The Whitman Men’s basketball team is finally back in Walla Walla for a five-game home stand after playing five of their first six games on the road over winter break.

While most Whitties were catching up on sleep, the team returned on Dec. 27 to prepare for their first conference game of the season against Lewis & Clark College. Since then, they have gone 6-2, with their only conference losses coming on the road to NWC-leading Whitworth and in a close game at Pacific University.

“I think it’s gone really well. I think we’ve fought through a bunch of injuries and a bunch of poor shooting on the road. To be where we’re at right now with five of our first six games in conference on the road … is good. Not great, but good,” said Head Men’s Basketball Coach Eric Bridgeland.

The team has weathered multiple injuries which caused the absence of usual starters junior Tochi Oti and Senior Dominic Lippi, as well as nagging issues that have forced multiple players to sit out of practice each week so that they can play on the weekends.

“Practice, without all the bodies, it’s hard to do everything that we want to do. But we’re still able to get things done, we still get better. Not having that core out there all the time is definitely tough, but we’re pretty close,” said senior guard Matt Mounier.

The team’s up-and-down, aggressive style of play, including a full-court press on every defensive possession, amplifies the effect of the injuries.

“We play a certain way, but we need eight or nine healthy bodies, not six or seven … It’s a matter of having enough bodies to pressure. We play pressure defense, and you can’t do that with five guys, it takes nine or ten,” said Bridgeland.

The group is glad to be home, where they have shot miles better from three (46% vs. 20%) and from the line (76% vs. 62%) than on the road. In their two games this weekend, easy wins over Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound, they shot 39% from three and 73% from the line. Leading scorer and rebounder junior Evan Martin says the hectic travel schedule has contributed to the road struggles.

“Switching gyms can sometimes mess up your shot … We all have to step up and make the ones that we need to make and be confident in our shots. I think having five home games in a row coming up will be good for us,” he said.

The team holds the number two spot behind undefeated Whitworth in the conference standings. However, they downplayed any goals of catching Whitworth for the top seed, emphasizing what they can control.

“We always hope to get the one-seed, but we definitely think more about ourselves and what we can do to get better than watching what they do,” said Mounier.

Martin, who is shooting 65% from the field and went 6-for-7 this weekend, agreed.

“Everything is just one game at a time,” he said.

Last season ended in disappointment, with a loss to the third-seeded UPS in the conference semifinals. Despite the losses of Josh Duckworth ’14 and Ben Eisenhardt ’14 (now a professional player in Israel) the team is optimistic that their depth and cohesion can compensate.

“I think this is the tightest core group of guys that we’ve had. It’s probably one of the deepest teams we’ve had. I don’t know if we have a D-Mike [David Michaels, now a pro in South Korea] or a Ben Eisenhardt, but we have a bunch of really good players who can help in their own way and take over games,” said Mounier.

Bridgeland confirmed that the depth of this year’s team is a strength.

“This year we’re a lot better across the board, not just one or two guys. So if we can just get a set rotation that we’re comfortable with, that’s the key to everything,” said Bridgeland.

With eight games remaining in conference play, the team will need to push through the injuries for now and hope for the best as playoffs loom ahead.

The arrival of winter break means that Whitman swimmers have a monthlong rest in their meet schedule, giving the swimmers a chance to focus on their academics and training in preparation for the more intense second half of the season.

The men’s team is 4-0, while the women’s team is 3-1. The teams’ most recent meet was in Vancouver, British Columbia at the Simon Fraser Clan Cup International. Whitman placed third in a meet featuring Division I and NAIA teams, behind Oregon State University and Simon Fraser University.

“It was really intimidating, but it’s good to have that experience,” said senior captain Nic Win of the competitive meet.

The team and coaching staff are happy with both the hot start and the atmosphere around the team.

“[The team] looks good. It looks really good. The team is really bonding as always. The freshmen are finding their place, and it’s been a solid start,” said Assistant Men’s and Women’s Swim Coach Galen Sollom-Brotherton.

The swim team practices in the pool located within Baker Ferguson Fitness Center. Photo by Nikki Antenucci.

