SWIMMING NEWS WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS LOOKING BACK AT ANOTHER RECORD SETTING SEASON
record. Tallman re-broke her own
200 Breast record, finishing
second overall. She also claimed a
new 100 breaststroke record.
Santos re-broke her 100 butterfly
record becoming the first Bearcat
to go sub-59. Lin continued the
streak and re-broke her 100
backstroke record as well as the
200 backstroke mark.
Other notable accomplishments
for your Bearcats include both
teams being named CSCAA
Scholastic All-American Teams
both semesters. Senior Malia
Santos was awarded the Oregon
Play it Forward Student-Athlete
award in May and will attend the
Oregon Sports Awards on June
6th.
A huge thank you to assistant
coach Brent Summers who joined
our staff in August. Coach
Summers has made a great
impact on our sprint group and our
academic success. I look forward
to an even better 2016-2017.
Willamette University Swimming
had another record setting year.
Our returning swimmers picked up
right where they left off at the 2015
NWC Championship meet. The
freshmen class came in ready to
be a part of the fun.
Our annual Alumni meet is always
a favorite for our current Bearcats.
Thank you to everyone that came
out to support our program by
racing, hanging out or introducing
us to the new additions to the
Bearcat family. It has been great
for me to connect with more
Alumni throughout the year at
weddings and the occasional lunch
on the road or in Salem.
The men had a successful regular
season, with wins against Pacific,
Lewis & Clark and a close meet
versus UPS in November.
The men’s team swam strong at
the NWC Championships in
Federal Way, WA finishing 6th.
Junior Alika Masei led the men
finishing 6th in the 200 backstroke.
Masei had to compete in a swim
off to make it into the finals heat of
the 100 backstroke. With only 15
minutes between his prelim race
and the swim off, Masei defeated
David Olson from UPS to finish 8th
at night. Also finishing in the top 16
in their respective events were
Mark Yuvienco (So.), Reuben
White (So.), Andrew Lum (Sr.),
Jason Bayang (Jr.), Dan Aki (Jr.),
Josh Bumgarner (Jr.) and Shelby
Merrill (Jr.). With our junior class
swimming so well this season, look
for the men to have strong
leadership in 2017.
Cassie Tallman (So.) and Kiley Lin
(Fr.) kicked off the regular season
for the women, finishing 3rd place
and 11th place respectively out of
82 women at the NWC Sprint
Meet. Lin also set a new school
record in the 100 backstroke,
swimming a 59.92, during the
Northwest Invitational hosted by
Willamette University. The
women’s team had a huge win
over Whitman College in
November. This is the first time the
Bearcats have defeated a
Washington school during my
tenure.
The women continued to find
success at the NWC meet with a
6th place finish, their highest finish
since 2010. The women also set a
total of 2 relay and 5 individual
records. Lin, Tallman, Malia
Santos (Sr.) and Michaela Zuber
(Sr.) broke the 200 Medley Relay
record. Jamie Johnson (So.)
joined Lin, Tallman and Santos to
break the 400 Medley Relay
“Not Unto Ourselves Alone Are We Born” June 7th, 2016
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
15-16 Season Recap
16-17 Season Preview
Alumni Meet Date/Info
Danny James awarded
Alumnus of the Year
MEET SCHEDULE Oct. 8th 9:30am Alumni Meet
Oct. 28th 5pm NWC Relays @ L&C
Oct. 29th 11am NWC Sprints @ Pacific
Nov. 4th 6pm @ Whitman College
Nov. 5th 1pm @ Whitworth University
Nov. 11th 6pm vs. Pacific Lutheran U.
Nov. 12th 1pm vs. U. of Puget Sound
Dec. 2-4 All Day CAT Senior Open
Jan. 2nd-7th All Day @ Winter Training
Jan. 14th 5pm vs. SWOCC
Jan. 20th* 6pm vs. Lewis & Clark College
Jan. 21st 1pm @ Pacific University
Jan. 28th 1pm @ Linfield College
Feb. 10th-12th All Day NWC Championships @ Weyerhaeuser Aquatic Center
Alika Masei (Jr.) and Josh Bumgarner (Jr.)
