Complete Meet Results

WINONA, Minn. — Eric Lindquist found himself with a rather pleasant dilemma Saturday afternoon.

It wasn't how to start recapping his Saint Mary's University swimming and diving teams' performances against UW-River Falls — it was where.

The SMU men picked up nine first-place finishes — including three from David Ballard (Ramsey, Minn.) and two each from Curtis Kempton (Owatonna, Minn.) and Brian Joyce (Chicago, Ill.) — as the Cardinals picked up their first dual-meet win of the season, racing past the Falcons 147-126 at the Jul Gernes Pool Saturday.

The Cardinal women also had a solid afternoon, recording six first-place performances, but it was not enough, as UW-River Falls escaped with a 149-111 victory.

"This was a great meet for us," understated Lindquist. "This is the kind of meet that I don't even know where to begin — it was such a team effort, and every swam so well.

"We needed a meet like this," Lindquist added. "We've been training very hard, we're closing in on the conference championships, and a performance like this is a great confidence-booster."

Ballard was unstoppable Saturday, as the SMU freshman won the 500 (5:31.26) and the 1,000 freestyle (11:16.53), along with the 200 butterfly (2:20.18). Joyce, meanwhile, picked up wins in the 200 breaststroke (2:32.10) and the 200 freestyle (1:59.73), while Kempton swept the diving events, winning both the one-meter (187.70) and the three-meter (179.80) competitions. Jon Fox (Winona, Minn.) chipped in a first in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.37), and the 200 freestyle (1:37.47) and 200 medley (1:48.90) relays teams rounded out the Cardinals' first-place onslaught.

On the women's side, Nora Erfort (River Forest, Ill.) was a double winning the butterfly, touching the wall first in both the 100 (1:09.99) and the 200 (2:38.53), while Courtney Keyler (Shorewood, Minn.) posted a double-double of her own, winning both the 100 (1:08.27) and 200 (2:28.54) backstroke events. Danielle Braun (Cold Spring, Minn.) tallied a first in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.99) and the Cardinals' 200 freestyle relay added a first-place time of 1:52.32.

"I am so proud of the way these two teams performed — they certainly exceeded my expectations," said Lindquist, whose teams close out the regular season with a home dual against MIAC power St. Thomas next Friday, before heading to the MIAC Championships Feb. 15-17 in Minneapolis, Minn. "There were so many outstanding swims, and not just those that finished first. We had a ton of great performances, which was awesome to see.

"We've got one more home meet and then the conference championships — and we seem to be hitting our stride at just the right time."