The success so far comes with a grain of salt, which applies to every team in the NWC. In recent years the four Washington schools (Whitman, Whitworth, Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound) have monopolized the top four spots in the conference, while the Oregon schools (Lewis & Clark, Pacific, Linfield and George Fox) have finished in spots 5-8. As a result, the Washington teams spend the first half of the season swimming meets with the Oregon teams in preparation for the tougher half of the season. This year the men’s side consists of four 4-0 teams and four 0-4 teams, and the women’s team is only slightly less stratified.

“It won’t really get super interesting until January,” said Sollom-Brotherton.

Next up for the Missionaries is a non-conference meet with the University of Redlands (California), followed by meets with the other three Washington schools, Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound and Whitworth. The season ends with the Conference Championship meet at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where they will compete against the rest of the NWC.

Expectations are high for the rest of the season, especially for the men’s team. They finished second in conference last season, placing second at the NWC Championships behind Whitworth, and sending senior Karl Mering to nationals, where he won the 100-yard butterfly to become the first national champion swimmer in Whitman’s history. The men didn’t graduate anyone from last year’s team, unusual for a team so successful. They still have Mering and Win, as well as juniors Robby Dorn, Sam Starr and Loic McGiverin-Odeide, all of whom populate Whitman’s record books. This continuity, along with a strong first-year class, has helped with the strong start.

“The men’s side is definitely gunning for number one [in conference]. We’ve been number two for the last three or four years now, and so we’re ready to make that shift and I think this is the team to do it,” said Sollom-Brotherton.

The women lost four seniors to graduation last year, including Claire Collins, who qualified for nationals twice in her Whitman career. They only have one senior, Rachael Barton, who Sollom-Brotherton says puts them in a similar position to last year’s men’s team. They still expect to compete, though, and build on last year’s third-place finish at Conference. Logan Gomez, a junior transfer student from the NAIA College of Idaho, emphasized the women’s team’s determination, which she says can help compensate for its lack of experience.

Photo by Nikki Antenucci.

“We’re competing with PLU and Whitworth, which both have really strong women’s teams. But the reason I chose the Whitman swim team is because there’s a level of drive in these people that I don’t see present in a lot of other teams, and I really think that we do have the potential to beat at least one of those teams at conference this year,” said Gomez.

The team will practice together through finals week, and then split up for winter break. They will meet up again in Ontario, Calif. on Jan. 7 to prepare for the season’s stretch run.

“If you ask any swimmer on campus right now, they’ll tell you they feel pretty tired, so if that effort’s being given now, I think we should expect good results,” said Win.

The Whitman men’s basketball team dropped to 1-1 Thursday, Nov. 20 after a 96-86 loss to University of St. Thomas. Whitman took an eight-point lead into halftime and led for most of the game, but the Tommies pulled away late in a close, tightly called game.

The Missionaries were led by seniors Matt Mounier’s 19 points and Dominic Lippi’s 18. St. Thomas was paced by Marcus Alipate’s six threes and Taylor Montero’s 20 points.

Whitman started the game slowly, trailing for much of the first half. They gradually cut away at the lead with improved defensive intensity, which led to 14 forced turnovers and easy looks at the other end. They tied the game at 26 with 9:30 left in the half when starting guard junior Tochi Oti stole the ball and lobbed it in transition to forward junior Evan Martin, who electrified the crowd with an emphatic alley-oop finish.

They took the lead moments later on a three from Lippi, after which a flurry of steals and hot shooting widened the lead to eight. They pushed the lead to as much as 14, and two free throws from Mounier made it 49-41 at the half.

The Tommies came out after halftime playing more aggressive defense, which frequently forced the Missionaries into isolation plays late in the shot clock. Pairing this with improved offensive execution, St. Thomas came back to tie the game with 7:45 left on forward Jimmy Remke’s layup.

St. Thomas’ 22-8 run was fueled in part by the Missionaries’ foul trouble. Whitman’s aggressive, trapping defense was called closely by the officials, picking up four team fouls in the first 2:09 of the half. The team spent much of the game in the penalty, which led to 33 free throw attempts for the Tommies.

