TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University men's and women's swimming teams are gearing up for its final trip to Oregon this season, competing in Northwest Conference dual meets against Linfield College and Pacific University over the weekend. 
 
Last weekend, the Lute swim teams had an impressive showing with the men's team suffering a 122-83 setback to Whitworth University but earning a challenging 105-98 win over Whitman College and the women's team continuing their undefeated season with victories over both previously unbeaten Whitman (105-100) and Whitworth (135-70). 
 
Junior Seth Koivisto, a biochemistry major with aspirations to be a sports medicine surgeon for a professional football team, maintained a positive outlook on the outcome of last weekend's competitions as well as the two meets coming up on Friday and Saturday: Linfield College and Pacific University.
 
"I'm feeling very excited for this weekend," Koivisto said. "We put up more points on Whitworth this year than we ever have in my three years here so far, and beat Whitman who is always a challenge. We have some very tough opponents this weekend but after our week of training and last weekend I feel very confident in our chances."
 
On the women's side, first-year Claire Cranch came away with five wins last weekend, and is excited to continue helping the squad achieve victories this coming weekend as well as spend some quality time with her teammates.
 
"As a freshman, I was surprised that the team was so fun and inclusive," Cranch said. "In this upcoming weekend I'm looking forward to cheering on my teammates."
 
With the NWC Championships less than a month away, both student-athletes took the time to reflect on their favorite memory from the season thus far. Not surprisingly, both recalled the sunny training trip the team took to Oxnard, California during winter break.
 
"My favorite memory of this season so far was boogie boarding in California," Cranch said.
 
Koivisto also recognized the privilege of being a student athlete at PLU, saying, "You know you have a great deal as a student athlete when you get to train in sunny California for a week and live on the beach, and all that's required of you is that you work your tail off."
 
As conference championships creep closer, the Lute student-athletes will definitely continue working their tails off. Koivisto noticed a shift in team mentality to be more race-focused as swimmers began to rehearse how they want to swim at conference instead of simply aiming to win the dual meet races. The athletes are also using the last couple dual meets as a chance to earn spots on conference relays; each university can only have one relay per event, so relay spots are very selective.
 
However, at the end of the day, all a swimmer really wants is free food. When asked what he was excited about for the upcoming weekend, Koivisto responded, "Definitely looking forward to the complimentary hotel breakfast."
 
Catch the Lutes racing Linfield Friday at 6 p.m. in McMinnville, and Pacific at 10 a.m. in Forest Grove.