St. Peter, Minn.- The Gustavus men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will travel to St. Paul this weekend to take on the University of St. Thomas in a dual meet. The meet will start at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25th.
The women’s team heads into this weekend’s competition undefeated against conference opponents. In previous conference duals this season, the Gusties have defeated St. Olaf College and Carleton College. The women’s team also won a non-conference dual against UW-Eau Claire, but fell to non-conference opponent Northern Michigan University earlier this season.
This weekend’s dual with St. Thomas will give the women’s team a chance to see how some of their top swimmers stack up against the Tommies. Key matchups to watch for will be in the 1000 freestyle, the 100 butterfly, and the 200 butterfly. Jennifer Strom (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) is ranked No. 1 in the conference in the 1000 freestyle. Tommies Elise Guenther and Beth Wenman are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, with Guenther’s season-best time clocking in 2.64 seconds slower than Strom’s, and Wenman’s season-best time falling short of Strom’s by 10.23 seconds. St. Thomas’ Mariann Kukielka holds the No. 1 ranking in the 100 butterfly, with No. 2- ranked Danielle Klunk (Jr., Appleton, Wis.) following just .46 seconds behind. Kukielka and Klunk will also battle it out on Saturday in the 200 butterfly, where Klunk holds the conference’s top spot and Kukielka follows 2.34 seconds behind.
The men’s team enters this weekend’s meet 1-1 in head-to-head duals against league foes. The Gusties fell to St. Olaf in a conference dual earlier this season, but were victorious over conference-rival Carleton. The men’s team also lost to UW-Eau Claire earlier this season in a non-conference dual.
Top performers to watch for on the men’s side include Zac Solis (Jr., Centennial, Col.), Jacob Stern (So., Rosemount, Minn.), and Dante Colucci (So., Summit, N.J.). Solis is currently ranked sixth in the conference in the 200 freestyle, and second in the conference in both the 500 freestyle and the 1000 freestyle. Stern will look to move up in the conference standings in the 100 breaststroke, where he is currently ranked No. 6, and in the 200 breaststroke, where he is currently ranked No. 4. Colucci currently sits at No. 3 in the MIAC in both the 100 backstroke and the 200 backstroke.
Results from Saturday’s dual meet will be posted on the Gustavus Athletics website shortly following the races.