A long three off the dribble by Oti brought the score to 77-80 with four minutes left, but Marcus Alipate responded on the next possession with his own three. Two layups from St. Thomas center Conner Nord, who had 11 points on 4-4 shooting in the second half, pushed the lead to ten. Several trips to the line iced the game for the Tommies.

The game was a far cry from the season opener against D’Youville College, a 41-point laugher against an unranked team. St. Thomas is ranked 13th in the nation and responded much more adeptly to the Missionaries’ full-court press and transition game.

Whitman also had to play without first-year guard Rolaun Dunham, who scored 20 points against D’Youville, after he sprained his ankle in practice on Tuesday. His return for the team’s next game, against Rutgers University-Newark is uncertain.

For a Whitman men’s basketball team that boasts a thrilling run-and-gun offense, a frantic, trapping defense and a promising group of talents, the show at Sherwood will certainly be an exciting one this winter.

Expectations are high. The team, which went 16-10 (11-5 in conference) last year, won their first DIII matchup last Sunday over D’Youville College and hosts the University of St. Thomas tonight at 7 p.m.

The Missionaries feature a strong returning class, including seniors Matt Mounier (last year’s second-leading scorer), Dominic Lippi and Clay Callahan, and juniors Tochi Oti and Evan Martin. The continuity is especially helpful in Head Men’s Basketball Coach Eric Bridgeland’s aggressive, transition-heavy system. While returning a strong number of players, the team also has some solid building blocks for the future after bringing in a strong recruiting class. This year’s newcomers include first-years Rolaun Dunham, Jovahn Wiggins and Tim Howell, as well as two transfers, junior Ege Mala and sophomore Christian McDonald. Bridgeland says incorporating five new players has not been an issue at all.

“The new guys look great,” he said in an email. “All five have shown flashes of being able to help us immediately. With our returners and relationship-based culture, it’s been relatively easy to integrate them.”

Oti, a junior guard, agrees, praising the first-years’ work ethics.

Tochi Oti ’16 (left) prepares for a free throw while teammate Evan Martin ’16 gets ready on defense. Photo by Halley McCormick.

“They all look very good. They’re working hard in practice, they’re very committed, always in the gym on their own time,” he said.

They are supported by the team’s family atmosphere, which Bridgeland and the coaching staff work hard to create.

“All the experienced guys are trying to help the young guys with the system. We did a lot of bonding activities that helped each other grow and come closer together. Our coaches emphasize trying to build a culture here that is close-knit like a family,” said Dunham, a first-year guard.

The team will have to manage the loss of several players from last year’s team, including 2013 NW Conference player of the year Ben Eisenhardt and all-conference guard Josh Duckworth. There were also four seniors this year that did not make the team. Oti downplayed the impact of this roster turnover.

“I think everyone is on the same page. We all want the same thing. I think it’s good for the returners because now we have to be more engaged, helping out the new guys,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s a detriment to our team that we’ve lost a lot of guys. I think it’s just going to force some other guys to step up and be a big part of the success this year.”

The team’s first exhibition game was an 89-70 loss to Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. The Missionaries played a listless first half, getting outscored 59-36. They came to life in the second half, outscoring the Warriors by four, but they came up short in the end.

“We came out really flat and that’s not us, because usually we have a lot of energy … But that’s all it was,” said Dunham.

Bridgeland was unhappy with the team’s effort in Lewiston, putting his players through a brutal practice upon their return. Junior forward Martin described the scene.

Evan Martin ’16 shoots over his opponent. Photo by Halley McCormick.

“It was probably one of the worst running days I’ve ever had playing basketball. It was cool because at the end we were all dog tired, most of us weren’t making the time you had to make it in,” he said. “And then we all just huddled up and had this chant, and we were all juiced and fired up and it brought us closer together when we finally got done. It turned out really well for us.

A week later the team smothered the D’Youville College Spartans 129-88, led by junior Jackson Clough’s 25 points and Dunham’s impressive collegiate debut (20 points, four assists and six rebounds). The Missionaries’ full-court press and run-and-gun offense were in full effect, forcing 30 turnovers and shooting 18-40 (45 percent) from behind the three-point arc.

