University of St. Thomas Athletics
Concordia University, St. Paul
Tommies split double dual with CSP, MSU
1/20/2024 7:30:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas swim and dive team returned to competition Saturday afternoon. After a long month off, the Tommies took to the water, facing Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State in their first meet of the new year. At the conclusion of the triangular, St. Thomas outscored the Golden Bears 182-115 but came up short to the Mavericks 193.5 – 106.5.
WOMEN'S RESULTS: ST. THOMAS (182) vs. CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL (115) | ST. THOMAS (106.5) vs. MINNESOTA STATE (193.5)
It was a thrilling double dual meet on Saturday, as the Tommies earned several wins in both the individual races and relays. In fact, St. Thomas got off to a hot start in the meet, as the 200 medley relay team earned the first win of the day in the very first event. The team of Libby Fischer (Eagan, Minn. Visitation), Grace Urkiel (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount), Lily Linden (Rochester, Minn. / Century) and Ella Palmquist (Dundas, Minn. / Northfield) won the event with a time of 1:48.75. That would set the tone for the remainder of the meet, as the Tommies claimed first place in the 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 200 IM. Urkiel, in particular, continued to impress. In her first meet of 2024, the senior won both the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM, continuing her dominance in both events. Urkiel won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.88 before earning first in the 200 IM with a time of 2:12.11.
Sophia Hayes (Naperville, Ill. / Central) earned the first individual win of the afternoon for St. Thomas, claiming first place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:58.93. Hayes also finished second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:20.79.
Caroline Peterson (Northfield, Minn. / Northfield) claimed first place in the 200 butterfly, just outtouching Minnesota State's Gretta Hansen by .001. Peterson won the race with a time of 2:15.41 and was the only Tommie to finish in the top-3. Fischer just missed an individual win the 50 freestyle, finishing second with a time of 24.54. Sophie Curran (Minneapolis, Minn. / Edina) claimed second place in the 200 backstroke thanks to her time of 2:12.78, and Linden earned a top-3 finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:01.02.
The St. Thomas 200 freestyle relay team closed the meet with a third place finish in the event. The team of Elizabeth Bonneville (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South), Hayes, Brecken Baller (Sioux City, Iowa / North) and Megan Toal (San Clemente, Calif. / San Juan Hills) clocked a time of 1:42.96 in the final event of the day.
UP NEXT
Both St. Thomas swim and dive teams will return to action on Friday, February 2, as the teams hit the road for Wisconsin. The Tommies will take on Milwaukee in their final dual of the season before the Summit League Championships take place February 21 – 24.
Players Mentioned
