Results

ST. PAUL, MINN. - With finals and Christmas quickly approaching, the St. Catherine University Swim and Dive team had one last meet to go before the team could celebrate the holiday season. That meet occurred Saturday afternoon, when the Wildcats hosted the College of Saint Benedict in the Butler Center Pool. Although St. Kate's lost the dual meet 180-120, there was still plenty of the team to celebrate thanks to multiple strong performances in the pool.

Five Wildcats were extremely successful Saturday noon by carding at least one individual win. Franceska Hernandez-Nietling (Kansas City, Mo. / Bishop Miege) was doubly successful in the pool with wins in both the 200 breaststroke and the 200 Individual Medley races. Hernandez-Nietling's time of 2:33.30 was not only a season best, but also bested Saint Ben's All-MIAC returner Ashley Groebner by three seconds and helped her win her first race of the afternoon. The first year also won the 200 IM with a time of 2:18.63 and finished second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:10.11.

Molly McMahon (Verona, Wis. / Madison Memorial) continued her successful December by earning St. Kate's first individual win of the afternoon. The first year won the 1000 freestyle with a time of 11:26.99, a career best time by nearly 10 seconds. McMahon also finished second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:35.39.

In addition to Hernandez-Nietling and McMahon, Charlotte Green (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen) and Mary Jane Voss (Mequon, Wis.) each earned individual wins in the pool Saturday afternoon. Green won the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:03.67, while Voss won the 200 yard freestyle thanks to a time of 2:03.40.

On the diving end of things, junior Gabby Page (Cottage Grove, Minn. / Park) led the Wildcats, as she won the 3-meter and was third in the 1-meter competitions. Page won the 3-meter competition thanks to a season best score of 222.20 and finished third in the 1-meter with a score of 177.90.

Also on the diving board, Serita Donovan (St. Cloud, Minn. / Cathedral) earned her best score of the season on the 1-meter board with a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) qualifying score of 168.55.

After adding these and several other top performances together, the Wildcats finished the day with 120 total points compared to Saint Ben's 180. St. Kate's will return to competition the weekend of January 19-20 when the team competes at the Grinnell Challenge and St. Olaf Quad.