Katy Thompson
Review staff writer
After the Northwest Conference Sprint Pentathlon and Relays on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, the Linfield swim teams are expecting to show their skill as the members power into a fifth-place finish, and they hope to stick it to their competition throughout.
Head coach Gary Gutierrez, has been pushing the team to perform consistently. Gutierrez said the training is harder than it has been in the past, adding that he is confident the team will be stronger than last year.
For sophomore individual medley and butterfly swimmer Felicia Weller, the NWC Sprint Pentathlon and Relays were a textbook example of the ’Cats strength in the pool.
“I felt strong in the water; I knew I was ready to race, and I ended up dropping two seconds off of my individual medley time,” Weller said. “I came really close to beating all my best times in the 50 [yard relay] as well.”
The team is looking forward to its next home meet against Whitman College at 6 p.m. Nov. 7, and the team will compete against Whitworth University at 1 p.m. the following day.
“I am looking forward to the upcoming competitions,” Weller said. “The women’s team has a lot of experienced swimmers that just happen to be freshmen, and they have all been training hard.”
Record holder senior Aven Pendleton, placed first in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:13:70.
This year at the NWC Sprint Pentathlon, Weller placed second with a time of 2:24:45.
Weller was only 11 seconds shy of Pendleton’s end-of-the-season time, and 15 weeks still remain in the swim season.
Weller is expected to continue her excellent performance in the IM and the butterfly.
“I just love being in the water, and it just progressed from there,” Weller said. “I love the competition, beating best times, personal records and the feeling of completing a hard work out. Swimming keeps me organized and focused.”
The newly formed women’s team is more adaptable and multitalented than the previous team.
The freshmen swim more specialty strokes while still swimming the basics efficiently and effectively, Weller said.
Freshman Melissa Greenway is a primary example of this phenomenon.
Greenway brings club experience to the table. She typically swims backstroke, but can take on anything Gutierrez splashes her way.
“My goal for this season is to be the best asset possible to the team,” Greenway said. “I am excited to try out some new events that I haven’t been able to swim in competitively this year: the mile and the 200 backstroke. I have been working hard on my distance freestyle, and I am anxious to see how I do against Whitworth.”
Sophomore Kim Smith, who has been another addition to the team’s roster this year, started off last year with an injury that caused her to quit.
She is returning this year on a mission: to make her come-back with a sense of vengeance.
Smith is a backstroke and freestyle sprinter. According to the swimming records, her times in the 100 backstroke are already improving.
Sticking with the pattern of good additions, senior Amy Goodloe is another name to notice.
“In practice, Goodloe is getting better times than her personal-best records in freestyle,” Weller said. “And I can’t wait to see what she does in the rest of our meets.”
The men’s swim team is predicted to be strong, not because of its depth on the team, but because of its wide range of expertise and higher skill-level than its predecessors.
Freshman Samuel Carter is an IM and butterfly swimmer. As far as swimming goes, Gutierrez has yet to see all of Carter’s ability. Carter comes from a superb swim club background, and he has won titles in butterfly as well as the IM, but he has a secret talent.
“Carter is a legitimate breaststroker,” Gutierrez said. “I plan on putting him in the men’s relay as a breaststroker and I expect that he will be able to come in and place in the consolation finals. He might even sneak into the championships.”
Gutierrez said the men’s team has not seen a decent breaststroke swimmer in five to six years and with the new addition of the versatile Carter, head coach Gutierrez has high hopes for the men’s team to break into the top five bracket at the NWC Swimming Championships held in mid-February in Federal Way, Wash.