Indianapolis – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s swimming and diving team moved up two spots into eighth place with a two-day total of 79 points following Thursday night’s finals session of the 2014 NCAA Championships being held at the IUPUI Natatorium. Thanks to a pair of All-American performances from the 200-free relay and 400-medley relay teams, the Gusties earned 58 points on day two and now sit in a good position with two days left.
“I was very pleased with our performance as a whole today,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “This team has gained a great deal of confidence and momentum since the start of the meet and it seems now to be clicking at the right time. With that said, there are still two days of racing left and we are nowhere near finished. Tomorrow is a big individual day for us and I look forward to seeing how we respond after a great day today.”
Gustavus’s night began with an All-American performance in just the fourth race of the session. The 200-freestyle relay of Katie Olson (Jr., North Oaks, Minn.), Tarin Anding (So., Sartell, Minn.), Danielle Klunk (Jr., Appleton, Wis.), and Alissa Tinklenberg (Sr., Willmar, Minn.) became the Black and Gold’s first All-Americans of the meet when they turned in a time of 1:33.27 for a fourth place finish. The Gusties were ranked fifth in the race after going 1:34.10 earlier today. The former school/MIAC record was a 1:33.66 set by Kelsey Lucia, Serena Elthon, Dajana Vidovic, and Sarah Hund set at the 2011 MIAC Championships.
In the finals of the 400-medley relay, the Gusties seized the momentum and built on the standout performance by anchor leg Katie Olson with a second All-American honor. Ranking sixth with a prelim time of 3:48.18 heading into the finals, Tinklenberg, Jennifer Strom (Jr., Rochester, Minn.), Klunk, and Olson swam a 3:46.97 to move up one spot into a fifth place standing. This group’s time broke the school/MIAC record of 3:47.09 set this season at the 2014 MIAC Championships by the same individuals.
The NCAA Championships will continue tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. with preliminary races in the 200 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 800-free relay, and the men’s one-meter diving competition.
On the individual level, Laura Drake (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Tarin Anding will take part in the 100 breaststroke, Danielle Klunk will swim in the 200 butterfly, Alissa Tinklenberg will go in the 100 backstroke, and Dante Colucci (So., Summit, N.J.) will compete in the 100 backstroke. The Gustie women will also swim in the 800-free relay.