Setting the Scene: Pacific Lutheran begins the 2025-2026 competitive season tonight, welcoming University of La Verne from California for an early season exhibition meet.
This is the first of six home dual meets at the PLU Pool. All told, the Lutes will swim 10 dual meets and one multi-day invitational prior to the 2026 NWC Swim Championships held at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.
About the Lute Women: On the women’s side the Lutes look to improve on last season’s performance, finishing with a 4-4 dual meet record and placing sixth at the NWC Championships. Pacific Lutheran tallied 281 points at the 2025 championship meet, enjoying a 52-point advantage on seventh place George Fox.
PLU returns three of its four All-Conference performers from a year ago, including a pair of First Team honorees in Emma Gassman and Riley Maher.
Maher was First Team All-League in two events last year while earning Second Team honors in two more events. The junior placed third overall in both the 200-yard individual medley and 400-yard individual medley at the NWC Championships while also placing third as a member of the 200-yard medley relay team and fifth in the 200-yard butterfly.
Gassman returns with similar credentials, earning First Team All-League after placing runner-up in the 200-yard backstroke while landing Second Team All-League in the 200-yard butterfly (fourth) and the 200-yard medley relay (third).
The third All-Conference Lute that’s returning is Scout Hawkins. The Colorado native earned Second Team All-League in four events, finishing fourth in the 1,640-yard freestyle, fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke, and seventh in the 400-yard individual medley while also competing on the 200-yard medley relay team that placed third.
Beyond the trio of returning All-Conference swimmers, Lum is excited about the leadership growth of returners Ellie Cutting, Ella Norby, and Michelle Owen.
In addition to the returners, Lum is looking forward to what the incoming recruiting class brings to the squad.
Headlining the newcomers is Harper Canessa, Kei Nishikawa, and Julia Lorenzo. Canessa joins the Lutes from Sunset High School in Oregon while Nishikawa hails from Pearl City, Hawaii. Lorenzo comes from Kamiak High School in Washington where she placed eighth in the 100-yard butterfly at the 2024 WIAA 4A Championships. Canessa placed fourth at the OSAA 6A Championships in the 200-yard medley relay while Nishikawa was fifth in the 200-yard freestyle and ninth in the 500-yard freestyle at the HHSAA Championship meet.
About the Lute Men:For the men, the Lutes will look to battle against the rest of the Washington schools that occupy the top of the NWC standings. Last year, Pacific Lutheran finished with a 3-5 dual meet record and finished sixth at the NWC Championships, scoring 274 points and owning an 83-point gap on seventh place George Fox University.
Tyler Tanaka is one of two returning All-Conference performers from a season ago and a swimmer the Lutes will rely heavily on this winter.
Last year, Tanaka was runner-up in the 200-yard breaststroke at the NWC Championships and was eighth in the 400-yard individual medley. All told, between his individual and relay events, Tanaka was responsible for scoring 121 towards the team’s point total at the season ending meet.
Christian Georgi made his conference debut with a bang last winter, earning Second Team All-Conference in a pair of events. Georgi was fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke and placed seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke. Georgi additionally won the B Final of the 200-yard backstroke at the conference meet.
Boosting PLU's ranks will be five newcomers that Head Coach Lum has high hopes for.
One of those five is Lynwood, Washington superstar Byron Domingo who won the 100-yard backstroke at the WESCO 4A District Meet and was fifth in the 200-yard IM at the WIAA 4A Championships last winter.
In addition to Domingo, the Lutes are excited avoid the addition of Matt Jones, Marshall Bataluna, Sebastian Arellano, and Ciaran Dewing. Jones joins PLU from nearby Olympia where he set a school record in the 100-yard breaststroke. Batalina hails from Honolulu, Hawaii where he helped Kalani High School to a pair of top five finishes at the state meet. Arellano comes to PLU from Arizona where he finished second at the state meet as a member of the medley relay team while Dewing was a four-year state qualifier at Cascade High School in Everett.
Lutes in the Community:The PLU swimming programs gave back to the local community during the month of September, partnering with No More Under for a Swim Safety Series geared for low income families in the local community.
In Spring of 2024, PLU became just the second NCAA Division III school in the nation and the first school in any division in the State of Washington to partner with Athlete's Thread. Athlete's Thread allows every student-athlete to sell customizable gear and jerseys with their name and number and receive monetary compensation for a portion of each sale. Check out the link above to order your gear today!
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace last fall through the department's partnership with Opendorse. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website.
Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Next Home Meet:
Nov. 8 vs. Lewis & Clark at 11 a.m.
PLU Non-Discrimination Policy: Pacific Lutheran University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Childress-White; 253-535-7361; TitleIX@plu.edu