The Gustavus women’s swimming and diving team scored 166.5 points on the first day of the MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships and trail first place Carleton by just one-and-one-half points heading into the second day of the three day event. Carrie Gundersen finished second in the 500 freestyle, but automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships with a time of 5:01.05. The meet is being held at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center in Minneapolis.
Gundersen was attempting to win the 500 for the third consecutive year, but came up just short as she finished behind Maggie Alexander of Carleton who posted a time of 4:59.91 which set a new meet record. The Gusties placed three in the top nine in the 500 with Gundersen finishing second, Jonna Berry placing fifth (5:16.57) and Melissa Aune finishing ninth (5:18.76).
The Gusties had a solid day in the relays as the 200 free relay narrowly missed finishing first, while the 400 medley relay placed third. The 200 free relay team of Janae Piehl, Serena Elthon, Dajana Vidovic, and Jonna Berry posted a time of 1:36.24, which was .01hundredth of a second behind first place St. Thomas. The 400 medley relay team of Allyson Hannemann, Anika Erickson, Stephanie Korba, and Dajana Vidovic registered a time of 3:58.21.
Other top finishes for Gustavus included Marnie Luke finishing second in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:11.36, and Janae Piehl (24.28) and Dajana Vidovic (24.55) placing fifth and sixth respectively in the 50 freestyle.
The meet continues through Saturday.