ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – A quick look back at the headlines for the College of Saint Benedict swim and dive seasons from 2019-20 tells the story of the team’s season: broken records, top-10 performances and lifetime bests.
First-year diver Emily Quill is the name that shows up the most in those headlines, and for good reason after setting two school records and becoming the team’s first swimmer or diver to qualify for nationals since 2002.
One name never made the headlines in 2019-20, but in her first season with the program, Mia Sabin was one of the team’s most consistent divers from start to finish.
In the first meet of her collegiate career, Sabin finished third and jumped into the top 10 in CSB history on the one-meter (6-dive) board with a score of 211.30. Two weeks later, in her first time competing on the three-meter board, Sabin finished fourth in both the one- and three-meter competitions at the Hamline Invitational.
Sabin earned herself a spot on the school’s three-meter (six-dive) top-10 list on Nov. 23 when she finished second with a score of 193.35 – good for ninth in program history – in a dual against St. Kate’s.
After nearly two months off, Sabin recorded a pair of personal-best scores on Jan. 24 in a home dual against St. Olaf. Her score of 221.30 on the three-meter board was good for second (behind only Quill) and is the fifth-best score in program history. She also took third on the one-meter board behind Quill and senior Artie Pomerenke, and her score of 213.15 is the ninth-best in CSB history.
One day later, Sabin competed on both boards again – this time an 11-dive competition at the Gustavus Diving Invite. She finished fourth in the one-meter competition with a 390.26 – the ninth-best score in CSB history – and sixth on the one-meter board with a 383.10, eighth-best in CSB history.
At the end of the season, Sabin qualified for the MIAC Championships on both boards, and finished top-10 in both. She made the finals on the one-meter board and ended up with a podium spot after taking seventh. Teammates Quill and Pomerenke both finished top five to mark the first time since 2015 that three Bennie divers have earned podium spots. Sabin didn’t make the three-meter finals two days later, but took 10
th to wrap up her first season with the team.
When all was said and done, Sabin finished in the top 10 each time she competed as a first year. She recorded 11 top-five finishes, and three top-10 finishes.
