Shenandoah, Texas – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s swimming and diving team is in ninth place with 24 points after the opening day of the NCAA Championships being held in the Conroe ISD Natatorium. The Gusties earned a top ten standing following Wednesday’s events thanks to the seventh place finish of the 200-medley relay comprised of Hayley Booher (Warren, Vt.), Jennifer Strom (Sr., Rochester, Minn.), Kate Reilly (Fy., Hastings, Minn.), and Katie Olson (Sr., North Oaks, Minn.).
“The girls swam great,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “Their starts were safe but that’s understandable considering how tough it was going to be to move up. A false start would have cost them a spot on the All-America Team, so because of that it was a smartly swam race on their behalf.”
Ranked seventh with a preliminary time of 1:43.46 heading into tonight, the Gusties held position with a time of 1:43.96. This is the same group swimmers that finished runner-up at the MIAC Championships with a time of 1:43.55.
“We didn’t expect to be in the top 10 after the first day, so to be sitting in ninth is a welcomed surprise,” Carlson added about Wednesday’s finish. “Their performance tonight gave the team the lift it needed. We now head into the remaining three days with experience under our belts and a great deal of confidence.”
The Gusties will be back in the water of the Conroe Natatorium tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. for preliminary races. Thursday’s events include the 200-free relay, 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 free, and 400-medley relay.
“We have two more swimmers joining the party tomorrow,” commented Carlson about what he’s looking forward to on Thursday. “We aren’t seeded all that high in a couple events but that doesn’t mean there isn’t potential to make an impact. We also have two relays going and it’s in the relays that this group thrives. They fed off each other’s energy tonight and that propelled them to a strong finish and a solid start.”