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2016 Winter Training Trip—Coronado Island, CA
SWIMMING NEWS WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY
Have some fun in the pool where you spent so
much time while at Willamette. Get to know the
current team and show that, after all these
years, you still got it!
This year, the Alumni Meet will be on October
8th. It will begin at 9:30am with the pool
opening at 9:00am for warm-up.
Following the meet, we invite you to join the
team in Goudy for the always important
Saturday morning brunch, hang out with
Coach Shevlin at the Ram or attend the
football game vs. Pacific Lutheran. A reminder
and call for RSVP’s will go out in August. We
look forward to seeing you.
SEASON PREVIEW
ALUMNI MEET
As we look ahead to the 2016-2017 season,
we will combine the strength of our
upperclassmen with the increased depth and
talent of our incoming freshmen class.
The regular season will kick off at Lewis &
Clark College on October 28th with the NWC
Relay meet. Our new freshmen will be ready to
compete after spending eight weeks back in
the water.
We are looking forward to bringing in five new
men and four new women to our incoming
freshmen class.
Below is our incoming group. If you would to
learn more about them, please take a look at
our swimming page on the website for details
and quotes from Coach Shevlin.
Callan Beaver Moraga, CA Colin Hakeman Bellingham, WA Ben Hedman Davis, CA Alex Hougan Olympia, WA Derek Ludwig Moraga, CA Jamie Beers Seattle, WA Mikayla Costello Nipomo, CA Niki Kates Truckee, CA Jensine Rasmussen Tacoma, WA
DANNY JAMES NAMED WILLAMETTE ATHLETICS ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR
On Monday, May 2nd, 2016 Willamette University
Athletics hosted it’s annual Senior Awards banquet.
This event honors all of the graduating seniors with a
dinner. It is also the event at which they receive their
Pendleton blanket recognizing their commitment to
Willamette University Athletics.
At this event, the athletics department also recogniz-
es the outstanding efforts of a Professor of the Year,
a Distinguished Service Award to a support staff
member on campus and to an athletics Alumnus of
the Year.
It was an honor to present this years award to our
very own Danny James ‘92. Danny was nominated
because of his continued support of Bearcat Swim-
ming and Bearcat Athletics.
In the fall of 2014, Danny came up to Salem and
spoke to the swimmers about his experience as a
Navy SEAL. He also shared strategies for being
mentally tough and the importance of being able to
rely on your teammates and for them to be able to
depend on you.
During our winter training trip in 2015, Danny ar-
ranged an afternoon on the Navy SEAL base in
Coronado, CA. The swimmers and coaching staff
spent three hours doing pushups and sit ups in the
ocean and carrying logs. It was unforgettable.
Danny James with coaching staff and the Class of 2016
We missed our opportunity to participate in the event
in 2016. Danny knew how much it meant to the swim-
mers to have the experience with the SEALs. He kept
in touch with the men he knew on the base and, when
he found out a group of them were coming up to
Oregon, he reached out.
Three Navy SEALs came to the Willamette University
campus in February. This event was open to all stu-
dent-athletes. They spent an hour speaking about
what their jobs entail, mental toughness and commit-
ment to team. The student-athletes then had the
chance to be “trained” out on the soccer field for a
couple of hours. With hose in hand, each student-
athlete was drenched from head to toe and then the
running and push ups began.
It was another unforgettable experience. We are so
grateful that Danny has been able to support our team
and Bearcat Athletics by connecting us with the US
Navy SEALs. We look forward to continuing both
partnerships.
For more about the event held in February and how it
effected a few of our student-athletes, be on the look-
out for the story featured in the summer edition of the
Willamette Magazine.