University of St. Thomas Athletics
Green Bay
Tommies open season with Green Bay, Augustana
10/8/2023 12:53:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Women beat Phoenix 172.5-126.5
ST. PAUL, MINN. – It was a busy opening weekend for the University of St. Thomas men's and women's swim and dive teams. The Tommies participated in two dual meets over opening weekend, traveling to Green Bay, Wisconsin on Friday before returning home to host Augustana University on Saturday. Over the course of two days, St. Thomas found plenty of success in the pool, as both teams earned at least one win over the weekend. The Tommies women's swim and dive team opened the season with a 172.5-126.5 win over Green Bay before dropping a close 115-92 contest to the Vikings on Saturday. The men were mere points away from earning their first victory in Green Bay, falling 154-146 on Friday before rebounding with a dominant 128-79 win over Augustana on Saturday.
WOMEN'S RECAP: ST. THOMAS (172.5) vs. GREEN BAY (126.5)
St. Thomas won 10 events Friday afternoon, spurring the team to a 172.5-126.5 victory over the Phoenix in the first meet of 2023-24. Senior Grace Urkiel (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) played a hand in four of those wins, as she was a member of two first place relay teams and won two races as an individual. She, along with Sophie Curran (Minneapolis, Minn. / Edina), Hanna Ryan (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) and Megan West (Shoreview, Minn. / Mounds View) won the first race of the dual with a time of 1:50.41, earning 11 points towards the team's overall score.
After being a part of the 200 medley relay team, Urkiel went on to sweep the breaststroke races, taking first place in both the 100 and 200. The senior won both races by over two seconds, claiming first in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:06.60 before winning the 200 in equally dominant fashion, clocking a time of 2:28.99 to win the race by nearly three full seconds. She then swam the anchor leg for the 200 freestyle relay team, securing victory with her teammates Grace Forsberg (Rice Lake, Wis. / Rice Lake), Ella Palmquist (Dundas, Minn. / Northfield) and Libby Fischer (Eagan, Minn. / Visitation) and a time of 1:39.89.
In addition to Urkiel, several other swimmers and divers found success in Wisconsin, including Fischer who also won four events Friday afternoon. In addition to being a part of both the 200 Medley and Freestyle relay teams, Fischer won the 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Fischer was the only swimmer to clock a time under one minute in the 100 backstroke, securing a first place finish with a time of 59.86. She then went on to beat her teammate by the narrowest of margins, claiming first place in the 50 free with a time of 25.14.
Sophie Hayes (Naperville, Ill. / Central) dazzled in her first meet as a Tommie Friday afternoon. In her collegiate debut, Hayes won the 200 and 500 freestyle races, setting collegiate best times of 1:58.18 and 5:17.69 respectively. She was also a member of the third place 200 freestyle relay team, with earned two points toward the overall team score thanks to their time of 1:42.13.
St. Thomas found plenty of success on the boards as well as in the pool, as the Tommies claimed first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions. First year Hattie Opdahl (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) made quite the splash in her first collegiate meet, sweeping the diving events with six dive scores over 200. Opdahl won the 1-meter competition with a score of 221.56 before claiming the 3-meter title with a score of 205.68.
WOMEN'S RECAP: ST. THOMAS (92) vs. AUGUSTANA (115)
After a resounding win to open 2023-24, the Tommies looked to continue their winning ways with a home win over Augustana on Saturday. Though St. Thomas was unable to come away with a victory, the team saw plenty of success in its home pool. As they did on Friday, the Tommies claimed first place in the 200 medley relay. The team of Fischer, Urkiel, Lily Linden (Rochester, Minn. / Century) and Forsberg dropped three seconds from Friday to Saturday, winning the race with a time of 1:47.43. Urkiel also continued to dominate in the breaststroke, winning the 100 race with a time of 1:05.29.
Hayes duplicated her Friday performance at home on Saturday, winning both the 200 and 500 freestyle races for the second consecutive meet. The first year won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:58.16 before claiming first in the 500 thanks to her time of 5:17.49.
St. Thomas also earned a win in the longest distance race of the afternoon, as Elizabeth Bonneville (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) went the distance and won the 1000 freestyle. The junior won the race by 14 seconds, clocking a time of 11:04.38 to earn nine points towards the Tommies overall team score. Opdahl also added another win to her belt, claiming first in 1-meter diving with a score of 222.25.
TOP TOMMIES
- Grace Urkiel (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) won six events over the course of two days. The senior was a member of three first place relay teams and won three individual races in St. Thomas duals against Green Bay and Augustana. Urkiel won four events in Friday's dual against the Phoenix. She won two events as a member of the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams before sweeping the 100 and 200 breakstroke races. She then won the 100 breakstroke Saturday and was a member of the first place 200 medley relay team.
- First year Sarah Hayes (Naperville, Ill. / Central) made a splash in her collegiate debut, winning the 200 and 500 freestyle races in both duals over the weekend.
- Fellow first year Hattie Opdahl (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) won three events on the boards, sweeping the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions against Green Bay on Friday. She additionally won the 1-meter competition on Saturday.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will return to action on Saturday, October 14 when it hosts South Dakota in its first Summit League dual of the 2023-24 season. The first event is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. CT in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Players Mentioned
