St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s swimming and diving team fell 149.5-91.5 to MSU-Mankato on Senior Night in the Lund Natatorium Friday. The Gusties recorded five individual event wins and 15 top-three finishes at the meet.
“I’m pleased with where both the men and women’s teams are at going into taper,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “Mankato swam outstanding tonight. They came ready to race and beat us head-to-head in a lot of races. All in all, I was happy with what we were able to do, and I look forward to our next couple meets where we are a little more rested heading into the conference championships.”
The Gusties got individual event victories from five different swimmers in Dajana Vidovic, Melissa Aune, Alissa Tinklenberg, Kelsey Lucia and Carley Mosher.
Seniors John Rice and Anika Erickson honored as a part of senior night.
Vidovic won the 100 freestyle with a time of 54.27 and placed second in the 50 free with a time of 25.10. Aune placed first in the 1000 free in 11:03.79 and third in the 500 free (5:27.15). Tinklenberg went 5:22.14 to win the 500 free, while finishing third in the 200 free (1:59.39). Lucia took the 50 free with a time of 24.96 and placed third in the 100 free (55.03). Carley Mosher added Gustavus’ final win in the 100 backstroke, touching the wall in 1:01.48.
Third place finishers included Laura Drake in the 200 IM (2:19.00), Steph Korba in the 100 butterfly (1:01.96), and Anika Erickson in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.95).
Quinn Arnold, Michaela Holm, Marnie Luke, and Abby Lyle turned in the top Gustavus finish in the 200 medley relay by placing second in 1:50.76. The 400 free relay team of Vidovic, Serena Elthon, Lucia, and Tinklenberg also placed second with a time of 3:39.92.
In a pre-meet ceremony held in honor of Senior Night, eight senior members of the men’s swimming and diving team were honored for their commitment and dedication to the Gustavus swimming program for the past several years. The Athletic Department would like to extend a sincere thank you to this year’s seniors, Marnie Luke, Alyssa Henkel, Darcy Reller, Anika Erickson, Adria Faciszewski, Ashley Grodecki, Sarah Maddux, and Courtney Stasi.
“It is really hard to say goodbye to seniors, but this class was a special one. It is going to be hard to imagine the Gustavus swimming program without this group of seniors. Their impact will be a felt for a long time and they will definitely be missed,” commented Carlson on his group of seniors.
The Gusties will be back in the pool on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4-5, at the Minnesota Challenge held in the Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.