Oregon State women’s swimming picked up a pair of wins in a tri-meet with Willamette and SWOCC this past weekend. The Willamette women also took a win, beating SWOCC. On the men’s side, SWOCC swam to victory over Willamette. Read on for full recaps of the meet.
Oregon State:
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Riding the momentum of senior celebrations before the meet, the Oregon State swimming team seized victory in every event on Saturday afternoon as the Beavers defeated Willamette and Southwestern Oregon CC from the Stevens Natatorium at the Dixon Recreation Center.
Oregon State triumphed on Saturday by dual scores of 138-78 over Willamette and 143-62 over SWOCC. Individual wins through the first 17 events (nine women’s events) were all recorded by an Oregon State swimmer, before exhibitions in the final three women’s events.
“This was our senior meet and our young women were excited,” Oregon State head coach Larry Liebowitz said. “They swam very well. We swam shorter events than we would normally swim, but I think the excitement of the team was a pleasure to watch. A lot of times today they competed with each other, but even so, they really did a great job.”
Freestyle wins were registered by senior Sammy Harrison (500 – 5:00.28), junior Sophie MacEwan (50 – 24.77) and senior Constance Toulemonde (100 – 53.05). Notably, Harrison’s time of 5:00.28 in the 500-yard freestyle was over 37 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, the Beavers’ Taylor Frank (5:37.73). The next closest finisher was Willamette’s Anna Burdine, who placed third with a time of 5:40.38.
The win on Saturday marked Harrison’s 21st overall this season, tied for the 12th-most in a single season in school history. The Henderson, Nev. native set the record with 32 in 2015, and posted 20 overall wins in 2014.
The Beavers got a pair of backstroke wins from senior Amani Amr (50 – 26.77) and freshman Megan Lam (100 – 59.28). Junior Czsarina Isleta won each of the first two breaststroke events, clocking a time of 30.76 in the 50 as well as a time of 1:07.03 in the 100, while Lam notched her second individual win of the meet with a time of 58.59 in the 100-yard butterfly.
Amr, Isleta, junior Andrea Young and Toulemonde also combined to win the 200-yard medley relay to open the meet, finishing in 1:47.25.
Following those events, Oregon State exhibitioned the remainder of the meet. Toulemonde (25.94 in 50-yard butterfly) and Isleta (59.74 in 200-yard IM) touched the wall first in the remaining individual events, while Toulemonde, senior Claire McLaggan, junior Anni Hecker and MacEwan combined to swim the fastest time in the final event, the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:39.20).
“This senior class went through some tough years and these were the leaders that pulled our team together,” Liebowitz said. “They’ve done a great job and I couldn’t be prouder of what they’ve accomplished.”
Following this week’s action, the Oregon State swimming team is set to return to the pool on Friday, Jan. 22, as the Beavers travel to Pullman, Wash. for a dual meet at Washington State. The meet is scheduled for a 5 p.m. PT start.
“Next week should be a very interesting meet,” Liebowitz said. “If we can bring this excitement level to that competition, then it’s going to be one heck of a meet.”
Willamette
CORVALLIS, Ore. — The Willamette University swimming teams competed against Oregon State University and Southwestern Oregon Community College on Saturday, Jan. 16 at the Stevens Natatorium. Oregon State’s women defeated Willamette, 138-78, while the Bearcat women’s team downed Southwestern Oregon, 166-53. The SWOCC men’s squad outscored Willamette, 137-87. OSU’s women defeated SWOCC, 143-62.
The team results against Southwestern Oregon do not count on the Willamette or Oregon State dual meet records because SWOCC is a two-year college. The Willamette women fell to 1-4 on the season with the loss to Oregon State. The Bearcat men’s team remained 0-4. Oregon State does not compete in men’s swimming.
Alika Masei (Jr., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) had a strong meet for the Bearcat men’s team. He won the 100-yard breaststroke, took first place in the 100-yard individual medley and placed second in the 50-yard backstroke.
Masei registered a time of 1:01.87 in the 100-yard breaststroke to take 0.18 off his season-best. He won by 0.26 over Christian Broschat of SWOCC, who took second in 1:02.13.
