TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University men's and women's swimming teams are ready to dive into another weekend of competition as they prepare to take on Northwest Conference rival George Fox University on Saturday.  

The Lutes have been quite successful in conference this year, with both the men and women's teams winning all of their NWC dual meets thus far in the regular season. In addition to dual meet success, the women also claimed the first-place titles in both the NWC Relays and NWC Sprints.

In preparation for their competition this weekend, the Lutes have been training hard to maintain their success.

"I'm super stoked to swim this weekend," said sophomore Seth Koivisto. "The team had a fantastic showing against Willamette and Lewis & Clark, and came away with two wins on both the men's and women's sides. If we perform like we did last weekend, we can hopefully come home 6-0 in conference duals for both teams."

The success on both sides of the team has led to a positive and competitive atmosphere for the Lutes.

"In our team dynamic, each member feeds off the energy of everyone else," said junior Victoria Nguyenle. "When we're inspired by our leaders, we have an even stronger desire to find our own success as well. It's incredibly honoring to serve as a source of inspiration for my teammates."

This source of inspiration is a common thread throughout the PLU program, and is something that has impacted student-athletes in many ways.

"Swim has really helped me build my confidence as both an athlete and a person. I was a super quiet kid in middle school, too worried about what other people would think of me to even think about standing out," said Koivisto. "However, in athletics no one gets to hide themselves, everyone has to perform at their best in front of roaring teammates, coaches, and fans.  This really translated into who I am as a person, and now I don't shy away from things that challenge me like I did when I was young."

"We really are a family on the swim team. We may not always get along, but at the end of the day we're still going to go to lunch together, work on physics homework til 1 AM together, and work our butts off in the pool together."

The Lutes hop into the pool at 1 p.m. on Saturday looking to remain undefeated in NWC duals against George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon.