Oct. 8, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - After winning LMU's first Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championship last February, LMU and Head Coach Bonnie Adair will look to "reload and repeat" this season as they rely on a strong group of returnees and perhaps the most talented group of newcomers to ever grace the Lion program. With Adair's first full recruiting class completely through the system, the Lions will be without a core group of 10 graduated seniors who turned the program from a an eighth-place finisher in 2004 to a Conference Champion in 2007-08. Fortunately for LMU, those swimmers have passed the torch to the next generation, leaving the program at its highest point and setting the bar for continued excellence this year. Adair will once again be assisted by Clay Evans and Joanne Reierson.

The Lions are coming off their best season in the history of the program, highlighted by a first PCSC Championship, six new school records and four PCSC event titles. LMU concluded the 2007-08 regular season with a perfect 9-0 record in dual action, marking the programs fourth straight winning season under coach Adair. The nine dual victories are the highest in program history, and mark the first time that the Lions have gone undefeated in a season. LMU swimming posted its best finish at the PCSC Championship, finishing first of 14 teams with 1212 points. After posting an LMU-record five swimmers on the All-Conference team in 2006-07, the Lions responded by more than doubling that total with an unbelievable 11 All-Conference swimmers in 2007-08. Graduated seniors Angela Samuels and Alex Wike, current seniors Rebecca Plume and Megan Sawelson, current juniors Alexa Cook, Mallorie Lim, Kristen Lutjen, Trinity O'Neill, Melanie Tansuwan and Alicia Witter, and current sophomore Carolyn Pasque were all named to the prestigious list. Wike was also named to the PCSC All-Academic team, an honor bestowed to junior and senior swimmers with a 3.5 GPA or better. Joining Wike on the list were fellow graduate Nicole Alvarado and current senior Justine Elgas.

The team of Witter, Samuels, Lim and Wike claimed the first of four PCSC titles last season after winning the 200 medley relay, a race that LMU has dominated over recent years at the PCSC Championships. The team touched the wall in 1:45.70. Plume, who was voted Swimmer of the Year by her peers last season, won the 500 freestyle event in a new LMU program record of 4:56.59, one of four records set by Plume at the Championships. Wike claimed her title of fastest in the 50 freestyle with a mark of 23.89 before Witter took home the final individual title with a time of 51.80 in the 100 freestyle.

Wike and Samuels completed fantastic careers for the Lions last season, with both claiming a spot in the LMU record books. Wike, in addition to her individual title in the 50 freestyle and her leg in the 200 medley relay, holds school records as a part of the 200 medley relay (2007 - 1:44.24), 200 freestyle relay (2008 - 1:35.76) and 400 freestyle relay (2006 - 3:30.21). Samuels, who served a vital part in the 200 medley relay Championship swim, holds an individual LMU record in the 100 butterfly (2005 - 57.63). She also was a part of the LMU record times in the 200 medley relay (2007 - 1:44.24) and 400 medley relay (2006 - 3:50.45). The Lions also bid adieu to former Team Captain Alvarado, Kristina Fernandez, Alyssa Geraghty, Christine Gore, Liz Magura, Kim McKay and Alicia Royal, all of whom played essential roles in the Lions' first PCSC Championship run.

In the upcoming season, leading the way for the seniors will be Plume, Julia Hall, Danielle Garcia and Sawelson, four swimmers that have had a huge impact on the program in previous years. Plume is coming off a season in which she was named PCSC Champion in the 500 freestyle and was named to the PCSC All-Conference team. The leading scorer for LMU at the PCSC Championships, she set a total of four new LMU records at the event last season, including times in the 200, 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle. In addition, her 1,000 freestyle record was set on the way out to the 1,650 time, and broke her previous record by over 15 seconds. Hall enters her senior year having already cemented herself on the All-Time Top-10 list in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyles, and the 400 IM. She was a Conference finalist in the 400 IM and 1,650 freestyle last year. Garcia likewise holds Top-10 positions in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle events, and has been a Conference finalist in all three of those events since her freshman year. In just her first season at LMU, Sawelson claimed PCSC All-Conference honors after swimming a vital leg in LMU's record 200 freestyle relay at the PCSC Championships. Her swims at the Championships in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events all placed her in LMU's All-Time Top-10 in those races. Elgas and Gillian Ghazal will also return and be expected to provide depth and leadership as seniors.

