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Women's Swimming Hands Out Season Honors
April 2, 2008
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - After completing a perfect 9-0 season and winning their first Pacific Coast Swim Conference team championship in program history, the Loyola Marymount University women's swimming team handed out their team awards at an annual year-end dinner on Friday, March 28. Junior Rebecca Plume, who scored a team-high 88 points for the Lions at the championship meet, received the Swimmer of the Year award. Plume, along with senior Alex Wike and sophomore Alicia Witter, won individual conference titles during the four-day competition last month. Plume's victory came in the 500 freestyle on the first day of the meet in which she lowered her personal best time by an incredible 14 seconds. She followed her first day win with two second place finishes in the 200 and 1650 freestyles, lowering her previous-best time by two and a half seconds in the 200 and almost a full minute in the `mile'. In addition to the Swimmer of the Year award, Plume was voted Most Improved and Hardest Worker by her teammates. Wike won the conference championship in the 50 freestyle and Witter took the 100 freestyle while also serving as the leadoff and anchor on LMU's 200 medley relay which won a fourth consecutive conference title. Senior Angela Samuels and sophomore Mallorie Lim swam the other two legs on the relay. Witter, who scored 83 points at the championships and Samuels, who scored 67 points, received the Most Inspirational Swimmer award, along with Plume at last week's dinner. Plume, Wike, Witter Samuels, and Lim earned All-PCSC honors along with six other Lions for a total of 11, more than double the previous high of five All-PCSC selections in 2007. Other Lions receiving All-PCSC honors for 2008 were: Melanie Tansuwan, Megan Sawelson, Carolyn Pasque, Trinity O'Neill, Kristen Lutjen, and Alexa Cook..
Freshman Pasque had a breakout season and earned the Freshman Swimmer of the Year award after placing fourth, sixth and ninth in her three freestyle events at the conference meet, earning 70 points for the Lions. Junior transfer Sawelson earned 75 points, placing in the Top-8 in the same freestyle races, en route to being voted one of four Lions' Most Improved swimmers. Others were Tansuwan, who earned 76 points by placing third, fifth and sixth in her three events, Lutjen, who qualified for her first championship final placing fifth in the 200 backstroke, and Gillian Ghazal, who recorded three personal-best times. Team Captains Samuels and Nicole Alvarado took home the Lion Pride award for their leadership and spirit, while senior Liz Magura was presented with a special Coaches Appreciation Award for her numerous contributions to the team over her four years at LMU. 2007-08 LMU Team Awards |
