TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University men's and women's swimming teams look to build off the success of last season as they open the 2023-2024 campaign on Friday inside the PLU Pool.
 
Both teams added depth in the offseason as Head Coach Andrew Lum enters his second season at the helm.
 
Last winter the women finished fourth at the Northwest Conference Championships and had a 5-4 dual meet record and a 5-3 record in conference duals. The Lute men placed seventh at the conference meet with a 1-8 dual meet mark and a 1-7 record in NWC dual meets. The Lute women head into the 2023-2024 season picked fourth in the NWC Coaches' Poll while the men sit fifth in the preseason rankings. 
 
For the men, Lum is looking to continue to build the depth of the squad.
 
"Quite frankly I was a little surprised we're ranked that high just because our numbers aren't quite there yet. We have 12 men on roster right now but it's a deep 12 men in terms of event versatility. We're filling in some gaps of events we were missing last year and have some returners that are open to seeing what their versatility can flex them into on the conference level," said Lum.
 
"The added depth should definitely help us especially in our sprints. I think our men's sprints have some pretty good depth this year. We're still developing our distance core but our sprint and mid groups are pretty darn strong."
 
Anchoring the returners is a trio of All-NWC performers from a season ago. Tyler Tanaka had a breakout campaign as a first-year, earning First Team All-Conference honors in the 200-yard breaststroke while securing Second Team All-League recognition in the 400-yard individual medley and the 1,650-yard freestyle.
 
Senior Devin Stanley shattered the school record in the 100-yard freestyle at the conference meet, placing third overall and earning First Team honors in the event while landing Second Team All-League in the 50-yard freestyle. 
 
Fellow senior Na'inoa Loo returns after securing Second Team All-NWC last winter in both the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke. 
 
"Our top returners— Tyler, Devin, and Na'inoa are hyper versatile swimmers. I feel very confident I could put them in almost any race and they would step up for not just themselves but for the team. And based on how they've been training right now, we're pretty excited to see what they can do."
 
"In terms of their leadership, day-in and day-out they put themselves on the line at practice and I never question their work ethic. I never question whether or not they left the day with anything left in the tank, they'll always go to empty, and they'll challenge their teammates to go on empty whether it's first years or returners. Their work ethic really shines in terms of their ability to lead by example."
 
Those three have been key in replacing the leadership of graduated seniors Charlie Cutter and Henri Coronado-Volta.
 
"We did lose like two very key leaders last year in Charlie Cutter and Henri Coronado-Volta, but I feel very confident that our men will be able to, not fill in their shoes per se, but do their best to like pay homage and emulate the great leadership that Charlie and Henri brought."
 
Lum is expecting big things from returner Ben Thompson and is excited to see what the first-years can do, especially Aidan Koshinsky from nearby DuPont, Washington, Dylan Dang from Lacy, Washington, and Khosbayar Amgalan from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  
 
"Ben had a pretty solid year but I know he wanted more. He had some ups and downs getting used to the college training style but I do feel confident that he has come in with a really good perspective and some really good training underneath him this summer and he has been showing up pretty well at practice too."
 
With five returning All-Conference swimmers in the lineup, the Lute women look to push the envelope and contend for a NWC title. 
 
"The women came to me this summer and they have some pretty lofty goals that I definitely believe are doable goals and they can achieve it. Our women are up to the task to move up the ranks, get ourselves into that top three echelon, but it will require all moving parts to fire at the same time. Because I know that the other teams and other coaches are well prepared when it comes to dual meets and the conference championship."
 
Headlining the returners is Jessica Ordaz who is back on the roster after taking a year off last winter. During the 2021-2022 season Ordaz was an NCAA qualifier in the 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle, and the 100-yard butterfly. Ordaz won seven NWC titles, including three in individual events and was the NWC Swimmer of the Year. That came after a debut season in 2021 where Ordaz won all 19 races entered in during the COVID shortened season.  
 
"Obviously the big story is Jessica is back on the roster based on how stellar of a career she had prior to this year at PLU. For me as a coach talking to her as a swimmer and as a person it's you know we are not here to judge her for her past, we are here to like see what her current capabilities are. She is someone that you could literally throw in any event and be a competitor, but we're just taking it day by day. Swimming is a sport where it's hard to come back after taking a long hiatus off in terms of the fitness level so I think as of right now we are just trying to give her more confidence in the water."
 
Also adding depth and experience is a strong senior class. Makenzie Chan-Orcutt was First Team All-NWC in the 200-yard breaststroke and was Second Team All-NWC in four more events while her sister Sidney Chan-Orcutt was Second Team All-Conference in six events. 
 
Senior Annika Eisele was First Team All-League in both the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard backstroke, placing runner-up at the league championship in the 200 back and third in the 100 back while earning Second Team laurels in four more events. Jersey Razzano transferred in last year and had a banner season that included Second Team All-NWC in the 500-yard freestyle. 
 
"Our senior class is stacked. You think about all those seniors, all of them were top 8 so that's a lot of density at the top, but I also know that they shine very brightly as leaders for our team. They've done a great job of onboarding our first years and empowering them."
 
While the Lutes return a lot of firepower, they will still have to replace the void of Malia Wisham and Claire Cranch who graduated last spring. 
 
"We've seen a lot of improvements from our returners. Last week we had a practice and some of our returners were popping' times that are pretty close to what they've been going to conference for last year, so I think there is a decent amount of opportunity for movement."
 
Some of those Lutes include Jessica Lee who was injured at the NWC Championships along with sophomores Michelle Owen and Alisa Sokolova. 
 
"Michelle and Alisa have really stepped up as sophomores in terms of their leadership specifically with the first years. They're putting in some hard work ethic and it's paid dividends for them so far. It'll be interesting to see how our returners develop but also how they can play an important mentorship role for our newcomers."
 
Along with the returners, Lum is excited about the incoming first-years on the women's team. 
 
"I think all those first years are going to be very dangerous. If we're talking raw times on paper right now Emma Gassman and Riley Maher are looking to be top 8 conference contenders in all three events of whatever they choose. Again hyper versatile swimmers, so you could roll a dice, throw a dart and any event they choose I think they will be very strong in."
 
Gassman joins the Lutes from Sitka, Alaska while Maher joins the squad from Eugene, Oregon. Lum also sees big potential from Aberdeen, Washington's Anna Matisons and Zillah, Washington's Melissa Zuniga. 
 
"Can't say how stoked I am to see our new roster. It's 14 newcomers and 13 returners. So over half of our roster is new and I'm very excited to see like how they play a very vital role into the dynamics of our leadership and culture of our team. They've been putting in a lot of work and I'm incredibly proud of seeing their growth and development in our short season so far. Character always shows the most in competition when your backs are against the wall, so I feel very confident that this team's character will shine brightly."
 
The Lutes open the dual meet season on Friday against NWC rival Willamette University. PLU has 10 competitions this winter leading up to the 2024 NWC Championships held on Feb. 8-11 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington.