Tommies hold steady on second day of St. Thomas Invite

ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas men's and women's swim and dive programs continued to hold strong on the second day of the St. Thomas Invite. Thanks to several impressive swims by both programs, the Tommies retained their third place finishes on Friday, as both closed the day with well over 600 points. The St. Thomas women currently enter the final day of the invite with 710 points, while the Tommie men also sit in third place with a two-day score of 675.

WOMEN'S RESULTS:
Like Thursday, the St. Thomas women found plenty of success in the pool Friday, as the Tommies maintained their third place team performance on the second day of their home invite. The St. Thomas "A" team opened the evening with a third place finish in the 200 medley relay, as the team of Grace Forsberg (Rice Lake, Wis. / Rice Lake), Amber Hess (Kohler, Wis. / Kohler), Jordyn Davis (Cambridge, Wis. / Cambridge) and Ellie Undem (Chisago City, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) clocked a time of 1:45.37, allowing them to finish in third place as a team.

Several members of the 200 medley relay team put together outstanding individual performances, including Davis. The first year recorded the Tommies best individual swim of the night, finishing second place in the 100 backstroke Friday evening. Davis earned her spot in the finals with an impressive 56.44 in prelims before swimming even faster in the finals. The first year just outtouched South Dakota's Anna Balfanz at the wall, claiming second place with a time of 56.26. Forsberg, her teammate on the relay, finished sixth in the race with a time of 57.36 in finals, while Libby Fischer (Eagan, Minn. / Visitation), Undem, Willow Larsen (Fairfield, Iowa / Fairfield) and Jin-Jae Robinson (Galena, Ohio / Olentangy Berlin) all earned top-20 finishes in the same race.

St. Thomas saw a slew of swimmers put together strong performances in both the 100 butterfly and the 400 IM. Davis was the lone swimmer to earn a top-10 finish in the fly, while Tessa Jones (Marengo, Ill. / Marian Central Catholic) paced the Tommies in the 400 IM. The sophomore was the lone top-10 finisher for St. Thomas in the race, clocking a time of 4:42.12 in finals to finish in ninth place. Kathryn Bonneville (Lakeville, Minn. / Visitation) and Madison Parkin (Eden Prairie, Minn. / Eden Prairie) both swam in the "C" finals, finishing in 11^th and 12^th respectively.

Sophia Hayes (Naperville, Ill. / Naperville Central) continued to impress in the freestyle races, earning another top-10 finish in the 200 free Friday evening. The sophomore finished fifth in the race behind a time of 1:52.75, while Mary Selden (Davenport, Iowa / Davenport) claimed sixth place thanks to a time of 1:54.35.

Hess paces the Tommies in the 100 breaststroke, as four St. Thomas swimmers qualified for either "B" or "C" finals in the event. Hess finished in sixth place with a time of 1:05.92, while Ashley Plantenberg (Eden Prairie, Minn. / Eden Prairie) finished just outside the top-10 in 11^th thanks to a time of 1:06.02. Annika Olson (Shakopee, Minn. / Shakopee) and Sydney Mulford (Johns Creek, Ga. / Northview) rounded out the top-16 for the Tommies, finishing in 15^th and 16^th respectively.

Hattie Opdahl (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) and Zoey Johnson (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) earned podium finishes in the 3-meter diving competition. Opdahl was once again St. Thomas' highest finisher in the event, closing in third with a six-dive score of 247.50. Johnson, meanwhile, finished in seventh with a score of 202.85 in finals.

In the final event of the evening, the Tommies 800 freestyle relay team earned a third place finish. The team of Elizabeth Bonneville (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South), Hayes, Plantenberg and Selden swam six seconds faster than their seeded time in Friday's final, clocking a time of 7:41.90 to close the evening.

UP NEXT
Thanks to these and several other performances, the Tommies sit in third place as a team entering the third and final day of the St. Thomas Invite. The morning session will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the AARC Pool in St. Paul, Minnesota with the evening session set to begin at 5:30 p.m.

Tommies hold steady on second day of St. Thomas Invite

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Players Mentioned

Elizabeth Bonneville

Kathryn Bonneville

Jordyn Davis

Libby Fischer

Grace Forsberg

Sophia Hayes

Amber Hess

Zoey Johnson

Tessa Jones

Willow Larsen

Sydney Mulford

Annika Olson

Hattie Opdahl

Madison Parkin

Ashley Plantenberg

Jin-Jae Robinson

Mary Selden

Ellie Undem

University of St. Thomas Athletics