WALLA WALLA, Wash. – It isn't surprising that Whitman College swim coach Jenn Blomme is approaching her eighth season with a big smile on her race.
With her men's and women's rosters packed with a whopping 38 athletes, including several who rank among the best in the Northwest Conference, Blomme has both talent and depth at her disposal.
Despite losing standouts Nora Feeney and Alexis Krupp to graduation, the women’s team should remain on a par with last winter, when it finished third at the Northwest Conference Championships.
"Our women’s team has a similar breadth of talent as a year ago," Blomme says. "A lot will hinge on what our competition looks like within the conference, but we’ve got a good group of women who are united and focused on what they need to do individually for the good of the team. When you have that degree of dedication, it makes everything a lot easier."
Blomme reserves her widest smile, however, for her blossoming men’s program. "This is the largest and most talented men’s roster we’ve had in my time here, and possibly the largest men’s roster ever at Whitman," she says. "We’ve never had this many top-notch swimmers, and we’ve never had this much depth to back them up with."
Both teams get their feet wet this weekend with the NWC Sprint Pentathlon and Relay Meet, which Whitman is hosting at its Paul Harvey Pool in the Baker Ferguson Fitness Center.
The Missionaries then launch their dual meet season next weekend, hosting Linfield at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, and Pacific at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3.
Senior captains Nancy Alexander and Erin Pettersen, a pair of swimmer extraordinaires, are back to give the Missionary women a potent one-two punch at the top of the roster. "It’s great to have Nancy and Erin this season, but we have our work cut out for us in terms of recruiting and trying to replace those two," Blomme says.
Alexander, who holds the school record in both backstroke events, is the two-time defending NWC champion at the 200-yard distance. "The next steps for Nancy are to stay on top in a very competitive conference and to lower her times a bit more," Blomme says. "She’s met the provisional qualifying times for the national championships in the past, but it would be great to get the automatic qualifying times."
Pettersen, the school record holder in both butterfly events, is in her second season as a team captain. "Erin did a lot of weight lifting this summer, and she’s stronger than she’s ever been," Blomme says. "She and Nancy have the same story. They are both very close to taking the next step, from being very competitive in this conference to being very competitive at the national level."
Other seniors on the women’s team are Mara Abbott, Rhea Edelman, Ellen McCleery and Elizabeth Roberson.
Abbott, a distance freestyler, owns the fourth-fastest 1,650-yard time in school history. She studied in Mexico last fall but returned to place fourth at the conference championships in February. Since then, Abbott has skyrocketed to national prominence in her other sport, cycling. She won the U.S. national road race in July and competed at the World Championships in late September in Germany.
"Because of the cycling championships, Mara came into the swim season a little behind schedule for this sport, but we’re confident that her success in cycling will carry over into the pool," Blomme says. "Mara is a fantastic athlete with tremendous endurance."
Abbott is seventh all-time at Whitman in the 500-yard freestyle and eighth in the 200-yard backstroke.
Roberson, who also studied in Mexico last fall, has placed as high as ninth (100-yard freestyle) in past conference championship meets. She ranks seventh all-time at Whitman in the 500-yard freestyle.
"Elizabeth is poised to have a very nice senior season," Blomme says. "She’s working very hard in practice and doing a good job of juggling all of her senior responsibilities. All of our seniors are doing that."
Ellen McCleery, a breaststroker and sprint freestyler, is back for her senior season after having taken a year off from swimming. "Ellen has looked very good in the water," Blomme says. "Her strokes look great. She’s very enthusiastic and happy to be back. She loves swimming again."
Two years ago as a sophomore at the NWC Championships, McCleery finished eighth and ninth in the 200-yard and 100-yard breaststroke events. She ranks in Whitman all-time Top 10 in both races.
Rhea Edelman, another of Whitman’s four-year swimmers, will give the Missionaries depth in both the distance freestyle and breaststroke. "Rhea is a double major in music and biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, and she plays first violin in the Whitman Orchestra," Blomme says. "She’s exceptionally busy as a senior, but she’s coming into the swim season in her best ever shape. She’s going to have a good season."
Courtney Fitzpatrick, the only junior on the women’s roster, is studying this semester in Africa. She is slated to return in January, giving Whitman greater scoring potential in both the butterfly and freestyle sprints. She ranks fifth all-time at Whitman in the 100-yard butterfly and ninth in both the 200-yard butterfly and 50-yard freestyle.
