ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's and women's swimming and diving teams head to Macalester for a busy weekend — squaring off against the Scots in a dual meet on Friday, before taking part in the Macalester Roger Ahlman Invitational on Saturday.


The Weekend Matchups:
Friday, Nov. 16, 2012 | St. Paul, Minn.
SMU Cardinals at Macalester Scots, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012 | St. Paul, Minn.
SMU Cardinals at Macalester Roger Ahlman Invitational, 9 a.m.

The Macalester Invitational Field:
Augsburg, Concordia, Hamline, Macalester, St. Catherine, Saint Mary's, St. Olaf (diving only), St. Thomas

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stream (Roger Ahlman) | Video Preview | Order of Events: Dual | Ahlman

The Cardinals' Last Action:
The Cardinal men got three first-place finishes from both P.J. Heller (St. Cloud, Minn.) and Mark Ross (Dubuque, Iowa) in a dual-meet loss to Hamline Saturday, while the SMU women, behind the efforts of Abby Kratzke (Dent, Minn.) placed second in the four-team SMU Invitational Saturday.

The Cardinals vs. Macalester — Their Last Meeting:
November 18, 2011: Mark Ross (Dubuque, Iowa) picked up a pair of firsts, while Neil Heacox (San Diego, Calif.), Liz Flynn (Mahtomedi, Minn.) and Linda Tierney (Cloquet, Minn.) each added a first and a second for the Cardinals. Unfortunately for SMU, their efforts were not enough to give the Cardinals the dual-meet wins, as Macalester handed the SMU men a 94-68 loss, while the SMU women fell to the Scots 140-80 in St. Paul, Minn.

The Cardinals at the Macalester Invitational — A Year Ago:
November 19, 2011: Less than 24 hours after recording a pair of first-place finishes in the Cardinals' dual-meet loss at Macalester, Mark Ross (Dubuque, Iowa) was back at it, winning one event and finishing second in two more to lead the SMU men to a fourth-place finish at the Roger Ahlman Invitational. Liz Flynn (Mahtomedi, Minn.) led the way for the SMU women, breaking the school record with a third-place effort of 233.60 in the three-meter diving. Anna Smaron (Orono, Minn.) posted a third-place finish and Linda Tierney (Cloquet, Minn.) added a fourth-place showing in helping the way for the SMU women, helping the Cardinals to a sixth-place team finish.

The Cardinals Up Next:
The Cardinals are now off until Dec. 7-8, when they return to St. Paul, Minn., to take part in the two-day St. Thomas Invitational.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012 Rosters (M | W) | 2012 Top Times | 2012 Schedule
The SMU men's swimming and diving teams recorded eight first-place finishes in its dual meet against Hamline last Saturday. P.J. Heller (St. Cloud, Minn.) dominated the freestyle events, winning the 50 (24.59), 100 (53.47) and 200 (1:58.60), while Mark Ross (Dubuque, Iowa) took home firsts in the 100 and 200 backstroke (56.85 | 2:04.75) and the 200 IM (2:10.83). Brian Baker (Wykoff, Minn.), meanwhile, chipped in a pair of first-place finishes, sweeping the events with scores of 149.0 on the one-meter and 162.20 on the three-meter. … In his four diving competitions this season, Baker has not recorded two firsts and two seconds, having finished second in both the one-meter and three-meter events at the Hamline Invitational on Nov. 3. … Along with their three first-place finishes, Ross and Heller also teamed with Garen Merritt (Sioux City, Iowa) and Jimmy Lynch (Chicago, Ill.) for a second-place showing in the 200 medley relay against Hamline, touching the wall in 1:52.00. … Abby Kratzke (Dent, Minn.) picked up a first-place effort in the 100 butterfly at the four-team SMU Invitational last Saturday, stopping the clock in 1:07.88. She was also a member of the third-place finishing 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays teams. Nikki Farmer (Medford, Wis.) recorded fourth-place times of 2:11.98 and 2:31.44 in the 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke, respectively, while Sivan Fogel (Haifa, Israel) was fourth in the 200 butterfly (2:47.40) and Kratzke was fourth in the 50 freestyle (28.75).