Rolaun Dunham ’18 shoots. Dunham accumulated 20 points in his first collegiate game. Photo by Halley McCormick.

“I think we looked good. Our defense was definitely on point, definitely better than our game [against Lewis-Clark],” said Martin.

The team will need to make progress if they want to compete for the NWC crown. Whitworth University was picked in the preseason coaches poll to win its sixth straight conference championship. Whitman was picked second with 61 points to the Pirates’ 68.

The Missionaries lost to the University of Puget Sound in the conference semifinals last year. Oti is optimistic that they can top themselves this season.

“Anything is possible, honestly. I don’t see why we can’t go to the National Tournament and win the whole thing,” he said. “We have the talent, we have the ability. I want to end the season on a win this year.”+

The Whitman volleyball team finished its season strong this weekend with wins on the road over Lewis & Clark College and George Fox University. The success came as a welcome end to a season that has featured many ups and downs, including a five-game skid before the current three-game winning streak.

The team went 11-14 on the season and had a 7-9 conference record. Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Matthew Helm emphasized the positive from several close losses.

Photo by Hannah Bashevkin.

“We’ve lost five set matches or really close set matches to the top four teams in the conference. So it’s promising for us to know that we are at that level, that we can compete with those teams,” he said.

The issues the team faced during some of the tough parts of the season were more mental than anything else, according to senior Captain Franny Gardner.

“I feel that the ups and downs we experienced came from attitude inconsistencies between sets. Physical skills were never a real issue for this group. It was just pure unrelenting determination that we struggled to find sometimes,” she said.

For the team’s two seniors, Gardner and Megan Bafus, this final road trip meant the end of their Whitman careers. The two were honored at Whitman’s final home game on Senior Night a week before.

“Senior night was an awesome experience,” said Gardner. “Megan and I were incredibly excited and thought that our team was in a very good position for a great weekend. More than anything, we wanted to give it our all wholeheartedly and have no regrets.”

Megan Bafus ’15. Photo by Hannah Bashevkin.

Gardner and Bafus joined juniors Hannah Linsenmayer and Abby Seethoff as the only upperclassmen on this young team. The team attributes some of their struggles, especially late in matches, to their relative inexperience.

“I think part of it is growing pains, I think part of it is having those experiences and those types of games. We need to learn to risk failure. I think that sometimes we’re a little afraid of taking some chances when it gets close. So we’re learning how to do that. And these experiences that we’ve had this year will help us in the future,” said Helm.

Although their youth occasionally gave them problems, the future of this team is very bright. Gardner emphasized continuity and the opportunities the underclassmen-heavy roster affords the team.

“I have very high hopes for the future of the program,” she said in an email. “We only have two seniors and two juniors this year, which will be a huge blessing for the team. All four of us are big components of the starting six, but by only graduating two people at a time in consecutive years, our coach will be able to put mature and confident players onto the court in the future.”

First-year Rachael Haggen says the team showed promise in exceeding expectations.

“I have a great feeling about the seasons to come,” she said. “At the beginning of this season when the rankings came out we were expected to be one of the last teams in the conference, but we ended up tied for fifth. We wanted more than anything to prove the rankings wrong.”

The team will have adjustments to make, however. Bafus was second on the team in kills, and her role the blocking schemes and offensive attack will be tough to replace. Helm mentions Haggen, Bafus’s backup, as someone who could help offset the loss, a big role she hopes to fill.

“At the beginning of the season Coach told me to pay specific attention to [Bafus] as a player on the court and try to learn as much as I could from her before she graduates, so that’s what I did. She is a consistent, competitive and positive teammate on the court which helps our team during our toughest matches and in crucial plays. There are certain things that [Bafus] brings to the team that will be missed next year and the fact that coach believes I could help offset that loss means a great deal to me,” said Helm.

Photo by Hannah Bashevkin.

Helm downplayed expectations for next year, saying that with the right mental approach, the results will fall into place.

“Well obviously we’re looking to win a conference championship, that’s why we play. But it’s going to be about the process … We have a great core coming back that will help the freshmen come in and understand what we’re trying to do, and we have all those growing pains that we learn from this year. And they’re not going to want to feel that way next year,” said Helm.

Helm also made sure to thank the fans for their attendance and support.

“We’ve seen an increase in our attendance, and I think we’ve been playing some exciting volleyball,” he said. “So I’d just like to thank all the faculty, administration and student body for coming out and supporting us this year, and we look forward to seeing you next year,” he said.

Whitman men and women placed third and fourth respectively in the NWC cross country championships in Salem, Ore. on Saturday, Nov. 1. Two men and two women finished in the top ten in the eight- and six-kilometer races.

Photo contributed by Alex Porter.

Although the team’s focus is primarily on the NCAA West Regional Championship on Nov. 15, this race was an important tune-up before regionals. Senior Captain Colin Domonoske finished fourth with a time of 25:56.8, 12 seconds behind the leader, Pacific University’s Tyler Shipley. Junior T.C. Heydon also landed in the top ten with a time of 26:21.6. Domonoske’s finish was the best for Whitman in the NWC championships in the past 18 years.

“Colin has really been coming on strong at the end of his senior year, and it looks like he is setting himself up for a better performance at Regionals,” said Head Cross Country Running Coach Scott Shields.

On the women’s side, Missionaries Julia Wood ’16 and Skye Pauly ’15 placed seventh and 10th. Wood has led Whitman women for most of the season.

Julia Wood ’16 placed 7th overall. Photo contributed by Doug Pauly.

“Julia had just a super gutsy race. She had been sick the entire week going into the race and was not able to practice. Because of this, she was not as sharp as we’d like, but I feel she totally stepped up and showed her toughness,” said Shields in an email.

The result came as a minor disappointment, since both teams placed third in the same meet last year, and they felt they were stronger this season. Pauly, a captain, emphasized the positive from the meet.

“While we did not score as highly as we’d hoped as a team, there are still a number of reasons to be proud of ourselves. We had three all-conference runners (top-14) and many people got season’s bests. Considering that not all of our top runners were there on Saturday, we really couldn’t ask for more,” said Pauly in an email.

Willamette University, the heavy favorite, dominated the meet as expected, winning the men’s side by 28 points and the women’s by 43. Bearcat women took the top four spots in the 6K, led by junior Taylor Ostrander and sophomore Olivia Mancl.

Whitman had hoped to place second at least, although opinions differed over whether beating Willamette was a realistic goal.

“We’ll definitely end up in the top half of the conference and ideally in second place,” said Shields before the meet.

Domonoske, on the other hand, suggested that anything was possible if the team ran up to its potential.

“I think we do [have a chance],” said Domonoske before the race. “We need to run our best races all at once. We’ve had a lot of strong performances out of some of the guys, but a couple guys might have a bad day, a couple guys feeling sick, feeling injured. I think if we all run our best together, we can take down Willamette.”

Next for the team is the Regional Championships, where they hope to be even stronger. Junior Julia Hart, who was in the middle of a strong season, has been injured for the last few weeks with a broken foot. Shields calls it a “long shot” that she would be back in time for regionals, but he says she would make them much stronger as a team.

Even without Hart, Shields says the team is prepared for regionals, also in Salem.

“We are set up to do well at Regionals for sure. We had a bunch of either personal bests and season bests this weekend  We will be even stronger for Regionals and most likely beat a few conference teams that beat us this weekend,” he wrote.

Pauly agrees, emphasizing that the team is making progress.

“I am still optimistic for regionals. It is the same course as conference was this weekend, so we are familiar with how to run it. We will continue to taper our training in order to run our season’s best. With any luck, everyone will be healthy, in top shape and ready to fly,” said Pauly.

For a men’s soccer team that has played, and lost, in four different overtime games this season, the year has turned into an arduous slog. The team currently holds an 8-9 record overall (4-7 in the Northwest Conference). They have been forced to struggle with a wide array of injuries, horrible luck and, at times, a lack of trust of each other.

Before a win last week against Walla Walla University, they had lost three straight games and four of their last five. Their remaining schedule consists of five straight conference games, including matches against second-place Willamette and third-place Whitworth to end the season.

Despite this, the team believes it is better than it has shown so far. Junior defender Isaac Sappington says they have not played up to their potential.