Chelsea Klinger and Kendi Thomas return to lead Whitman’s sophomore class. "Both are strong in all of the freestyle events," Blomme says. "Chelsea also has some strengths in the individual medley, and we’ll try Kendi a little more season in the backstroke."
Klinger and Thomas made the consolation finals in three events apiece at last year’s conference championships. Klinger made her best showing in the 400-yard individual medley, placing ninth. Thomas 10th in 500-yard freestyle and 12th at both the 100-yard and 200-yard distances.
"We’re going to see improvements in both Chelsea and Kendi this winter, but probably the most marked change in Chelsea," Blomme says. "She battled illness last year, which made the transition to college swimming even more difficult. She’s healthy and strong this year."
Jessie Neill (freestyle, butterfly) and Sidney Kohls (freestyle) round out the sophomore group. "Jessie has come back in amazing shape," Blomme says. "She did some swimming this summer and is ready to make some nice improvements. Sidney has struggled a little bit with some early season health issues, but it’s nothing major and we’re hoping she pulls through in good shape."
Lauren Flynn, who did her prep swimming at Bellingham’s Sehome High School, is the most accomplished of the eight first-year swimmers on the roster. She enrolled at Whitman last January but trained on her own rather than join the team for the last two months of that season.
"Lauren is going to be a real standout in the freestyle, from the sprints through the middle distances," Blomme says. "Her butterfly is also very strong. I’m also looking forward to watching her compete. If her drive in competition parallels her drive and focus in training, she is going to be a huge asset for our program."
Claire Noone, a first-year breaststroker from Glenwood Springs, Colo., could be Whitman’s top swimmer in that event. "We’ll see how it goes, but Claire should start this season with close to the same times that Nora Feeney started with a year ago," Blomme says.
Feeney wrapped up her Whitman career by placing second in the 200-yard breaststroke at last year’s NWC championships, setting a new school record in the process. She also placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke, missing the school record in that event by less than a one-half second.
Jeraldine Enriquez, a Walla Walla High School graduate, brings a local touch to the women’s roster. "This is a step up from what Jeraldine has done in the past in terms of training, but she’s embracing the adjustments and integrating into the team nicely," Blomme says. "We’re going to see some nice growth from Jeraldine this season, especially in the butterfly. She has a really beautiful butterfly stroke. She can also swim the freestyle sprints and backstroke."
Morgan Kozek (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Elli Matkin (Homer, Alaska) are two more first-year swimmers who show promise.
Kozek, a sprint freestyle, has been slowed by illness. "She’s having the same rough start that Chelsea had last fall," Blomme said. "We hope to get her back on track in the next few weeks."
Matkin, who swims the mid-distance freestyle events, was admitted to Whitman two years ago but deferred until this fall. "I think we’re going to see some big improvements from Elli this season," Blomme says. "She’s going to be a really solid swimmer."
Kate Pringle, a first-year swimmer from Redmond, Wash., swims freestyle events and some backstroke. "Kate has some experience, and we’ll be working more on her development," Blomme says.
Ali Schlueter (San Francisco, Calif.), also a first-year swimmer, adds depth in the freestyle and breaststroke. "Ali is a relatively new swimmer," Blomme says. "She is working hard and showing a lot of enthusiasm."
Clint Collier, starting his third season as a team captain, is the only senior on the Missionary men’s roster. "Clint has always had the ability to balance the demands of being a good captain and taking care of his own needs as a swimmer," Blomme says. "He’s poised for a great senior season. He’s very close to our school record in the 100-breaststroke, and it isn’t out of the question for him to take aim at the national qualifying times."
Collier is second on Whitman’s all-time list in 100-yard breaststroke, one-third of a second off a school record set 12 years ago. He ranks third all-time in the 200-yard breaststroke and sixth in the 200-yard individual medley. At last February’s championships, Collier placed seventh, eighth and eighth in those three events.
"Clint has been an absolute pillar for us as the men’s program has grown the past few years," Blomme says. "He and the juniors have been very instrumental in the positive direction our men’s program is headed."
Ysbrand Nusse, a junior and team captain, has already established himself as one of the top swimmers in the conference. "I’ve seen real growth in Ysbrand in each of his two seasons," Blomme says. "He’s always been a great competitor, but his focus seems even stronger this season. He’s going to have a great year."
