The Wildcats’ men’s and women’s teams fell to Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Puget Sound during their Nov. 15 and 16 dual meets.
The men’s team lost 166-32 and the women’s team lost 155.5-49.5 against Pacific Lutheran.
The teams’ meet against Puget Sound resulted in a 149-53 loss for the men and a 137-68 loss for the women.
Both teams have positive attitudes despite their losses, and continue to strive for better times.
“I especially struggled this weekend, but bad meets happen and all you can do is get back to work and train hard for the next one,” junior Ian Coker said.
Coker swam the 200-yard freestyle during the Pacific Lutheran meet with a time of 1:59.08. He also participated in both the 400-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay for that meet.
Although the teams lost overall, several Wildcats excelled in their individual performances.
Senior Leland Rivers and freshman Chris Hu represented the men’s team well at the dual meets.
Rivers won the 200-yard individual medley race during the Nov. 15 meet with a time of 2:06.14, beating the second place swimmer by more than five seconds.
Rivers was also a star of the men’s team’s meet against Puget Sound with his second place 2:02.54 time in the 200-meter freestyle, second place 56.27 time in the 100-meter freestyle, and first place 1:11.95 time in the 100-meter breaststroke.
Hu had a successful meet against Puget Sound, placing first in the 400-meter IM with a time of 5:16.51.
Sophomores Elizabeth Fry and Nikki Overton triumphed in both meets for the women’s team.
Fry placed third and was the top Linfield swimmer in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.26 during the Nov. 15 meet and got second in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:16.82. Fry also swam in the 500-yard freestyle.
Additionally, she placed first in the 1500-meter freestyle of the Puget Sound meet with a time of 18:59.89, and had a second place finish in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 4:53.37.
Overton also did well in the dual meets, placing second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:02.38, second in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:15.87, and first in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1:02.81.
She raced in a few additional events, including the 200-yard butterfly.
The Wildcats swam their only meter-based meet for the season against Puget Sound, which also added to their exhaustion.
The Wildcats’ losses can be attributed to their small numbers and strenuous workouts, and swimmers see the effects.
“We have been training really hard through these meets so we didn’t have great times. At this point in the season, we’re worn down and we need to just keep pushing through it,” Coker said.
The Wildcats practice hard to improve their times, but this might be hurting their short-term performances.
“They were slow meets for me mostly because of all the stuff we did last week and I’m sore,” freshman Anna Korn said.
Both the men’s and women’s teams swim next at 6 p.m. Jan. 17 at home against Lewis & Clark College.
Helen Lee/Photo editor
