ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team will take its 3-2 mark into a dual with Hamline on Friday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m., in St. Paul, Minn.

Through five duals this year, the Bennies, directed by head coach Mandy Wolvert, have opened with a 3-2 record. Sophomore Mary Morris has 10 event wins and Megan Bartels, who was named CSB's first MIAC Swimmer of the Week since Nov. 2, 2021, has five events wins. Sophomore Diver Ella Kowalczyk has won the 3-meter board twice, including a career-best 207.80 score in the loss to Macalester. She also has a trio of second places in diving competition. After competing against Hamline, the Bennies will compete at the Gustavus Goblisch Invite on Nov. 23.

Bartels earns MIAC Swimmer of the Week after Bennies split double dual
Junior Megan Bartels and sophomore Mary Morris both captured a pair of event wins to lead the College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team to a split in a double dual with St. Olaf on Saturday at the Warner Palaestra Pool on Nov. 2. In its first home event, the Bennies used six total event victories to defeat St. Catherine, 169-131 and battle St. Olaf in a 180-120 setback in the double dual. Morris has had a dominating start to the season with two individual event wins in each of the duals. Counting two relay wins, including a part of the 400 free relay today, she now has 10 event wins – eight as an individual. Today, she won the 200-freestyle in 1:59.56, which was just .09 off her season best. In capturing the 200-backstroke, Morris also had a big performance with a 2:10.61 clocking. Morris was part of three winning events after anchoring the 400-freestyle relay to a win in 3:44.89. The relay for CSB also included junior Mikayla Haskamp, senior Liz Hansen and sophomore Rachel Schlueter. Bartels captured both the 100 and 200-breaststroke events. In the 100-breaststroke, Bartels finished in a season-best 1:11.21 and matched the winning effort with a season-best 2:34.81 clocking to capture the 200-breaststroke. She ranks first in the MIAC in the 200 and third in the 100 breaststroke.  Schlueter led a dominant performance in the 50-free with a victory in a season-best 26.02. In the diving competition, sophomore Ella Kowalczyk continued her solid start to the season by placing second on both boards. She was second with 190.95 points while Sabrina Buffetta placed fourth on the three-meter board. Then, Kowalczyk recorded a second place in the 1-meter board in 180.55. Buffetta also shined again with a third-place finish in 178.30 on the one-meter board. The Bennies placed second in the 200-medley relay in 1:53.57 with a squad of Morris, Bartels, Schlueter and Liz Hansen.

Morris, Kowalczyk and Canfield win events but CSB falls to Macalester
CSB, which was led by two individual event wins by Mary Morris and one each by Ella Kowalczyk and Claire Canfield, dropped a 150-93 dual decision to Macalester on Saturday (Oct. 26).  Morris continued her outstanding start to the season with two more individual event wins, which gives her six on the season. Morris captured the 200 freestyle in 1:59.47 or four seconds in front of the field. She also won the 100-backstroke in 1:00.31 as she edged Macalester's Verity Wray-Raabolle by :34 (1:00.65).  Kowalczyk won her third straight 3-meter board competition by recording a personal and season-best 207.80. She was also second on the 1-meter board with a score of 179.60. CSB sophomore Claire Canfield captured her third event  win of the season with a victory in the 100 butterfly  in 1:04.75. Canfield was also third, and Megan Bartels, fourth in the 400 IM with clockings of 5:00.32 and 5:21.88, respectively. 

