ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team will look to continue a fast start in 2023-24 as the Bennies compete in a dual with St. Olaf on Saturday (Nov. 4) at 1 p.m., in Northfield, Minn. 
 
Up Next
After the dual meet, CSB will compete at the St. Kate's Double Dual with St. Catherine and UW-Eau Claire in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, November 11 with a start time of 11:30 a.m. 
 
Bennies raise $1,240 to fight breast cancer
In the lead-up to a dual meet on Oct. 21 with Macalester, the College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team raised more than $1,200 to benefit the fight against breast cancer. The team designed pink "Barbie Bennie" t-shirts, put them on sale and earmarked the money raised for the Minnesota Breast Cancer Coalition. Then, additional donations were taken at the Bennies' opening dual meet against Macalester at the Warner Palaestra pool at Saint John's University.
 
 Season Review –
 
Bennies win triangular with Augsburg, Hamline
 
Senior Lindsay Smutka won or was part of three of the 10 titles by the College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team, which continued an impressive early season start with a win in the Bennies Triangular with Hamline and Augsburg on Oct 27 at the Warner Palaestra Pool. In the triangular, the Bennies totaled 163 points with Hamline at 47 and Augsburg, 5.  Smutka won an individual title for the second straight competition by capturing the 200 back in 2:17.37. Senior Emi Wagner recorded her second straight win in the 50-free with a 26:13 clocking as she led a 1-2-3 finish in the event. Also, in the 50 free, senior Jocie Larson was second in 26:42 while sophomore Rachel Schlueter was third in 26.43. CSB also took the 100 free title as sophomore Mikayla Haskamp won with a 57.23 clocking, finishing just ahead of senior Hannah Tatge at 58.82. Sophomore Morgan Stout won her first title of the season with a victory in the 500 free with a clocking of 5:39.97 clocking. For the third time in two competitions, sophomore Megan Bartels won an individual title as she captured the 200 breast event in 2:37.82. Sophomore Liz Hansen placed third for CSB at 2:51.05 with first-year Jayda Alholm, fourth, 2:55.71. In the 200 fly, Laura Jennings captured the 200 fly in 2:25.38 as CSB took the top three spots. First-year Ella Kowalczyk continued a strong early season performance on the diving boards with her first individual title in the 3-meter board with 195.60 points. She also placed second on the 1-M board with 245.00 points. First-year Jayda Alholm led a 1-2 finish in the 1000 free. Alholm's first-career individual title included a clocking of 12:34.71 with Vicker, second at 12:53.93. Smutka helped the Bennies win both the 400 free and 400 medley relays. The team of Smutka, Larson, Schlueter and Haskamp won the 400 free relay in 3:49.07. Smutka, Bartels, Jennings and Larson teamed up to win the 400 medleys in 4:14.09. In the 200 free, the Bennies captured second through sixth place with Sitzman leading the way in 2:07.99. CSB claimed two of the top three spots in the 200 IM as Claire Canfield was second in 2:22.09 with Josey Jackson, third in 2:26.42.
 
Smutka, Bartels, Wagner wins titles in dual with Macalester
Sophomore Megan Bartels, junior Lindsay Smutka and senior Emi Wagner captured individual titles to lead a strong opening season performance by the College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team in a dual with Macalester at the Warner Palaestra Pool on Oct. 21. The Bennies dropped a 162-131 decision to the Scots but totaled five titles and had 24 top-three finishes. CSB had eight second place finishes while finishing third in nine other events. Bartels was the only CSB swimmer with a pair of individual titles after capturing the 100 breasts in 1:14.49 and the 200 breast in 2:39.25. Wagner, who earned All-MIAC honors in the 50-free a year ago, started the season with an individual title in the 50-free at 25.92. In the race CSB had three of the top four finishers with sophomore Rachel Schlueter finishing second in 26.20. Senior Jocie Larson placed fourth in the same event with a clocking of 26.26. Smutka captured the 100-back title in 1:01.11 with Schlueter finishing third in 1:02.94. Smutka also led a strong effort by CSB in the 200-back as she took second in 2:16.95.  The Bennies won the 200-medley in 1:52.65 as Smutka, Bartels, Schlueter and Wagner raced to the title. CSB was also third in the race at 1:58.32 with a team of Canfield, sophomore Liz Hansen, senior Laura Jennings and sophomore Mikayla Haskamp. The Bennies also placed second in the 200-free relay with Wagner, Larson, Haskamp and Hannah Tatge combining for a clocking of 1:42.85. Haskamp also placed second in the 100 free with a clocking of 56.63 while CSB's Hannah Tatge took fourth in 58.65. In diving, the Bennies were led by first-year Ella Kowalczyk, who had a 1-meter diving score of 200.25, just 3.70 behind the leader. She was second on the 3-meter board at 190.70 and finished 4.25 behind Macalester's Kate Yehle, who also won the 1-meter board, at 194.95. The Bennies also had a second-place finish in the 100 fly from Schlueter at 1:04.35 with Jackson grabbing third in 1:05.41. Also, for CSB, senior Laura Jennings was second in the 200 fly in 2:23.66 with Jackson, third, in 2:27.44.