Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships: Day Three

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, February 19. GUSTAVUS wrapped up its fourth title in five years Saturday night at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Swimming & Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center. The Gusties finished with 792 team points to beat St. Olaf (668), Carleton (484) and St. Thomas (454.5).

St. Olaf claimed its 28th MIAC men's championship by picking up three first-place finishes Saturday – eight for the three-day meet. The Oles finished with 759.5 team points to topple St. Thomas (640), Gustavus (612) and St. John's (564).

Individually, St. Olaf's Chris Bateman collected his third MIAC title this week by winning the 200-yard backstroke with an NCAA ‘A' cut time of 1:48.77. Bateman capped his sensational weekend by earning MIAC Men's Swimmer-of-the-Year honors. Men's Diver-of-the-Year honors went to Carleton's Eric Brenner, who added a 3-meter title with an NCAA consideration score of 478.75, to the 1-meter title he won earlier in the week.

Top women's individual honors went to Carleton's Kale Zicafoose (Swimmer-of-the-Year) and St. Catherine's Sarah Moody (Diver-of-the-Year). Zicafoose won the 200-yard backstroke Saturday – her second title of the weekend along with a meet record – and she met the ‘A' cut with her time of 2:02.28. Moody, like Brenner, swept the diving events. Saturday she recorded an NCAA consideration score of 415.15 to win her second-straight 1-meter championship after winning on the 3-meter board earlier in the meet.

In addition to Batemen's win, St. Olaf took the top spot in two other individual events to lock up the championship. Chase Liaboe won the 200 butterfly (1:54.67) the second year in a row, and Colby Kubat took the 200-yard breaststroke in an NCAA ‘B' cut time of 2:05.31.

The Gustavus women received a first-place swim from Alissa Tinklenberg in the 1650-yard freestyle with a her time of 17:42.73. Gustavus finished off the meet by winning the 400-yard freestyle relay in a meet record 3:29.21. The record-setting foursome was comprised of Sarah Hund, Alissa Tinklenberg, Dajana Vidovic and Kelsey Lucia.

There were a pair of repeat winners on the men's side Saturday night. Gustavus' Whitaker Davis added the men's 1,650-yard freestyle championship and a MIAC and meet record to the 500-free title he won earlier in the week. Davis' time in the mile was 15:36.96, which met the NCAA ‘A' cut and shattered the previous meet record of 15:48.27 and broke the MIAC record of 15.37.04, which had stood for 22 years.

Saint John's freshman Armando Moss also became a double winner Saturday when he claimed the 100-yard freestyle with a ‘B' cut time of 45.80. Moss also won the 50-free earlier in the meet. Moss helped the Johnnies win the last event of the night as well, the 400-yard freestyle relay, along with teammates Ty Nimens, Josh Seaburg and Michael Williams. SJU had a winning time of 3:04.55, good for the ‘B' cut.

A senior and a freshman provided two memorable moments on the women's individual side, as St. Thomas senior Becca Ney avenged two earlier second-place finishes with a win in the 100-yard freestyle, and a time of 51.42, which met the ‘B' cut and the 2010 standard. Ney edged Gustavus' Lucia, who had beaten Nye earlier in the weekend.

The other highlight came from Saint Benedict freshman Ellen Dean. The first-year set a new meet and MIAC record in the 200-yard butterfly with her time of 2:08.86. The previous conference mark was 2:08.92, set in 1990, and the previous meet record was 2:10.08. In fact, runner-up Steph Korba (Gustavus) and third-place Katie Bromback (St. Thomas) also eclipsed the old meet record. Another freshman, St. Olaf's Maggie Boling added a title in the 200-yard breaststroke with a ‘B' standard time of 2:23.32.

During the awards ceremony, the MIAC Coaches-of-the-Year were also announced. The MIAC Men's Swimming Coaches-of-the-Year were St. Olaf's Dave and Bob Hauck, and the MIAC Women's Swimming Coaches-of-the-Year were St. Catherine's Shana Erickson and Nicole Hempler. Gabe Korteum from Carleton/St. Olaf was named MIAC Diving Coach-of-the-Year.

All six sessions of the 2011 MIAC Swimming & Diving Championships were broadcast online by Webcast America. The sessions are archived online, with sessions 1-4 already available for viewing. Friday night's session and both Saturday sessions will be available later this week.

St. Olaf College and Macalester College were the host institutions of the event.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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