The Wildcats swim team has been working intensely since its last meet before January Term. From morning practices before class to evening practices and meets on the weekends, the ’Cats have had a lot going on.

They traveled to Whitman College, Whitworth University and Lewis & Clark College, as well as hosted Pacific and
Willamette universities all throughout the season. Although the men and women came up short as a team at the Whitman and Whitworth meets, many swimmers beat personal bests and increased their yardage.

The men triumphed over Lewis & Clark on Jan. 21, with a score of 104-96. The team also prevailed over Willamette with the men scoring 123-32 and the women taking 132-64 over the Bearcats.

Sophomore Miles Phillips was one of few who achieved a personal best during the break.

“A lot of us broke our personal records and improved independently as well as a whole team,” he said. “It’s been a long
season but a great one.”

Overall the Wildcats worked together to stay positive during the term. Even if they did not win the meet as a whole, many of the men and women won first place individually against their competition and set personal records.

Sophomore CatherineNakamura said that she and her teammates trained and practiced hard, and stayed constructive throughout the winter break despite injuries.

“It was a tough month, and we ended the dual meet season with a huge win over Willamette,” she said.

The next event will be at the NWC Conference in Gresham, Ore., on Feb. 25, 26 and 27. This will be the first time in several years that the meet will not be held in Federal Way, Wash.

“Everyone is looking forward to the conference that’s finally coming up,” Nakamura said. “The end of the season is just around the corner, and everyone is looking forward to seeing all their hard work pay off.”

Lauren Ostrom/For the Review
Lauren Ostrom can be reached at [email protected].