The junior class is led by a handful of PCSC All-Conference selections, including Cook, Lim, Lutjen, O'Neill, Tansuwan and Witter, all of whom are expected to continue to thrive this year for the Lions. Cook was a part of the record-breaking 200 freestyle relay squad last season, and holds a spot on the All-Time LMU Top-10 list in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Lim helped LMU to another PCSC victory in the 200 medley relay, and ranks in the Top-10 in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly events. A strong backstroker, Lutjen places in the All-Time Top-10 in the 100 and 200 backstroke, and the 200 IM. O'Neill, a two-time PCSC All-Conference selection, set a new program record last season in the 400 IM at the Nike Invitational. Already an LMU-record holder in two events (200 butterfly and 400 IM), she also places in the Top-10 in the 500 freestyle, 1,000 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 100 butterfly, and 200 IM. Tansuwan turned-in the best Lion time of the season in the 200 IM at the PCSC Championships en route to her All-Conference bid. She finished third in the 200 butterfly, fourth in the 200 IM and sixth in the 100 butterfly at the Championships. Tansuwan currently places in the Top-10 in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly and 200 IM. Finally, Witter won her first individual Conference Title last season, taking the crown in the 100 freestyle. She joined Wike as the only two Lions to record two titles last year, serving a vital role as leadoff in the 200 medley relay. An LMU record-holder in the 800 freestyle relay, she ranks in the Top-10 in six events (100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke). Katie Mistry, a butterfly specialist, will also add depth for the Lions as a junior.

The sophomore class, coming off of a strong freshman season, will be led by All-Conference standout Carolyn Pasque. Pasque was an All-Conference selection for her fourth-place finish in the 50 freestyle and her fifth-place finish in the 100 freestyle. She was also a member of LMU's record-setting 200 freestyle relay. Her times place her in the Top-10 All-Time in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle. Maeghan Cobbin and Katie Carmody will also serve vital roles as sophomores.

Relays will once again be a high point for the Lions, who have dominated the conference in the 200 medley relay for four years straight, breaking and re-breaking the PCSC record on nearly a yearly basis. This year, with the addition of junior transfer, Anne Scott, and an abundance of new freshman talent, LMU looks to replenish the wealth that has been lost with the departure of the seniors from last season. High school All-Americans Tammy Choy and Kyla Dahlquist, Christina Cannata, Jill Dahle, Casey Flacks, Michelle Horgan, Yvonne Le, Kara O'Neill, Olivia Plume, Terry Rinder and Erin Rosas are all freshmen who are eager to show their talents at the next level of competition.

This year's team will be on the road more than any Lion team in the past as they host only one dual meet at Burns Aquatics Center. LMU will compete against Cal State Bakersfield, Pacific and Fresno Pacific in Bakersfield, Calif. on November 1 before traveling to UC San Diego, Northern Arizona, San Diego and Cal State Bakersfield for dual meets later in the year. The only home meet on LMU's schedule this season is against New Mexico State on December 19 at 11 a.m. The season will open on October 10 with a two-day PCSC kick-off event hosted by Cal Baptist University in Riverside, Calif. Friday will be a relay competition among PCSC schools that will field teams in 12 different relay events. The following day, swimmers throughout the PCSC will compete in a swimming pentathlon, choosing from one of three five-event series of races.

After taking part in the PCSC kick-off, LMU will compete at the Malibu Invitational on October 25 before heading to Bakersfield, Calif. on November 1. Following a 19-day hiatus from competition, the Lions will close the month of November at the Nike Cup (formerly the Speedo Cup) from November 20-22. The three-day event has included some of the top teams in the western United States including Pac-10 powerhouses Stanford and USC in the past. Last year the Lions placed in the Top-10 for the second consecutive season, finishing in 10th place out of 22 teams.

December 2009 will start the "dual-meet" portion of the season. LMU will hold its lone home meet on December 19 to start things off, followed by meets against UC San Diego on January 10, Northern Arizona on January 17, San Diego and Fresno State on January 31, and Cal State Bakersfield on February 7 to close the regular season. All of these competitions will be tune-ups for the PCSC Championship set for February 18 at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, Calif. 14 women's teams will compete for the team title, as LMU will stride to repeat as Conference Champion for the second consecutive season. UC San Diego and Pepperdine will once again provide tough competition for the Lions, as will the University of North Dakota, who was recently added to the Conference.

With each year, the LMU swim program has gained momentum. This season, the Lions look to repeat last year's success and make LMU history by taking the PCSC Title in consecutive seasons. With the strength and depth of the program where it currently stands, there seems to be endless possibility for LMU this season.