ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s swimming and diving team finished in second of three teams in its season opener at Vic Gustafson Pool Saturday afternoon.
Minnesota State, Mankato registered 978 total points to claim first place. The Gusties totaled 689 points while the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point posted 588 points. Gustavus earned one first place and six runner-up finishes in 16 total events.
Preseason All-American Kate Reilly (Jr., Hastings, Minn.) owned the sole top finish for the Gusties, posting a time of 58.99 in the 100-yard butterfly. Reilly was also edged by just a second in the 100-yard freestyle to claim a runner-up finish.
Linnea Rizzo (So., Woodbury, Minn.) posted a second place finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a finals time of 11:17.31. Rizzo was just two seconds behind Sam Johnston of Minnesota State.
Another runner-up finish came from Sydney Hallmark (So., Cedarburg, Wis.) in the 200-yard butterfly as she posted a time of 2:19.69.
Haley Pesik (So., Eagan, Minn.) was just a couple of seconds behind Taylor Bass of Minnesota State in the 500-yard freestyle, turning in a finals time of 5:26.
The final two Gustie second place finishes came from the 200-yard freestyle and medley relays.
“It was nice to see that the women were ready and excited to race,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “There were so many great swims throughout the meet. We talk about swimming to inspire, and the women just got better and better as the meet went along. I couldn’t ask for a better starting point from this team.”
The Gusties return to the pool on Friday, Nov. 11 when they travel to Northfield, Minn. for an evening dual against St. Olaf College, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.