SPOKANE, Wash – A pair of powerful Whitworth swim clubs defeated their Linfield counterparts Saturday afternoon at the Whitworth Aquatic Center. The Pirate men won by a score of 155-44 and the women were even better, winning 157-42.

With the victories, Whitworth improved to 4-0 in Northwest Conference dual meets. The Pirate men won their 75th consecutive conference dual meet and the women extended their streak to 32 straight.

The Wildcats, who have struggled recently with injuries and illness, fell to 0-4 in NWC dual contests.

The Whitworth men swept both relays and had strong showings from Austin Vierra and Kalen Darling, who won two events apiece.

Miles Phillips (Sr., Richland, Wash.) was the bright spot for the ‘Cats, winning the 200-yard butterfly in a lifetime-best time of 2:01.45.

Teammate Lee Rivers (Jr., Renton, Wash.) followed up a great meet against Whitman the night before by placing third in the 200 IM (season-best 2:04.82).

Other top performers were Jesse Archambault and Marc Pereira. Archambault had a pair of third-place finishes in the 50 freestyle (23.22) and the 100 freestyle (52.60). Pereira was third in the 200 breaststroke (2:39.85).

For the women, the Pirates matched the men’s effort by winning both relay events. Christine DeHaven and Abby Pavelko each placed first in two races.

For the Wildcats, Megan Sandall (Sr., Bellevue, Wash.) and Natalie Groat were the top point-earners. Sandall was third in both the 200 IM (2:22.50) and the 200 breaststroke (2:40.45). Groat finished second in the 200 butterfly (2:23.31) and third in the 500 freestyle (5:43.94).

Linfield was helped by three additional top-three performers. Rhiannon Ladwig (Sr., Boise, Idaho) placed third in the 200 freestyle (2:14.67), Catherine Nakamura (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii) was third in the 200 butterfly (2:25.80) and Nicole Paulachak (Jr., Hilo, Hawaii) finished third in the 100 freestyle (1:05.07).

NEXT: The Wildcats compete in their third-straight away meet, taking on Lewis & Clark in Portland Friday in a 6 p.m. contest.