Nusse finished second in the 400-yard individual medley at last year’s NWC championships, and he added a fourth-place showing in the 200-yard backstroke. His name appears in Whitman’s all-time Top Ten list in five different events. He ranks second in the 200-yard backstroke, 400-yard individual medley and 500-yard freestyle.
Noel Sollom-Brotherton, also a junior academically, gave the men’s roster a huge boost with his return to the team after a year off. He capped his freshman season two years ago by placing fifth in the 100-yard backstroke at the championship meet.
"Noel was one of our best swimmers as a freshman, but you wouldn’t necessarily expect anyone to maintain that level of competitiveness after a year-long break," Blomme says. "But Noel has been incredible so far. He looks better than he did as a freshman."
Sollom-Brotherton ranks third all-time at Whitman in the 100-yard backstroke, ninth in the 100-yard freestyle and 10th in the 50-yard freestyle.
Whitman’s other two juniors Max Hennings (butterfly, freestyle) and Chance Gray (freestyle). Hennings finished 14th in both the 1,650-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly at the conference championships a year, but Gray missed the season with a back injury.
"Max is a great asset to the dynamics of our team," Blomme says. "He’s very aggressive and works very hard. We’re getting Chance started again, but doing it slowly. He’ll swim with us until he goes abroad in January to study next semester."
Eric Molnar, David Lee and George Stanton lead a strong sophomore class.
"Eric is an all-around solid swimmer," Blomme says. "His strokes are picture perfect, and he’s very aggressive with his training and racing. He’s a very thoughtful, smart swimmer. With his first season behind him, he has a better perspective on our swim conference and we’re going to see better times from him."
Molnar made his best showings at his first championship meet in the 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard individual medley, placing third in both races. He ranks fifth all-time at Whitman in both events, and he has cracked the Top 10 list in three other events.
Lee, who earned NWC Swimmer of the Week honors last winter in his first week of competition, eventually moved into third place all-time at Whitman in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyles. At the conference championships, he finished fifth in the 100-yard freestyle and eighth in both the 50-yard and 200-yard freestyles.
"David is tremendously talented, but because of the injuries he had early in the season, his level of success wasn’t as consistent as it can be," Blomme says. "He also swims the freestyle sprints, which is tremendously competitive in this conference, and demands a lot from the top swimmers."
Stanton made a strong contribution at his first championship meet, placing eighth in the 100-backstroke, ninth in the 200-yard backstroke and 10th in the 200-yard breaststroke. He ranks sixth all-time at Whitman at the longer backstroke distance and eighth at the shorter distance.
"George is dealing with some fairly signficant shoulder issues at the moment," Blomme says. "But he has more heart than possibly anyone I've seen. If we can get his shoulder problems under control, he's going to have a good season."
Nick Hurlburt (breaststroke, freestyle) and Kevin McCoy (freestyle) are also back for their second seasons. "Last year was a step up for Nick in terms of being a college swimmer, but he adapted well and improved quite a bit," Blomme says. "Kevin was very inexperienced, but he made some huge strides and we look forward to his continued improvement."
Jamie Nusse (Palo Alto, Calif.), the younger brother of Ysbrand Nusse, leads a big first-year class for men’s team. "Jamie is a very good swimmer, just like his brother, and the freestyle sprints are probably his strongest races," Blomme says. "Jamie’s sprint is very impressive."
Nick Wood, a freshman from Moraga, Calif., will team with Collier to give Whitman a strong tandem in the breaststroke events. "Nick is strong in the breaststroke and roughly on a par with Clint," Blomme says. "We’re going to have a nice double in those events."
Blomme also expects good contributions from Nate Wells (Edmonds, Wash.) in the butterfly and Chad Trexler (Reno, Nev.) in the breaststroke. Brian Wakefield (Philomath, Ore.) gives Whitman more depth in the breaststroke, as will Jeff Sterritt (Redmond, Wash.) and Eliot Stone (Eugene, Ore.) in the freestyle.
Matt Bangcaya, a freshman from Tacoma, Wash., has been slowed by a knee injury. "He’s doing what he can in the water, but I’d really like to get him back into serious training," Blomme says. "He has a lot of potential in the butterfly."
The first-year group also includes Colin Gibson, a junior from Seattle, Wash., in his first year of competitive swimming. Gibson, who also competes with Whitman’s club cycling team, is trying his hand at the freestyle events. "He’s in the learning phase right now, but he has more talent than your average novice, and his fitness level is astounding," Blomme says.
Dave Holden, Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
(509) 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu