Coach Miller named honorable mention Assistant Coach-of-the-Year

Assistant Coach Michael Miller received honorable mention status in CollegeSwimming.com’s Assistant of the Year awards. Michael was nominated by Matt Yelin (c/o 2011) and head coach Chris Fantz. We're so proud of the care our assistant coaches put into our swimming program!

Check it out!

http://www.collegeswimming.com/news/2011/may/17/assistant-of-the-year-honorable-mention-michael-mi/

Sunny Wednesday morning on Fir Acres Campus

Student-Athlete Awards Ceremony & Dessert

Last night students and coaches from all 19 intercollegiate teams at Lewis & Clark came together to celebrate accomplishments and send our seniors off into the world.

After a spectacular video presentation by student filmmaker Remy Neymarc, our very own senior and team captain Matt Yelin stepped up to MC the event, alongside Margaret Dowling from Volleyball/Basketball.

The first award of the evening went to one of our standout freshmen swimmers, Kayla Ernewein, who was named “Rookie of the Year” among all female athletes at the College.

Caz was a finalist for “Female Athlete of the Year” after her dominance at the NWC Championship and Matt Yelin was a finalist for the “Senior Career” award.

Our seniors left with the most swag, taking away their orange graduation tassels, an L&C watch or crystal ornament, and a brand new wireless keyboard with the L&C athletics logo splashed across the keys. Jealousy ran deep over that one. What a great sendoff for our seniors.

Friday on the grassy knoll.....

The swim office has been graced with a stunning Friday on campus. Above, two different classes meet on the field below Frank Manor House and students lounge on a sunny afternoon. Tomorrow's forecast even better!

Team Banquet Picnic!

The sun washed over a green and blooming Portland Sunday for the swim team’s annual banquet. This year’s gathering took the form of a picnic in Sellwood Park just across the river from campus. The park sits on a bluff overlooking the wildlife refuge, Oaks Park, the river, and downtown Portland beyond.

We celebrated with some great snacks and desserts before handing out varsity letters and a load of special awards.

Congratulations to all of Pioneer Swimming for a fantastic season with a wonderful group of people!


Our honorees this year:

Our dear, dear graduating SENIORS:
· Matt Yelin
· Claudia Ramirez
· Susie Trexler
· Lee Taylor
· Claire Jordan
· Kim Guinn
· Cat Menkel-Lawrence

Outgoing Captains:
· Matt Yelin
· Lee Taylor
· Claire Jordan
· Susie Trexler
· Kira McGieson

Incoming 2011-2012 Captains:
· Rachel Wolf
· Kira McGieson
· Steven Carreno
· Noah Boring

Most Inspirational:
· Kayla Ernewein
· Claire Jordan
· Matt Yelin
Outstanding Swimmer:
· Rachael Cazden
· Shuichi Matsumoto

Most Improved:
· Evan Damon
· Kayla Ernewein
· Matt Gallagher

Best Smile:
· Kira McGieson
· Noah Boring
· Shuichi Matsumoto
· Lesley Pfeiffer

No April Fool’s... A sunny, sunny Friday on campus!

Class on the lawn, anyone?

Conference Championship in photos by swimmer Kate Garvey

Women crush four Relay records in three days.....

Fastet 400 Free Relay in school history by 2 seconds. No big deal...

Kayla, Hannah, Rachael and Susie.

Conference Champs: Day One Prelims

Great first session! In heat one of the 500 Eva and Rachel L. got us off to a quick start with 13- and 9-second lifetime bests for our first swims! Pios kept rolling with strong 500s. Claire and Lesley both come back for second swims tonight.

The women’s 200 IM squad sees all four competitors coming back to score points. Cat, Alli, Katy and Taylor put up great morning swims and look to go even faster tonight.

In the 50 Freestyle, Caz and Kayla swam into the 24’s to make the big final while Hannah Frank posted a lifetime best to get a second swim in consols. On the men’s side, we have three men coming back, as well. Shu made finals and Noah and Isaac will try to dominate the B final.

Now we leave for a huge first evening of Finals, which are bookended by exciting relays: the 200 Free Relay and the 400 Medley.
Go Pios!

SENIOR DAY !!

Last Friday we honored a group of swimmers who have given so much to our team over the past four seasons. It has been a privilege to watch this group mature into the amazing people you see today.

This was their last home meet as undergrads, but we hope to see them many more times as alumni! Next year they will be college graduates doing more great things with their lives and we will get to hear about their journeys and their successes.

To the class of 2011, we say thank you for your enthusiasm, your hard work, your leadership, and the love you have given to this swim team.

We celebrate our seniors, we thank them, and we cheer them on into bright futures!

Pioneer Happenings....

February is only a week old and already it’s been a busy month. Monday of a new week gives us a moment’s pause to reflect on what we’ve accomplished so far in the new year.

• Zoo Day! The Oregon Zoo was free on MLK day and several swimmers (and one coach) took the chance to roam with the animals. Rachel and Kayla found themselves part of an exhibit.

• Talent Show—We knew our team was high on talent, but the annual Talent Show allowed us to see the heights and depths of those talents. From baking to balancing, card tricks to Rubik’s cube, and music videos galore, this year set the bar high for all future talent shows.

• Last week against Willamette, senior and team captain Matt Yelin completed his around-the-world circuit of every collegiate individual event. (Hence the “14” he is hoisting post-race.) Matt saved the best (some would say) for last as he completed the 200 Butterfly.

• In our dual meet with Pacific on Saturday both our women and men swept the 50 freestyle 1st-2nd-3rd. Sweeps have been oft-occurring this season for both squads, a sure sign of depth across the meet line-up!

• Smoothie Day (this morning) is a mostly annual tradition where the sounds of blending fruits and juices fill the air and delicious tropical aromas permeate the pool.

Happy Groundhog Day !!

Shadow or no shadow, groundhogs around Portland know Pioneer swimmers have less than four more weeks until the Conference Championship. The swim team traveled to Salem last weekend for wins over Willamette in both men’s and women’s duals.

Now the team returns home to compete in their final dual meets of the season hosting Pacific this Saturday the 5th and College of Idaho for “Senior Day” on Friday the 11th.

Winter Training 2011 !!

Lewis & Clark Swimming kicks off 2011 with a training trip to southern California. High-intensity training + team bonding = SUCCESS for 2nd semester

Spend time with the swim team and you can:

Swing your arms in a circle...

Hop up some stairs...

Get your hair done...

And swim beautiful butterfly!

Sunday the Pios spent just a hair under 3 ½ training and took the afternoon off for a much-deserved trip to the Santa Monica Pier.

"Zoltar predicts school records this season..."

In addition to fast swimming and quality workouts, Winter Training provides time to frolick...

Time to relax...

Time to dominate the competition...

But, most of all it comes down to getting the work done with teammates you can count on, loving the process, and having FUN along the way.