Meet Results | GameDay Preview

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Saint Mary's University's Mark Ross (Dubuque, Iowa) — the Cardinals' top performer each of his first three seasons — headed into Saturday's season-opening Hamline Invitational determined to make his final collegiate swimming season his best.

Teammate Brian Baker (Wykoff, Minn.) — who turned more than a few heads with his sixth-place efforts in the one- and three-meter diving competitions in his first-ever MIAC Championships a year ago — was equally determined to pick up right where he left off.

If there efforts Saturday are any indication, Ross and Baker are well on their way.

Baker posted back-to-back second-place showings in the diving competition, while Ross chipped in a second-place effort of his own, to lead the Cardinal men to a fourth-place team finish.

The Cardinal women, behind the efforts of Abby Kratzke (Dent, Minn.) and Anna Smaron (Maple Plain, Minn.), meanwhile, placed fifth in their season-opener.

“Mark and Brian certainly shined for us today,” said SMU coach Eric Lindquist. “They both had outstanding meets — especially considering it was their first real competition of the season.

“We had a lot of good swims, and if nothing else, this meet showed us where we are at and what we need to be focusing on.”

Baker totaled 165.90 points in placing second in the one-meter, while recording a score of 146.05 for second in the three-meter. Ross, meanwhile, touched the wall in 2:09.15 to finish second to Saint John's Nolan Bauer's winning time of 2:08.81 in the 200 IM. The SMU senior also added a third-place effort in the 100 backstroke, stopping the clock in 57.26.

Robbie Doyle (Hudson, Wis.) chipped in an eighth-place time of 6:45.83 in the 500 freestyle and P.J. Heller (St. Cloud, Minn.) tallied a ninth-place effort in the 100 freestyle (54.42).

On the women's side, Kratzke and Smaron led the Cardinals' charge. Kratzke finished eighth in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:08.24 and Smaron added a ninth-place time of 1:19.26 in the 100 breaststroke. Nikki Farmer (Medford, Wis.) added an 11th in the 100 backstroke, posting a time of 1:07.65.

The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday, hosting the SMU Invitational at the Jul Gernes Pool beginning at 10 a.m.