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Oles cruise past St. Johns and St. Bens

Sawra Karimi
December 10, 2001

In typical Ole style, the men?s and women?s swimming and diving teams took their performances up an additional notch to close out the first semester competition with a dominant win over St. John?s University and the College of St. Benedict. The final score was 162-73 for the women and 157-93 for the men.

The St. Olaf team will lose swimmers Anna Guenther (Jr, Minneapolis, Minn.) and Leslie Nechville (Sr, Bloomington, Minn.) as they travel abroad. Guenther went out in style and showed why she has achieved success as a swimmer. After have a disappointing 100-yard breast split in the 400-yard medley relay, Guenther came back and swam a great time in the 200-yard breaststroke. Guenther?s mental toughness as well as amazing ability in the water will be missed as she travels to Spain, but the Oles will look forward to having her back her senior season. The Oles also had to say goodbye to senior Leslie Nechville, who will be going to Hawaii over interim. Nechville?s final performance as an Ole swimmer was impressive. Nechville dropped times in all of her events, and was part of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay team.

Other high points for the women?s team came from Jenna Kubat (FY, Des Moines, Iowa), Liz Hathaway (So, Lincoln, Neb.) and Laura Schutt (Jr, Niles, Ill.). Schutt got things going for the women with a win in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:08.61. This was a 15 second drop from Schutt?s previous time. Kubat also had a major drop in her 200-yard fly. She dropped five seconds from her previous season best to place second with a time of 2:18.96. Kubat also swam to a win in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:01.88. Hathaway proved her versatility as a swimmer, with her second place in the 200-IM. Her time of 2:20.10 is one of the fastest times on the team.

Katie Detwiler (FY, Fort Atkinson, Wis.) and Katie Brentz (FY, Arden Hills, Minn.) once again captured victories in their events. Brentz easily won the 50 and 100- yard freestyle with times of 25.06 and 55.60, respectively. Detwiler led the way in the longer events, with wins in the 200-IM and 200- butterfly. Both ladies were also part of the winning 400-yard medley relay team, along with Guenther and Sara Champlin (FY, Prescott, Wis.), that turned in a time of 4:12.18. Champlin also had a good day for the Oles, with her convincing win in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:36.00, and runner-up finish in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:04.11.

On the boards, Jenn Williams (So, Cambridge, Minn.) had an outstanding performance. She turned in her first win this season on the one-meter voluntary dives, with a score of 155.25. On the optional section of the diving competition Stacy Koskiniemi (Sr, Blaine, Minn.) took home the win with a final score 167.60.

The Ole men were just as successful as the women on their way to victory. Eric Palmer?s (So, Roseville, Minn.) performances in the breaststroke events were definitely high points of the meet. Palmer began the meet on a great note, with an amazing in season time for his 100-yard breaststroke split in the 400-yard medley relay, of 1:00.80. Palmer carried the momentum into his 200-yard breaststroke, where he turned in the top time on the team this year. His time of 2:14.39, was only one second off his lifetime best.

Pat Marzolf (So, St. Paul, Minn.) once again showed his strength in the longer events, with a win in the 1000-yard freestyle (10:37.20) and the 200-yard butterfly (2:04.83) and a runner up finish in the 200-yard individual medley (2:03.72). Marzolf definitely earned the Ironman award of the meet for his persistence throughout the three grueling events. Lee Thomsen (So, El Cajon, Calif.) and Jim Chase (Sr, Winnetka, Ill.) also turned in victories for the Oles. Thomsen was a double winner, with wins in his 200 and 100-yard freestyle with times of 1:48.26, and 48.44. Thomsen?s consistent performance in these events throughout the season sets him up as a top contender in the conference. Chase took home the gold in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:08.09.

Gabe Kortuem (Sr, Andover, Minn.) dominated the diving competition. Kortuem won both the one-meter voluntaries and optionals with scores of 184.90 and 274.65, respectively.

The meet proved to be what coach Bob Hauck expected it to be. "I definitely expected this meet to be a great one for the Oles; another improvement on our way to conference, and both the men and women lived up to this expectation. It was a great way to end 2001."

The Oles will now focus on studying for finals. They leave on December 20th for a ten-day training trip in Hawaii. The trip should prove to be not only a great way for the Oles to prepare for conference, but also a time for the team to relax and build strong bonds.

St. Olaf will host Macalester as their first opponent in 2002 at 6:00 p.m. on January 11.

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