University of St. Thomas Athletics
Milwaukee
Panthers edge Tommies in final dual of 2023-24
2/2/2024 11:16:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
MILWAUKEE, WIS. – The University of St. Thomas swim and dive teams were back in the pool for one last dual of the 2023-24 season. The Tommies traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face the Panthers in a two team dual th.at ended with two Milwaukee victories. Though St. Thomas earned several individual wins, both the men's and women's teams came up short in the team competition, as the Panthers won by final scores of 198-101 (men) and 196-103 (women)
WOMEN'S RESULTS: ST. THOMAS (103) vs. MILWAUKEE (196)
St. Thomas continued to excel in multiple events, as the Tommies claimed individual titles in four different events Friday evening. After the "A" 200 medley relay team of Libby Fischer (Eagan, Minn. / Visitation), Grace Urkiel (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount), Lily Linden (Rochester, Minn. / Century) and Grace Forsberg (Rice Lake, Wis. / Rice Lake) earned a second place finish with a time of 1:49.11, Elizabeth Bonneville (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) earned the first individual win of the afternoon. The junior swam the fastest time in the pool in the 400 IM, claiming first place with a time of 4:40.56. Teammate Megan Toal (San Clemente, Calif. / San Juan Hills) also earned a top-5 finish in the race, coming in fourth with a time of 4:56.69.
Urkiel would once again sweep the breaststroke races, winning first in both the 100 and 200 races. The senior clocked a time of 1:06.01 in the 100 competition, winning the race by .5, before dominating the field in the 200 breaststroke. Urkiel won the race by over three full seconds, winning the event with a time of 2:28.62. Like in the 400 IM, Toal would finish fourth in the 200 breaststroke as well thanks to her time of 2:37.87.
Emily Wooden (Chino Hills, Calif. / Ayala) was the final Tommie to win an individual event Friday afternoon. The sophomore won the 200 yard breaststroke race by nearly seven seconds as St. Thomas swept the top three spots in the race. Wooden won the event with a time of 2:13.41, while Linden finished second with a time of 2:20.28. Rebecca Bishop (Houston, Texas / Cy-Fair) and Maggie Kolb (Afton, Minn. / Hill-Murray) also competed in the event, finishing fourth and fifth with times of 2:22.62 and 2:24.13 respectively.
On the diving side of things, first year Hattie Opdahl (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) continued her impressive 2023-24 campaign, earning two top-5 finishes on Friday. Opdahl finished second in the 1-meter, six dive competition, earning a score of 266.40, before finishing fourth in the 3-meter competition with a score of 229.35.
MEN'S RESULTS: ST. THOMAS (101) vs. MILWAUKEE (198)
Like the women, the men's team also found plenty of success in the pool on Friday. Lucas Becker (Carver, Minn. / Chanhassen) earned the lone individual win of the afternoon for the Tommies, claiming the top spot in the 100 backstroke. The first year out touched teammate Philip Jensen (Hastings, Minn. / Hastings) by .3 at the wall, claiming first place with a time of 52.04. Jenson would finish second thanks to his time of 52.33, while A.J. Carollo (Long Grove, Ill. / Stevenson) would finish fifth in potentially the last dual meet of his collegiate career.
St. Thomas also put together several other strong performances in the other individual races. Tommy Seiler (Menomonee Falls, Wis. / Menomonee Falls) and Thomas Yatso (Milwaukee, Wis. / Shorewood) finished two-three in the 400 IM, clocking times of 4:17.68 and 4:21.53 respectively, while Alex Foti (Waukesha, Wis. / West) put together strong performances in three freestyle races. The junior finished third in both the 100 and 200 freestyle races before earning a second place finish in the 500. Foti finished just one second behind the leader in the distance race, earning second place with a time of 4:47.76.
All three divers placed in both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions. Austin Kantor (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) was the highest finisher on the 1-meter board, earning a six-dive score of 254.85, while Ben Linde (Andover, Minn. / Andover) earned a third place finish on the 3-meter board with a six dive score of 248.40.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will compete in one final meet before the Summit League Championships, set to take place February 21-24 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before the Tommies take the pool for conference, they will swim in the U of M Last Chance Meet February 9-10 at the University of Minnesota.
Players Mentioned
