<nd diving team finished a doubleheader last weekend, hosting Gustavus Adolphus College on Friday night and traveling to Collegeville to swim against Macalester College and St. John’s University on Saturday.
The Knights’ meet against Gustavus was their first home meet of two for the season. Diver Eric Brenner ‘11 was recognized in the meet for his first-place finish in both the 1- and 3-meter board competitions. Brenner’s 1-meter event was an NCAA qualifying performance. For his performance, Brenner was recognized as the MIAC men’s swimming and diving Athlete of the Week.
In the end, the team posted a narrow 143-157 loss, their smallest margin against Gustavus since 1997, according to Coach Andy Clark.
Touches were key in Saturdays meet, where some races were won or lost in a matter of tenths of seconds. Eric Klontz ‘13 beat Armando Ross of St. John’s by 4/10 of a second in an impressive 50 free race, finishing at 21.86, but overall, the team took second in the meet with 596 points, below the 699 of Saint John’s and above Macalester’s 159.
The meet culminated with an electrifying 4 x 100 freestyle relay race. Carleton’s A relay, comprised of Klontz, Andrew Mering ‘11, Benito Ramirez ‘14, and Mamoru Kanazawa ’13, produced an impressive 3:13.89 finish, only to be outdone by the St. John’s relay by 1/100 of a second. The tantalizing loss was well received, however, in light of the awesome performance and the grueling two-day schedule.
The coaches highlighted Ross Brown ’14 as swimmer of the meet on Saturday for his lifetime-best swim in the 200 freestyle and season-best in the 100 butterfly.
The team now looks toward this Saturday for its last home meet of the season against St. Mary’s University. Saturday will also be Senior Knight. In addition to performing in the pool and on the boards, the team also intends to lead the second annual men’s team choir, singing the national anthem before the meet begins at 1 p.m.
Ben Bedore is a member of the men’s swimming and diving team.
