Nov. 7, 2007

SWIMMING: Lutes Swim Against Two NWC Foes This Weekend

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran hosts at Pacific, Friday, 6 p.m.; PLU at Linfield, Saturday, 1 p.m.

LUTES HEAD TO OREGON: Pacific Lutheran heads to Oregon for a pair of Northwest Conference dual meets. The Lutes swim against the Pacific Boxers at 6 p.m. Friday in Forest Grove before facing the Linfield Wildcats in a 1 p.m. Saturday dual in McMinnville.

THE REPRISE OF A SURPRISE: For only the third time in head coach Jim Johnson’s 30-tenure – the other two times in 2003 and 2006 – the PLU men defeated Puget Sound, 109-96, in a dual swim meet. Like last year's upset victory, the Lutes pulled off the win in their home pool. “It was just as sweet as beating them last year,” said Johnson, who pointed to a strong performance by several newcomers as being the key to the victory. PLU fell behind 15-2 after the first relay but never let up the rest of the meet. The men’s 400 individual medley proved to be a real crowd pleaser as PLU’s Alex Limoges and UPS’s Jake Rifkin made it a two-man race. It was a back-and-forth battle but the crowd rose to its feet as Limoges pulled away in the final meters to take the victory (4:36.78). Limoges wasn’t the only first-year who helped carry the Lutes. Fellow freshman Trevor Olson won the 100 freestyle (49.88) and was part of the Lutes’ winning 200 freestyle relay. Despite these two outstanding performances it was freshman sensation Jay Jones who stole the show. Jones won two individual events, the 100 butterfly (53.05) and 100 breaststroke (1:01.77), and also anchored PLU’s winning 200 freestyle relay. The final two events of the evening were nail bitters as the Lutes had a slim lead over the Loggers, 86-83. In the 100 butterfly, Jones held off Garrett Shields and Aaron Hughes of UPS as the three finished within six-tenths of a second of each other. In the final relay the Loggers got out quickly, but Jones was able to chase down the UPS anchor and earn the victory by the slimmest of margins, 1:29.67 to 1:29.72. The sophomore pair of Ben Lilley and Andy Stetzler also earned individual victories for the Lutes. Lilley won the 1000 freestyle (10:52.47), while Stetzler was first in the 200 freestyle (1:50.74) and 500 freestyle (5:07.52).

WOMEN’S DUAL A CLOSE ONE: On the women’s side the meet was close for the most part with the Loggers pulling away toward the end of the meet to win by a score of 109.5-95.5. The Lutes put up a good fight against a strong UPS team and Johnson was happy with their effort. “We came as close as we’ve been in several years," he said. PLU’s standout Jessies each won two events and swam a leg on the winning 400 medley relay. Sophomore Jessie Donovan took the 50 freestyle (25.58) and the 100 backstroke (1:01.24), while freshman Jessie Klauder won the 200 freestyle (2:00.28) and the 100 freestyle (55.69). Joining the Jessies on the winning medley relay (1:53.51) were Lacey Wear and Allison Burchett. PLU also won the final event, the 200 freestyle relay (1:48.05), with Dayna Blauvelt, Burchett, Casey Jackson and Tara Johnson swimming the event.

- PLU -