Results

TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University women's swimming team won nine of the 10 events contested on Saturday afternoon, securing a 112-73 victory over Northwest Conference rival George Fox University on senior day at the PLU Pool.

Scout Hawkins, Riley Maher, and Karina Yevstifieieva headlined the day, all three winning three events for the Lutes. Hawkins set the tone by teaming up with Lola Chargualaf, Riley Maher, and Matthea Gaines to win the 400-yard medley relay to begin the meet, touching the wall in four minutes, 17.58 seconds. The Colorado native later won the 500-yard freestyle in 5:39.85, securing the win by a three-second margin before winning the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:35.9.

Yevstifieieva won the 50-yard freestyle in 26.40 with teammate Julissa Pernsteiner taking second in 26.74. Yevstifieieva later won the 100-yard freestyle in 58.25 before teaming up with Pernsteiner, Anna Haneda, and Gaines to win the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:55.30 to close out the day.

In addition to the win in the 400 medley relay, Maher won the 200-yard individual medley in 2:18.20 before taking the top spot in the 200-yard butterfly by over five seconds, touching the wall in 2:22.79. 

Jessica Lee won the tightest race of the day, nosing out the Bruins' Zoey Stapelman by two hundreds of a second in the 200-yard backstroke. The graduate student clocked a winning time of 2:29.40 in the event.

"We love racing George Fox because they bring the heat, energy, and great competitive camaraderie! We couldn't have written a better script to honor our seniors today," said Head Coach Andrew Lum.

"The races were close, the tension was in the air, and both teams stepped up big time. This was a watershed meet for our team for the remainder of the season."

PLU honored Melissa Zuniga in a post meet ceremony. A sophomore athletically, the Zillah, Washington native will be graduating early this spring with a degree in biology.

"I can't express enough gratitude and admiration for our seniors. Their charisma, leadership, and thoughtfulness is why this team shares so much love and passion with each other and our community. Thank you seniors! You are the cornerstone of how Lutes open doors."

The Lutes are back at home on Friday, hosting Southwestern Oregon Community College and College of Idaho in the final home competition of the season.