Megan Tuttle took the 200 butterfly in Gustavus’s dual victory over St. Thomas on Saturday.
St. Paul – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s swimming and diving team took care of business in its final Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference dual held Saturday afternoon at the University of St. Thomas Natatorium. The Gusties defeated the Tommies 156-144, recording 10 event victories on the day. It’s probably worth mentioning that with the win, Gustavus finishes its 2013-14 schedule undefeated against MIAC opposition.
“We knew that today’s meet was going to be a battle and I’m proud of how the women went out and gutted out the win,” said head coach Jon Carlson. “Against a very good St. Thomas team in what was an MIAC Championship-type environment, I thought we swam our kind of meet. This is a great confidence boost as we head into the final stretch of training as we gear up for conference.”
Individuals leading the way for the Black and Gold included Leah Anderson (So., Apple Valley, Minn.) and Alissa Tinklenberg (Sr., Willmar, Minn.). Anderson took gold in both the 200 free in 1:57.43 and 500 free in 5:18.93, and added a third place finish in the 100 free in 54.78. Tinklenberg also provided two first place swims, taking the 50 free with a time of 24.04 and the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:06.37.
Providing the Gusties big points with three finishes inside the top two was Danielle Klunk (Jr., Appleton, Wis.). Klunk touched the wall first in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:12.60 and posted a pair of runner-up finishes in the 100 butterfly (58.94) and 200 butterfly (2:12.73).
Hayley Booher (Fy., Warren, Vt.), Katie Olson (Jr., North Oaks, Minn.) and Megan Tuttle (Jr., Deephaven, Minn.) were the remaining Gusties recording individual event victories. Booher took the 100 back in 1:00.32 and placed second in the 200 back in 2:12.03. Olson won the 100 free with a time of 54.16 and finished behind Tinklenberg in the 50 free with a time of 24.46. Tuttle’s gold came in the 200 butterfly where she out-touched the field in 1:51.87.
In the 200-medley relay, Tinklenberg, Strom, Klunk, and Olson teamed up to take the top spot on the podium with a time of 1:48.07. The group edged out the second place St. Thomas team by just 0.09 seconds.
Nicole Lohman (Fy., North Mankato, Minn.), Anderson, Olson, and Tinklenberg joined forces to win the 400-free relay by more than four seconds after recording a time of 3:34.17.
The Gustavus swimming and diving teams will be in action once more before competing in the MIAC Championships set to take place on Feb. 13-15. The team will take part in the MIAC Invitational hosted by the University of St. Thomas next weekend on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.