PORTLAND, Ore.—Junior Kate Milne won the 50 free and three Lewis & Clark women's swimmers posted two individual top-three finishes, in the Pioneers 2022-23 season opener on Saturday at Zehntbauer Swimming Pavilion. 

THE BASICS
Linfield University 125, Lewis & Clark 56, Southwestern Oregon C.C. No Score
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Pioneers hosted conference foe Linfield University and Southwestern Oregon Community College as part of a tri meet. Southwestern Oregon's results all went marked as exhibitions, with the Pioneers facing off against Linfield for the team score. 
 
"It was great to start the season swimming one of the strongest teams in the conference," head coach Murilo Martins said. 
 
"We saw some stellar results from our freshmen. Elise Barton was an incredible surprise in the freestyle and backstroke. Aniqah Gaffoor had great second-half splits on the 100 Fly. AJ Schroeder was very strong in the breaststroke. 
 
From our returning swimmers, we were very impressed at how much faster they were from a year ago when we started the season. Kate Milne won her event. Gillian Watts was already faster than her conference times last year. 
 
Our swimmers are working really hard in the weight room with coach Ange and we are very excited to see what they will do once we get to rest."
 
In the third event of their season, Milne earned the team's first win of the year. The junior defeated a field of 11 swimmers in the 50 Free with a time of 25.82. She narrowly edged out Linfield's Lauren Bobo-Shisler by just .02 seconds to earn the victory. Sophomore Ella Stephan and Barton came in third and fourth in the event. Stephan finished in 26.19 and Barton was just behind her in 26.26. 
 
Milne came back and posted a second-place finish in the 100 Free to lead six Pioneers women in the event. Milne ended the race in 56.21 seconds, just .30 behind the winner from Linfield. Stephan placed seventh (59.16) and senior Annabelle Rousseau (1:00.16) earned an eight-place showing. Watts (1:01.96), sophomore Clare Baco (1:06.59) and sophomore Josephine Mann (1:13.12) all swam in the second heat. 
 
First-years Gaffoor and Schroeder matched Milne with two top-three showings. 
 
In her first collegiate race, Gaffoor took third in the 200 yard freestyle. She finished the race in 2:09.67 to finish second in the dual meet standings. Rousseau (2:10.46) and Mann (2:44.78) recorded fourth and sixth-place finishes. 
 
Gaffoor followed that up with a second-place finish in her specialty: the 100 Butterfly. She hit the wall in 1:01.35 to easily finish in second. Senior Kiana Teh and junior Sara Nguyen registered fifth and sixth place finishes as the pair ended the race in 1:08.85 and 1:10.56. 
 
Schroeder didn't appear as an individual until the final two individual events of the day but it was worth the wait. In the 500 Freestyle, Schroeder took third place with a time of 6:08.58. Teh was just behind in 5^th place, as she ended the race in 6:14.82. 
 
In the 100 Breaststroke, Schroeder posted an identical third-place showing with a time of 1:14.44. Watts ended the race in sixth place with a time of 1:20.44. 
 
Freshman Jane Tewinkel earned the seventh and final top-three finish by an individual on the women's team. She took third in her first individual event, as she finished the 100 Backstroke in 1:05.94. Barton ended the race in fourth (1:07.54) and Nguyen took seventh (1:15.03). 
 
In the final race of the day, the Pioneers had two relay teams compete in the 200 Freestyle Relay. The quartet of Milne, Stephan, Gaffoor and Barton placed third overall with a time of 1:44.14. Watts, Nguyen, Baco and Mann ended the race in seventh place (1:57.68). 
 
Lewis & Clark also earned a fourth-place finish in the first event of the day: the 200 Medley Relay. Tewinkel, Schroeder, Teh and Rousseau registered a time of 1:59.69. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• All five Pioneers first-year swimmers (Barton, Gaffoor, Mann, Schroeder and Tewinkel) made their collegiate debuts in the race. 
• Gaffoor's time in the 100 Fly (1:01.35) was faster than any Pioneer swam in the event last season. She competed in the event in the 2021 Toyko Olympics for Sri Lanka. 
• Watts beat her top time in the 100 Breast from last season by a full second. She swam a season-best 1:21.44 at the 2022 NWC Championships last winter. 
• The Pioneers top mark in the 200 Freestyle relay would have been the third-best time by a Pioneers relay team last year. With a time of 1:44.14, the quartet of Milne, Stephan, Gaffoor and Barton are less than four seconds off the top time from a year ago.
• Lewis & Clark's 200 Medley Relay team's time of 1:59.69 would have been the third-fastest time swam by a Pioneer relay last year. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
The Pioneers will aim for their first win of the season on Friday, November 18 at 6 p.m., when they host Pacific University in an NWC dual meet.