ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Heading into Saturday’s dual meet with Carleton, head coach Mandy Wolvert was confident that her College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team could beat the Knights – she just needed a few people to really step up and pick up some wins.
The whole team did its job as the Bennies won 11 of 16 events en route to the 167-125 win, but senior Ana Birklid and junior Madison Slavik really came through for the team. The duo combined for five individual wins and two relay wins to help CSB beat Carleton for the first time since 2016 and just the sixth time since 1998. For their impressive performances, Birklid and Slavik are this week’s CSB Athletes of the Week.
From the first race of the meet, Slavik and Birklid were instrumental in helping the Bennies pull off the win over their MIAC rival. They swam the first two legs of the 200 medley relay that finished first by less than half of a second to give CSB some key points early in the meet.
After that the two traded wins – Birklid took first in the 200 free by six seconds, finishing in 2:00.18. In the next race, Slavik won the 100 backstroke in 1:02.12 – six-tenths of a second ahead of teammate Lindsay Smutka. Birklid picked up her second individual win of the day a short time later when she won the 100 breaststroke in 1:10.67 – a career-best time by nearly three seconds.
After a break for diving – and with a few other events in between – Birklid was back in the pool to win her third race of the day. She helped the Bennies sweep the backstroke events, finishing first by nearly three seconds in the 200 back in 2:12.60.
After winning the 100 back earlier in the day, Slavik’s second individual events was a very different pace. She won the 500 freestyle in 5:44.45. To wrap up the day, Slavik swam the third leg of the winning 400 freestyle relay. The Bennies’ time of 3:50.22 beat Carleton’s top squad by two seconds.
When all was said and done, Slavik and Birklid combined to have a hand in 67 of the team’s 167 points scored against the Knights. The duo looks to continue their success this Thursday, Jan. 20, when they head to St. Cloud for a nonconference dual with St. Cloud State. The 5 p.m. dual marks one of just three meets remaining for the Bennies ahead of the 2022 MIAC Championships, scheduled for Feb. 16-19 at the U of M in Minneapolis.