“I feel like we have a lot more talent than we’ve achieved,” said Sappington.

The team’s problems have stemmed from a combination of bad luck, poor play and adjustments necessitated by injuries.

The team was hamstrung from the start of the year after sophomore midfielder Sam Perkins left the team over the summer due to repeated concussions. Leading scorer sophomoreAlex Barsher and senior Thomas Motzer have also gone down this season with concussions, leaving the team short-handed.

In their absence, Head Men’s Soccer Coach Mike Washington says several younger players have stepped up and several players have had to play out of position.

“It’s not something we want to throw them into, but to be honest with you, we’ve had to and they’ve responded really, really well,” said Washington.

The team also pointed to a few badly-timed penalties as a cause for some of their problems. Against Pacific Lutheran University last week, an early red card left the Missionaries down a man for most of the match. They still managed to keep the Lutes’ attack at bay, only losing 2-0.

“I felt that we outplayed them, being down a man, but it’s just hard to come back from situations like that,” said Sappington.

They also allowed a goal on a penalty kick in the second minute against third-in-conference University of Puget Sound, which set them back all game in the 3-0 loss.

The team does not chalk all of their struggles up to luck and health. They have also had trust issues, which forced them to hold a recent team meeting to discuss how to improve.

“We had a lack of trust, and when the going got tough we didn’t trust each other enough,” said senior captain Logan Grime.

Sappington agrees that trust has been a problem.

“Playing soccer can definitely be high-stress, especially when you drop three straight … We met as a team, just sorted things out, made sure we were all on the same page moving forward. I think it was really helpful to build our confidence as a team and to build that trust,” said Sappington.

Although the season is nearly over, the team is determined to finish the year strong.

“We’ve got enough talent. It’s just about finding that game that we can bust open and play well,” said Washington.

Last weekend the team beat George Fox University and lost to Pacific University by one goal in overtime. Washington says he was pleased with the team’s showing.

“I thought over the weekend the performance was better in the fact that our play was sharper, passing was better and our overall shape during the games improved. Sunday’s loss was more about finishing the chances we created,” he said.

Grime says that as captain, it is his job to make sure the team continues to compete despite the disappointing season.

“We are a little disappointed in how it went, but as a senior I don’t want guys to give up on the season,” he said.

“Going in we had high expectations, and now that we’ve dropped a few games, the pressure’s a little off of us. So now we can just go and play our game and maybe crush some teams’ hopes of winning conference.”

Washington says that the team has a promising future, with several underclassmen having impressive seasons.

“The future looks bright. While we want to concentrate on this season, having games like that [against Walla Walla University, a team they’ve defeated twice] gives us a chance to look at some of our players in the years coming, too,” said Washington, noting that this year’s class of first-years is particularly strong.

Despite the disappointing season, the soccer team sees encouraging signs and is resolved to finish strong.

Ben Freedman (2018) dribbles the ball.

Photo by Hannah Bashevkin.

The Whitman College Swim Team hosted its annual triathlon fundraiser last week. The event, organized by Head Swimming Coach Jennifer Blomme, attracted almost 40 participants who competed in the event either as individuals or as members of a team.

The team uses the revenue from the triathlon to cover various swim team expenses, especially the travel budget. Although the purpose of the event was to raise money, Blomme’s focus is on the participant experience.

“I don’t solely evaluate success based on how big the event is or how many dollars it raised … Every time we have a triathlon, there is someone doing it for the first time, or someone accomplishing a huge personal feat by participating. So by those standards, every time is a great success,” she said.

Junior Jeremy Nolan, who did the bicycle portion of the triathlon for his team, enjoyed the  experience.

“It was a lot of fun. I did it as part of a team with the Spanish House, where I’m an RA, and we had one of my housemates doing the running, I did the cycling and one of them did the swimming. It was an absolute blast,” said Nolan.

The triathlon is a swim team tradition that dates back to before 2000, the start of Blomme’s time at Whitman. It includes a 500-yard swim, a 10-mile bike ride and a 5-kilometer run. Blomme says she makes an effort to downplay competition.

