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Ole women split a double header against St.Marys and Iowa State

Sawra Karimi
December 3, 2001

The St. Olaf women?s swimming and diving team had an exhausting weekend of competition. The Oles traveled to Winona on Friday, November 30th, to take on St. Mary's. St. Olaf was victorious 155-63. Saturday, December 1, the Oles hosted Iowa State and lost 181-119 to the Division I team.

On Friday the Oles rewrote the Cardinal record book on their way to a convincing victory. By the end of the meet the women managed to break four pool records. In addition, the Oles were able to capture first place in every event of the meet, and in many events the women swept all of the top positions.

Leading the way for the ladies was sophomore Liz Hathaway (So, Lincoln, Neb.) who had an amazing meet. Hathaway was part of the winning 400-yard medley relay team that also consisted of Anna Guenther (Jr, Minneapolis, Minn.), Katie Buecksler (Jr, Owatonna, Minn.) and Katie Brentz (FY, Arden Hill, Minn.). The relay turned in a pool record time performance with a time of 4:15.91. Hathaway also had personal victories in the 200-yard and 100-yard freestyles. Hathaway looked strong throughout her races to finish with season best times of 2:04.71 and 56.13, respectively.

Brentz also set her own personal pool record in the 50-yard freestyle swimming to a time of 25.17. The two other pool records came from Jenna Kubat (FY, Des Moines, Iowa) and Katie Detwiler (FY, Fort Atkinson, Wis.). Kubat looked great on her way to breaking the record in the 500-yard freestyle. Her time of 5:25 was six seconds faster then the previous record held by Ole alum Chrissy Soule (01). Detwiler?s time of 2:19.30 in the 200-yard individual medley was several seconds slower then her best this season, but it was still fast enough to break the pool record. Detwiler also finished second to Kubat in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:27.97. Sara Champlin (Prescott, Wis.) rounded out the great performances of the freshmen class with a winning time of 1:03.30 in the 100-yard fly.

In the longer events Laura Schutt (Jr, Niles, Ill.)once again showed her talent. She finished first with a time of 11:27.18. In the same event Anne Lindberg (So, Maple Grove, Minn.) had an inspiring swim for the Oles. Lindberg is still recovering from a broken foot, but managed to pull off a respectable time while only using one foot. Coach Bob Hauck was impressed with Lindberg's competitiveness and her willingness to always give the best of herself regardless of the circumstances.

On the boards, the strong diver nucleus showed their ability to work as a team as they finished within points of one another on both the one-meter and three-meter boards. Stacy Koskiniemi (Sr, Blaine, Minn.) took first place on the one meter with a score of 206.70. The Oles also captured the second, third, and fourth place positions. Although the Oles chose to exhibition the last three events of the meet, the divers still impressed the crowds on the three-meter and once again turned in the top four scores.

The Ole domination over St. Mary's would prove be an encouraging boost for the following day, when they took on Iowa State. Saturday was the first time that only the women were competing against Iowa State, after the university cut their men's programs last season. From the performances of the Cyclones, the women proved that they were doing fine on their own winning the meet with a final score of 181 to 119. Coach Bob Hauck was well aware that this would be the outcome of the meet, but feels that it is to the benefit of the team to continue to swim against the Cyclones every season. "Year after year this meet has proved to be a meet that the swimmers are able to rise to the occasion and turn in great times." This year was not an exception. The talented Division I team challenged the women to compete at their level.

Although the Oles lost, many swimmers turned in season best times. Katie Brentz and Anna Guenther turned in the only wins for the Oles. Brentz won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.17, while Guenther won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:11.06. Kate Nygaard (Jr, Franktown, Colo.) followed her by taking second place in the same event with a time of 1:12.38. Sara Champlin once again performed well for the Oles having her best meet of the season. She finished third in the 200-yard butterfly with a lifetime best of 2:17.76. The winner from Iowa swam fast enough to break a long-standing pool record in the event. The endurance and strength of both teams were challenged in this meet due to the high number of events swum at the meet. In addition, the meet was run very efficiently finishing with in an hour and half resulting in little recovery time for the swimmers between events. This was evident especially for the distance swimmers, many of whom swam three demanding events within a short period of time.

Katie Detwiler still managed to achieve an in-season best in the 1000-yard freestyle, with a time of 11:06.69. Her performance in the 200-yard backstroke was also impressive. She finished third with a time of 2:17.55.

Rachel Sattler (Jr, Madison, Wis.) and Sonia Karimi (Jr, Rochester, Minn.) also swam well for the Oles. Both swimmers are still recovering from shoulder injuries, but are well on their way to being solid contributors to the team.

The Ole women hope to continue to improve as they work toward the end of the season. They certainly proved their determination and competitiveness against St. Mary's and Iowa State, and should perform equally well on Friday, December 7, at 6:00 p.m. when they host St. Benedict.

Contact Judy Stromayer at 507-786-3315 or stromaye@stolaf.edu.