Bennies record 2^nd straight dual win Minnesota-Morris
For a second straight meet, the College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team dominated with nine events wins to move to 2-0 in dual competition with a 152-70 victory over Minnesota Morris at the Warner Palaestra Pool on Saturday (Oct. 19). Across two days, CSB has won consecutive duals and totaled 17 event wins, including 15 individual titles.  Sophomore Mary Morris again shined in the pool by recording two individual wins and also swam on a winning relay at the dual, which officially opened their home swim and dive schedule. Morris now has five individual/relay titles across two competitions. Morris led off CSB's victorious 200 medley relay, which clocked 1:54.64 and included Megan Bartels, Rachel Schlueter and Liz Hansen. CSB also had a third-place finish in the relay with a team of Maddie Stutelberg, Em Oswald, Anna Boomgaarden, and Abby Stevens.  In addition to the relay, Morris cruised to a 10-second win in the 200 IM as she clocked 2:19.30 to finished ahead of three other teammates which finished second through fourth. Junior Mikayla Haskamp was second in 2:29.75 followed by Schlueter in third at 2:30.65 with Lauren Sitzman, fourth in 2:31.11. Morris and Hansen finished 1-2 in the 200-yard free style with Morris clocking a winning time of 2:02.96 and Hansen finishing second in 2:10.32. For the second straight day, Hansen won the 50-free style as she clocked a 25.91. First-year Grace Morphew was third in 26.86.

Schlueter captured her first individual title of the season with a 56.36 clocking in the 100-freestyle as CSB finished with five of the top-six placers in the race. After winning the 100-breaststroke on Friday, Bartels captured her second individual title with a 2:40.07 clocking for the victory in the 200-breaststroke. CSB claimed the top three spots in the event with sophomore Claire Canfield clocking 2:46.06 for second and Jayda Alholm, third, in 2:47.04, a personal-best for her by five seconds. 

Canfield also won her second individual event title by cruising to a nine-record win in the 200-butterfly with a clocking of 2:26.15. CSB's Anna Boomgaarden was third in 2:39.01 in the 200-butterfly.  Sitzman also had her first event win of the season by winning the 200 backstroke by nearly six seconds in 2:19.41. CSB placed three of the top four in the event including Stutelberg, third in 2:28.96 while sophomore Emma Neely was fourth in 2:39.16.  For the second straight day, sophomore Ella Kowalczyk won the 3-meter diving competition with a score of 188.80. She was also third in the one-meter board with a score of 170.05. Junior Sabrina Buffetta was second on both boards with a score of 186.50 on the three-meter board and on the one-meter board had a total of 174.10. 
 
CSB opens with dual win over Minnesota-Morris
Mary Morris, Claire Canfield, Megan Bartels and Liz Hansen accounted for two individual/relays wins to lead the College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team to a 148-74 dual win over Minnesota Morris in road nonconference competition on Friday (Oct. 18). Morris captured the 500-yard freestyle in 5:31.24 as CSB had four of the top six finishers in the event. First-year Alivia Kortuem  was fourth (6:07.51) and first-year Autumn Larson, fifth (6:20.05) with sophomore Emma Neely, sixth (6:29.20).  Morris also won the 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.05 with first-year Maddie Stutelberg, third in 1:09.77. Sophomore Claire Canfield also had a solid opening season performance with a win at the 400 IM in 5:00.20. CSB captured the top three spots with Megan Bartels, second in 5:19.41 followed by sophomore Josey Jackson in 5:27.07. Canfield, who was third in the 200 freestyle in 2:08.45, also led off for CSB's winning 400-yard medley relay, which clocked 4:16.90. Aside from Canfield, the relay included Bartels, Rachel Schlueter and Hansen. Hansen also had an individual win by capturing the 50-freestyle, clocking 26:31 to edge Schlueter in 26.35. In the race, CSB took four of the top five places.   Bartels also shined in her first meet of the year as she also had two wins (relay/individual) by winning the 100-breaststroke in 1:12.77. Alholm clocked 1:16.33 to place second. Korteum (1:07.81) and Larson (1:08.44) finished first and second in the 100 butterfly as CSB took four of the top six spots. In diving, sophomore Ella Kowalczyk won the 3-meter diving with 180.55 points, outscoring teammates. On the one-meter board, Buffetta was second at 171.40; followed by Netland in third at 165.40 and Kowalczyk, fourth, in 156.50.