the 500-yard freestyle instead - he has the fastest times in the NWC this season in both events. Woodward will also swim the 100- and 200-yard freestyles. Freshman Rory Buck will be a factor in both breaststroke events and the 50-yard freestyle. Quinton Darling, a junior, enters the meet with the fastest seed time in the 400-yard individual medley, while senior Tom Radtke will be among the favorites in all three distance freestyle events. Whitworth's men are favored in the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays as well. The UPS men will be the Bucs' primary challenge this weekend. Seniors Paul Hughes and Garrett Gentling, along with junior Jackson Kowalski will lead the Loggers. Linfield's Dom Rieniets is the defending champion in three events, while the Wildcats' Josh Parfitt will challenge in distance freestyle. PLU's Jay Jones is a threat to win any event in which he is entered.
The Pirate women ended Puget Sound's 11-year winning streak last season and hope to start a streak of their own. Whitworth will rely on a pair of multiple time champions to lead the way. Natalie Turner, a junior, has never lost a freestyle race against NWC competition at any distance between 100 and 1,650 yards. She is the two-time NWC champion and conference record-holder in the 200-, 500-, and 1,650-yard freestyles. Senior Brittany Gresset is also a two-time champion in a pair of events: the 50 and the 100-yard freestyles. She set a meet record last season while defending the 50 and she will also be a factor this season in the 100-yard backstroke. Sophomore Ashley Lecoq is a favorite in both the 100- and 200-yard butterfly events, while freshmen Amy Gray and Jennifer Benson will challenge for titles in the breaststroke and backstroke events, respectively. Whitworth swept all three freestyle relays last season and will be strong favorites in all three again this year. Puget Sound will be hoping to knock off the Pirates and the meet figures to be a two-team race for first place. The Loggers will be strong in the butterfly (Mac McAfee), backstroke (Kenzie Kitson) and breaststroke (Sierra Phillips) and are favored to win both medley relays. Preliminary heats begin each day at 10:00 a.m. Championship finals will start on Friday and Saturday at 6:00 p.m., with Sunday's finals starting at 5:00 p.m. Complete meet results will be available at the following link: Go to Athletics Home Page > Swimming > Sports Releases > |
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