(LA MIRADA, Calif.) Westmont Women’s Swimming competed in its inaugural event and produced some impressive results. As a member of the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference, Westmont’s 13 athletes started the season at the PCSC Relays held at Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center.
The Warriors competed in eight relay events, four of which provided an opportunity to qualify for the NAIA National Championships that will be held the first week in March in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Warrior team produced automatic qualifying marks in all four of those events by significant margins.
“The team did really well,” said Westmont head coach Jill Jones Lin. “For a lot of them, it was the first time racing in a long time. For them to step up on the block and get out there and go for it was impressive. They did an awesome job of racing and stepping up and doing what was asked of them – leading relays and anchor relays and being tough through it all.”
The first event of the day was the 3 X 100-yard backstroke with an all-freshman team of Morgan Bienias, Bailey Lemmon and Gaby Rego. The Warriors finished tenth of 13 teams with a time of 3:10.33.
“It was super exciting being in the first relay to ever compete for Westmont,” said Bienias. “It was super nerve-racking, for the backstroke especially. I haven’t done a backstroke in forever. Seeing my teammates in the back watching me and supporting me made it a lot easier.
“Morgan was definitely nervous being in the very first relay and the first person leading off,” said Lemmon. “I’m definitely proud of her.
“I am really happy with my 100 back in the first relay we did today because it was right on my best time and I haven’t competed since early summer,” continued Lemmon who struggles with shoulder pain.
“My shoulders have been hurting all today. My left pec muscle has been really bothering me today. Considering that, I am really proud of how I swam. I was pretty close to my best times in the events I swam today.
“It is definitely difficult, I’ve had shoulder injuries for eight years. I have figured out how to manage it while at meets. I try to take care of it while I am out of the pool, but while I’m racing I just block it out and try not to think about it. I use my excitement and adrenaline to keep ongoing.”
“I was super impressed with Bailey,” noted Jones Lin. “Despite her shoulder injuries, she was able to stick through it and anchor some relays. She had some tough swims without a lot of training.”
The next event for the Warriors was the 3 x 100-yard breaststroke, which was swum by Holly Fellows, Sam Allensworth, and Rian Lewandowski. The Warrior trio posted a time of 4:16.06 and finished tenth of 11 teams.
The Warriors’ third relay and the first chance to qualify for the 2020 NAIA National Championships was the 800-yard freestyle. Bienias led off the first 200 yards, followed by Allison Gonzalez and Gaby Rego. The race was anchored by Devyn Hynds.
The Warriors finished in eighth place, out of 11, touching the final wall in a time of 8:43.15. The mark was over 28 seconds better than the NAIA qualifying time of 9:11.68.
“All our swimmers in the 800 free relay had a gutsy swim,” said Lin Jones. “Devyn has been a huge surprise. She is a walk-on that decided to come to Westmont and swim. She has been rock solid and someone we can count on.”
In the 500 yard relay (with successive legs of 50, 100, 150 and 200 yards), Westmont’s Fellows, Emma Leathers, Ceili Smaw, and Hannah Thompson posted a time of 5:55.95.
The 400-yard medley relay provided the Warriors with their second opportunity to qualify for nationals. Bienias swam the first 100 yards of the backstroke with Lewandowski following with the breaststroke. Gonzalez swam the butterfly before Lemmon completed the medley with the freestyle. The Warrior team finished 10th with a time of 4:30.01, which beat the qualifying time by nearly 15 seconds.
In the 200 freestyle relay, Westmont earned its third automatic qualification of the day. Hynds, Gonzalez, Lewandowski, and Lemmon recorded a time of 1:45.96 to go under the qualification time of 1:55.39.
In the non-qualifying 400-yard individual medley relay, Westmont’s Smaw, Olivia Huebner, Lewandowski, and Leathers finished 13th of 15 teams in a time of 4:58.97.
The final relay of the day for the Warrior team was the 400-yard freestyle, which Lemmon, Gonzalez, Bienias, and Hynds swam in a time of 3:55.63. That is 16 seconds faster than the nationals’ qualifying time.
“Overall, today, I am super impressed with our team and I am really happy with where we are at,” said Gonzalez, the team’s lone senior. “I also see what Coach Jill is saying about what we need to work on in practice. Today has been awesome for me. This has been real for me for a while, but to see us actually competing with collegiate athletes is a really big wake-up call.
“I don’t know that I knew what to expect,” said Gonzalez of the team’s first event. “One of my goals was to come into the relays, which are always my favorite, and not let my teammates down. I believe in us and I know that today’s results are baseline and we can surpass that. It motivates me to do even more work inside and outside the pool – to look at everything I’m working on even more.”
“While I was warming-up for one of the races,” recalled Lemmon, “I was imagining the end of my senior year and thinking that these next four years are the last years I am going to swim and compete. I am so proud that these are the women that are going with me as I do that.”
The team will return to Splash! tomorrow to compete in the pentathlon. All 13 athletes will compete five times with opportunities to qualify for nationals in individual events.
“Hopefully, they got some of the first-day jitters out,” said Jones Lin. “They swam a little bit scared to start out. Now, I think, they are settled and know what they are capable of doing. It is a long day – five events tomorrow in a short amount of time. They have their work cut out for them.”