“The fastest times of the day were posted by Matthew Coopersmith (1:05:58), Kara Faciszewski (1:03.12) and the team called “We’re the Millers” (0:55:04). But we very intentionally don’t announce winners at the end, but rather hold a raffle for all the participants. Our goal is to create an event that we’re all participating in together more than a race,” she said.

The swim team, which was extremely successful last season, has its first conference competition on Oct. 31. Blomme is extremely excited about both the men’s and women’s teams this year.

The women have seen some turnover from last year and are dealing with the loss of several seniors.

“The women lost four really key players to graduation last May, but the sophomores and juniors behind them are rising to the challenge in their absence. There is some great leadership on that team and we are excited to see what happens when that combines with some wonderful first-year talent,” said Blomme.

The men, meanwhile, are enjoying continuity from last year, which Blomme thinks will help the team.

“On the men’s side, we didn’t graduate anyone after last year’s amazing season, our most successful in program history. We have some awesome first-year men to add to that, so the sky is the limit for the men,” said Blomme.

Senior swimmer Karl Mering was the national champion in the 100-yard butterfly last year, the first in the history of Whitman swimming. Blomme says he has a chance to top himself this year.

“Can he do more? Absolutely. He is in great shape, training hard and very focused. But for him, the success will be as much about what his teammates and he are able to achieve together, as it will be about any one of his personal goals,” said Blomme.

While Whitman’s only other swimmer to make nationals last season, Claire Collins, graduated in the spring, Blomme says the team has several swimmers with the potential to take her place this year. 

There are a number of swimmers with huge potential. A talented relay group composed of Mering, juniors Robby Dorn and Sam Starr, and senior Nic Win just barely missed out on nationals last year. Sophomores Shanley Miller and Cole Weinstein were also both extremely close to making the national meet in the 400 IM. 

“Our major focus in regards to nationals will be getting more individuals there, of course, but also getting a relay selected [for] the meet. And we have a better shot at that than ever before,” said Blomme.

The Whitman College Women’s Golf team, led by senior captain Kelly Sweeney, had high hopes coming into the 2014-2015 season. After a few weeks’ worth of tournaments, the team has already exceeded their expectations.

As of this week, the team has won two of their three competitive tournaments. They placed sixth in the O’Brien Invitational before winning the Pacific Fall Opener and the Whitworth Invitational.

Women’s Golf Coach Skip Molitor, in his 21st year at Whitman and seventh as the women’s golf coach, thinks the team can make Nationals this year. The goal is to win the Northwest Conference, which confers an AQ (automatic qualifier) to the national tournament.

“Our program is at a point where most years it’s a very realistic goal to contend and ideally bring home the trophy,” said Molitor.

Sweeney agreed but emphasized staying in the present.

“As a team, I really want us to go to Nationals, and I think that we have a very solid group of girls and that we’re all good players and we can learn a lot from each other,” said Sweeney. “In the past we’ve shot ourselves in the foot by being like, ‘Oh, Nationals is our main goal.’ It is our main goal, but our team responds well to having little goals along the way for each tournament.”

Photo by Halley McCormick.

The team of five is dealing with the loss of three seniors from last year’s team: Elaine Whaley, Catelyn Webber and Katie Zajicek.

“We had a real strong senior class last year. We had three players who had very accomplished careers,” said Molitor. “Both Katie and Catelyn won several tournaments and were nationally ranked in terms of their stroke average.”

Sweeney has helped compensate for the losses with her own strong play. She paced the field at both Whitworth and Pacific, and she set a school single-round record, previously held by Zajicek, with a 71 to help Whitman win the Pacific Fall Opener. She did it mostly thanks to a scorching 5-under-par 31 on the front nine (played second at the tournament). She was named Northwest Conference Student Athlete of the Week for the performance.

“[On] the second nine everything just kind of came into place and I just wasn’t really thinking about anything. I was just stroking the ball and everything just fell into place,” said Sweeney.

Molitor says that the team isn’t as deep as it was in years past, which makes health a concern. Sweeney is returning from a partially torn labrum which limited her to two of 12 matches in the spring season last year.

“She’s rehabbed well, and so far it looks like she’s going to be off to a pretty healthy start,” said Molitor.