In the 100 I.M., Masei’s time was 55.94, again just below his season-best of 56.06. Mykah Fujiwara (Fr., Kaneohe, HI/Punahou School) of WU placed second in 1:01.03.
The men’s 50-yard backstroke was won by Thomas Reams of Southwestern Oregon, who earned a time of 25.39 seconds. Masei followed at 25.86. Jason Bayang (Jr., Wahiawa, HI/Hoala School) of Willamette was third at 26.49.
Bayang placed second in 100-yard backstroke by just 0.03 behind Adam Todd of SWOCC. Todd won the race in 57.59 seconds, while Bayang achieved a time of 57.82. Bayang took a solid third place finish in he 50-yard breaststroke in 29.25 seconds.
Mark Yuvienco (So., San Jose, CA/Bellarmine College Prep) won the men’s 100-yard butterfly for the Bearcats, as he recorded a time of 54.97 seconds. Dan Aki (Jr., Union City, CA/James Logan HS) of WU placed second in 55.89 seconds.
Yuvienco was second in the 50-yard butterfly in 25.27 seconds. Christian Kubo from Southwestern Oregon won the event with a time of 25.10 seconds.
Also for the Willamette men’s team, Shelby Merrill (Jr., Thousand Oaks, CA/Westlake HS) was second in the 500-yard freestyle and third in the 100-yard freestyle, while Reuben White(So., Portland, OR/Westview HS) placed second in the 100 free.
Merill’s time in the 500 free was 5:01.28. White was timed at 50.81 in the 100 free, with Merrill finishing in 52.05. Wyatt Engler won the 100 free for Southwestern Oregon in 50.26 seconds.
In the women’s competition, OSU, WU and SWOCC competed together in each event, with the double-dual team scoring determined by time. The Beavers competed exhibition in the final few events after OSU built solid leads on the Bearcats and Southwestern Oregon.
Willamette won the final three women’s events.
Kiley Lin (Fr., Palo Alto, CA/Henry M. Gunn HS) earned first place in the 50-yard butterfly in 28.18 seconds. Sienna Smith of SWOCC was second in 28.39. OSU’s top swimmer in the event, was Constance Toulemonde, competing exhibition with a time of 25.94.
Cassie Tallman (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) took first in the 100-yard individual medley, with teammate Leah Freeborn (Sr., Federal Way, WA/Todd Beamer HS) in second place. Tallman registered a time of 1:04.08 and Freeborn finished in 1:09.19.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Willamette won the event in 1:45.64. Swimming for the Bearcats on the relay team were Lin, Michaela Zuber (Sr., Sacramento, CA/Sheldon HS), Jamie Johnson (So., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) and Rachel Harvill (Fr., Alamo, CA/Monte Vista HS). Southwestern Oregon was second with a time of 1:46.99.
During earlier events with Oregon State competing for team scoring, top finishes for WU included Lin taking second in the 100-yard backstroke and fourth in the 50-yard backstroke. In the 100 back, she was clocked at 1:01.67, as she trailed only Megan Lam of OSU, who won the event in 59.28 seconds. Lin earned a time of 28.82 seconds in the 50 back.
Other top performances for the Willamette women’s team:
Anna Burdine (Fr., Seattle, Wash./Mount Rainer HS) took third place in the 500-yard freestyle. Her time was 5:40.38. She was just 2.65 seconds behind Taylor Frank of Oregon State, who placed second in 5:37.73. Sammy Harrison of OSU won the race in 5:00.28.
Ashlyn Witherwax (So., Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) finished in third place in the 50-yard breaststroke. Witherwax completed the race in 32.00 seconds. Czarina Isleta placed first for the Beavers in 30.76 seconds, whole Corrine Shigeta of OSU was second in 31.79.
Up next for the Bearcats:
Willamette will host Northwest Conference opponent Pacific University in a dual meet on Friday, Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. (PST) in the WU Natatorium. The Bearcats will travel to Portland, Oreogn, on Saturday, Jan. 23 to battle NWC rival Lewis & Clark College at 1 p.m.
Swimming news courtesy of Oregon State and Willamette Swimming & Diving.
