MIAC Championship Meet Preview

MIAC Championship Meet preview courtesy of Matt Higgins - MIAC Office

MINNEAPOLIS -- The 2015 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Women's Swimming and Diving Championships begin Thursday and there is no shortage of intrigue rippling through this year's event. The Gustavus women will attempt to continue a dynasty-in-the-making, as the Gusties aim for a sixth-straight title, and there are countless decorated stars back looking to make history in 2015.

Head Coach Jon Carlson and his Gustavus team ran its current MIAC championship streak to five in a row in 2014, and the Gusties have won seven of the last eight titles and nine conference championships since 2002. His team's current championship is the second-longest in MIAC history, trailing only St. Olaf's 11-straight titles from 1987-1997.

A year ago may have been the Gusties' most impressive title in their current streak. They amassed 886.5 points to cruise to the MIAC championship in 2014, and won by a margin of 189.5 points. St. Thomas was comfortably in second place with 697 points with St. Olaf rounding out the top three with 507.5 points. Saint Benedict scored 368 points to edge Carleton (350) by just 18 points for fourth place.

St. Catherine scored 275 and just missed a spot in the top five. Macalester was seventh with 226 points, and Concordia (129) edged Augsburg (115) for eighth place. Hamline (78) and Saint Mary's (70) rounded out the standings a year ago.

The 2015 MIAC meet opens with the main question surrounding Gustavus' string of success, and whether or not St. Thomas or another of the challengers are ready to knock the Gusties off their perch. However, there may be even more intrigue surrounding some of the individual milestones and performances on the line, as an amazing number of repeat champions and MIAC record-holders all return.

There are three senior swimmers who will all attempt to make history this week as they aim for four-straight MIAC championships in their respective events. Gustavus' Jennifer Strom is the three-time defending champion in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke, and she's seeded first in both heading into her final MIAC appearance. St. Thomas teammates Mariann Kukielka and Elise Guenther are both seeking the same feat - Kukielka in the 100-yard butterfly, and Guenther in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Guenther is seeded first in her event (18:01.92), while Kukielka enters seeded No. 2.

There is also an opportunity for history to repeat itself on the diving board, as St. Catherine sophomore Jenna Nagy is back after winning MIAC Diver-of-the-Year honors as a rookie in 2014. Nagy won the MIAC's 1-meter diving title and also earned All-Conference honors on the 3-meter board, and she's poised for more success after setting school records this season and receiving three-straight MIAC Athlete-of-the-Week awards during the regular season.

Gustavus' hopes start with Strom, who also won three-straight MIAC Athlete-of-the-Week awards this season. Not only is she the three-time defending champ in the two breaststroke events, but she also won the 500-yard freestyle title in 2014 and is seeded first in those three events (100-breast 1:03.56, 200-breast 2:21.07, 500-free 5:07.10) and the 400-yard individual medley (4:36.33). Teammate Dani Klunk won the 200-IM and 200-fly last season and returns seeded first in the 200-fly and second in the 200-IM.

The Gusties also welcome back Katie Olson, who is the defending champion and seeded first in the 100-free (51.78), and 400-IM champion Haley Booher. Gustavus also added a new face in standout first-year swimmer Kathleen Reilly, who is the top seed in the 200-IM (2:08.72), 50-free (23.81) and 100-fly (56.60). Gustavus also has high hopes for diver Heather Funai, who will compete for titles on both boards, and the Gusties enter as the top seed in all five relay events.

The Tommies certainly appear to be Gustavus' No. 1 challenger yet again, with Kukielka and Guenther leading the way in their quest to complete their careers atop the podium. St. Thomas also receives a boost from Emma Paulson, who is seeded first in the 100-back (58.08), and Emily Punyko is also back after earning All-American honors in the 100-back a season ago.

St. Olaf has a defending champ back in the pool of its own, as Maddie Lee returns as the MIAC champ in the 200-yard freestyle. She holds the league's top time in that event again this season (1:53.46) and has three other top-four seeds this season. Junior Abby Schnaith is also back to lead the Oles in the freestyle events. Claire Walters will be in the running in the butterfly events, and the Oles are excited about diver Courtney Miller.

Saint Benedict is hoping to ascend into the top three this season behind a pair of talented seniors - All-MIAC diver Megan Lawson and butterfly specialist Laura Peterson - and two rookies that have won a combined 16 freestyle races this season in Kristina Rudin and Kenzie Young. Carleton's high hopes start with the return of sophomore Maria Wetzel, who is seeded first in the 200-back (2:03.26) and second in the 100-back and 500-free. Seniors Allison Coogan and Alex Guy are also back in the pool to help the Knights aim for another top-five finish in 2015.

St. Catherine's hopes at another top-six finish start with Nagy and her three school-record scores this season, but the Wildcats also have high hopes in the pool with junior Haley French Krahn and Sydney Wenner also setting school records this season. Macalester graduated NCAA 1-meter driving champion Renee Jordan, but the Scots have high hopes thanks to a talented quartet of sophomores in the swimming events. Samantha Aamot, Hannah Bonestroo, Kaila Chapman and Smaranda Georgescu are all poised for a big week after making their MIAC debut a season ago.

Concordia will field a young but promising team under first-year Head Coach Talia Butery. Sophomores Libby Hardwick and Sarah Nelson and first-year swimmer Ann Marie O'Connell are expected to lead the Cobbers at the MIAC meet. Augsburg fields one of its best teams in 2015 behind star junior swimmer Kelsey Knollmueller, who set four school records at least year's MIAC meet, and senior diver Hayley Olson, who also holds Auggie school records on both boards.

Hamline has talent back in the pool and on the diving board as well, as senior Hannah Hawker holds the Piper record in the 100-back and ranks third all-time in the 200-back, and sophomore diver Kayla Hennum is already on the school's top-10 list on both diving boards. Saint Mary's will be led by versatile sophomore Grace VanBeest, who holds the Cardinals' top time in five events, and rookie Reese Galewski who set a SMU record in the 100-fly this season.

The 2015 MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships will be held Thursday, Feb. 19, through Saturday, Feb. 21, with two sessions each day. The morning sessions will begin at 10:30 a.m. (doors at 9 p.m.) and will feature preliminary races, with the evening championship sessions starting at 6:30 p.m. (doors at 5:30 p.m.). Saturday's championship doors will open at 3 p.m. for preliminary heats of the 1,650-yard freestyle and diving.

Tickets are available at either a single-session rate, or all-session passes will also be available for fans who plan to attend the entire event. Single-session passes cost $8 for adults and $4 for students, and all-session passes are $40 for adults and $20 for students. Heat sheets are included in the cost of admission. Children 5 and under are admitted free, and MIAC passes will be honored for all six session. No other passes or discounts will be accepted.

As in years past, all six sessions will be broadcast live online thanks to Webcast America. Fans will also be able to watched archived video of each session following the event and purchase DVDs of the broadcasts via Webcast America's site. MIAC Media's Mike Gallagher will handle play-by-play duties for four of the six sessions, with St. Catherine swimming alumnae Lauren Kranig taking over for the other two sessions. There will also be "live" results available online with results updated shortly after the conclusion of each event for fans following the action from afar.

The MIAC has an exclusive Web site for the 2015 MIAC Swimming & Diving Championships. The site features the complete event schedule, psych sheet, ticket information and venue information. The site will be constantly updated throughout the event with heat sheets, links to follow the action live, results, recaps, photos and more.