Sweeney mentioned that she has had to change parts of her game due to lingering effects of the injury.

“I’m still battling it constantly just because there’s nothing they can do surgically right now,” said Sweeney. “I’m relying on different parts of my game that I haven’t had to rely on before because I don’t have the distance that I’m used to.”

The team features two first-years, Kendall Dunovant and Phoebe Nguyen. Nguyen has golfed well so far, breaking 80 twice at Pacific (79/79), but Dunovant has struggled at times in her first collegiate season.

“This season has been rough for me. My scores have not been as good as I would’ve hoped. At this point, it’s just about playing [at a] level that I know I can and not letting the mistakes I’ve made earlier in the season affect me,” she said.

Dunovant says Sweeney has been a big help easing the difficult transition to college level golf.

“Kelly is definitely a leader on the team. For me personally, she has been a constant source of encouragement. Even when I’m not happy with how I play, she is there to remind me to focus on the positive, and remember what I did do well,” said Dunovant.

While Molitor says that Sweeney is “very much” a leader for the younger players, Sweeney downplays the label.

“I think especially with a small team it’s not so much that there’s one distinct captain, but that we all kind of feed off each other. But it’s nice to have me and the two underclassmen that were here last year — Alyssa and Lou — all kind of leading together by example,” said Sweeney.

The Sweet Putt, a popular Walla Walla miniature golf venue, closed its doors on Aug. 31 after a three-year journey that started with a sketch on a Wendy’s napkin. Partly owned by Whitman Associate Dean of Students Juli Dunn and her family, The Sweet Putt was the setting for every Whitman intramural putt-putt golf match.

Dunn’s husband, Brent, owned a facility called Eastgate Mini-Golf in the 1990s. The family started The Sweet Putt three years ago with the goal of giving their sons, then 11 and 14, an education in entrepreneurship.

“It was the perfect opportunity for us to expose them to business practices from the ground up,” said Dunn. “We designed the course, poured the cement, laid the outdoor turf, painted the signs.”

Dunn is proud of the impact she and her family made.

“It is an experience I will never forget, and I am so glad we had the opportunity to experience it as a family and to share it with our friends and our community,” she said.

Two years into operations, when the profits from its second summer in operation did not cover the expenses from the second winter, the family realized that The Sweet Putt had run its course. In addition, their business partners’ financial situation changed after the first year of operation, forcing the Dunns to pick up their financial half.

Although Dunn says that they did not get as many visitors from Whitman as they had anticipated, the IM putt-putt teams will miss The Sweet Putt. Austin Shaff, a Whitman sophomore, played for one of the teams that made the finals last year.

“I will be extremely sad to see it close, and I will miss the good times I had there during IM sports,” said Shaff.“It was a special kind of weird thing that was a lot of fun.”

Issues of timing also made closing The Sweet Putt a natural decision.

“Our oldest is now 17.  He’s a junior in high school. Our priorities are on our family and our kids,” said Dunn. “We got to a point that we didn’t want to be spending any more money there, when we would much rather be investing in our kids’ futures in different ways.”

Dunn, entering her 22nd year at Whitman, was promoted from director of academic resources to her current position as associate dean of students in May.

“My new gig has me busy in new and unpredictable ways, so to some extent, it was probably a blessing that we closed when we did,” she said.

Senior Julianna Wetmore, chair of Whitman’s IM Committee, was in charge of IM putt-putt last year and says there will eventually be a replacement.

“We are currently brainstorming ideas for a new sport, but we plan on replacing putt-putt with something new,” said Wetmore. “The new sport will be selected depending on field space. Since IM mini-golf is in the winter, we need to figure out a sport that is indoors.”

Wetmore says the sport was relatively popular, with eight to 10 teams playing every year, and she assured that Whitman students can expect to see a new sport take its place this winter.

The Dunn family and their business partners, the Morris family, have no plans to reopen The Sweet Putt, but both the indoor and outdoor courses and all the equipment were left intact, and the Dunns are open to an outside party one day picking up where they left off.

Whether or not that ever happens, the Whitman and Walla Walla communities will miss The Sweet Putt.