ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both earned wins in a dual meet against Hamline University Friday evening on senior night.
In its last home meet of the 2016-17 campaign, the Gustavus seniors were honored well with a 203-94 win on the men’s side and a 240-58 win for the women.
“We really swam hard for the seniors,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “I was very proud of how we performed. We had a tough week of practice and I didn’t really know what to expect. They definitely exceeded my expectations. Where people stepped up wasn’t necessarily our top people, it was our second level of people kind of stepped up and swam like big dogs tonight. Those are the kind of people that made drops tonight. That gets us really excited as we’re a month out from our conference championship.”
MEN
As a team the Gustie men’s squad totaled 12 first place finishes. Gustavus claimed two top times in relays and diving events. The 200-yard freestyle relay squad of Matt Allison (Fy., Grand Rapids, Minn.), Will Clark (Fy., Northfield, Minn.), Adam Peters (Sr., Montevideo, Minn.), and Andrew Peters (So., Montevideo, Minn.) finished with a first place time of 1:28.61. Another top relay time came from the 200-yard medley relay team of Zach Olson (Sr., Huron, S.D.), Tanner Sonnek (So., North Mankato, Minn.), Zach Holman (So., Mayer, Minn.), and Allison, clocking in at 1:39.36.
Individually, Allison and Frankie Zobitz (So., White Bear Lake, Minn.) led the way with two top finishes each. Allison was first in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.24 as well as the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.47. Zobitz came in first in the 100-yard backstroke at 56.86 and clocked in at 2:06.20 in the 200-yard backstroke to claim the top time.
Seniors Andrew Peters and Zach Olson added to their relay performances, claiming individual top finishes as well. Peters was first in the 200-yard freestyle, clocking in at 1:51.92. Olson claimed the top crown in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:16.48.
Tanner Sonnek also earned a first place finish, recording a time of 58.30 in the 100-yard breaststroke. Additionally, Zach Dawson (So., Eagan, Minn.) claimed a top finish in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:20.13.
Carson Scholberg (So., Apple Valley, Minn.) and Logan Bican (Fy., Monticello, Minn.) led the Gusties in diving events. Scholberg was first in one-meter diving, turning in a finals score of 236 points, while Bican totaled 260.25 points for the top finish in three-meter diving.
“The guys did great,” Carlson commented. “Hamline has good racers and we stepped up and did an awesome job all the way down the line.”
WOMEN
“On the women’s side, our main focus was to make sure that we were getting better with our swims and then let the score decide itself,” said Carlson.
The Gustie women compiled 15 top finishes. Two top crowns came from the Gustie relay teams. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the team of Nicole Lohman (Sr., North Mankato, Minn.), Kate Reilly (Jr., Hastings, Minn.), Maggie Webster (So., Apple Valley, Minn.), and Kennedy Holwerda (Jr., Willmar, Minn.) were first with a time of 1:39.75. The 200-yard medley relay squad of Michelle Simms (So., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), Haley Westendorp (Fy., St. Michael, Minn.), Reilly, and Holwereda finished at 1:51.98 for the top finish.
Hayley Booher (Sr., Warren, Vt.), Haley Pesik (So., Eagan, Minn.), Linnea Rizzo (So., Woodbury, Minn.), and Kate Reilly led the way individually with two top finishes each.
Booher was first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:02.26 as well as first in the 200-yard backstroke with at time of 2:14.40. Pesik earned the top time in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:10.70 and the 200-yard breaststroke, coming in at 2:30.56. Rizzo claimed top finishes in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:26.30 and the 400-yard individual medley, coming in at 4:46.20. Reilly placed first in the 50-yard freestyle at 24.74 and the 100-yard butterfly at 59.05.
Additionally, five other Gusties earned top crowns. Allie Mayfield (Fy., Two Harbors, Minn.) claimed the top finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:26.67. Sydney Hallmark (So., Cedarburg, Wis.) was first in the 200-yard butterfly, finishing with a time of 2:22.66. Nicole Lohman earned a top finish in the 200-yard freestyle at 2:01.76. Maggie Webster was first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.43. Finally, Veronica Vasina (So., Arvada, Colo.) was first in one-meter diving, totaling a final score of 194.90.