ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s swimming and diving team hosted the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Saturday for its home opener and lost the dual meet 179-121.
“I thought a lot of the guys stepped up and put together some great performances,” Head Coach Jon Carlson said. “Tanner Sonnek (Jr., North Mankato, Minn.) along with a few freshman in Nolan Larson (West Des Moines, Iowa), Josh Muntifering (Buffalo, Minn.), and Mack Christianson (Cottage Grove, Minn.) swam well. The biggest thing I saw today was the improvement of our depth as far as guys starting to go from being good swimmers to great swimmers and even some bordering on elite.”
Sonnek won both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke with times of 58.34 and 2:09.95. Larson took first in the 200 butterfly in 1:58.98 and second in the 100 freestyle, touching the wall in 47.78. Muntifering won the 200 backstroke in 1:59.67. And Christianson was the fourth Gustie to claim first-place finishes, winning the 1000 free in 10:10.76 and the 500 free in 5:00.46.
“We are excited to see our freshman do so well and the team is pretty fired up going into next week against St. Olaf,” Carlson said.
The Gusties host St. Olaf at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Vic Gustafson Pool.