MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The SMU swimming and diving teams close out their season at the MIAC Championships. Competition begins Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the U of M Aquatic Center and conclude Saturday.



The MIAC Championships Field:
Augsburg, Carleton, Concordia, Gustavus, Hamline, Macalester, Saint Benedict, St. Catherine, Saint John's, Saint Mary's, St. Olaf, St. Thomas

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Results | Streaming Video | Video Preview | Championships Homepage

MIAC Championships Previews:
Men | Women

MIAC Championships — A Year Ago:
The Gustavus women wrapped up their fourth title in five years, finishing with 792 team points to beat St. Olaf (668), Carleton (484) and St. Thomas (454.5). … St. Olaf claimed its 28th MIAC men's championship by picking up eight first-place finishe. The Oles finished with 759.5 team points to topple St. Thomas (640), Gustavus (612) and St. John's (564). … St. Olaf's Chris Bateman collected his third MIAC title by winning the 200-yard backstroke with an NCAA 'A' cut time of 1:48.77. Bateman capped his sensational weekend by earning MIAC Men's Swimmer of the Year honors. Men's Diver of the Year honors went to Carleton's Eric Brenner, who added a 3-meter title with an NCAA consideration score of 478.75, to the 1-meter title he won earlier in the week. …Top women's individual honors went to Carleton's Kale Zicafoose (Swimmer of the Year) and St. Catherine's Sarah Moody (Diver of the Year). Zicafoose won the 200-yard backstroke — her second title of the weekend along with a meet record — and met the 'A' cut with her time of 2:02.28. Moody, like Brenner, swept the diving events. She recorded an NCAA consideration score of 415.15 to win her second-straight 1-meter championship after winning on the 3-meter board earlier in the meet | 2011 Championships Homepage

Cardinals at the MIAC Championships — A Year Ago:
The SMU men placed seventh in 2011, while the Cardinal women were ninth. … Mark Ross (Dubuque, Iowa) swam the sixth-fastest 200 backstroke time to earn a spot in the finals, where he finished eighth in 1:56.81. Ross had opened the championships by breaking the school record in the 200 IM with a time of 1:59.46, then won the consolation final in the 400 IM, touching the wall in 4:17.37. … Brandon Matis (Blaine, Minn.) opened the 100 breaststroke competition with a time of 1:02.94 in the preliminaries, then recorded a time of 1;03.25 in the consolation final to place 13th overall. The Cardinal freshman had opened his first MIAC Championships appearance by shaving seven seconds off his top time this season in the 200 IM (2:08.38). … Liz Flynn (Mahtomedi, Minn.) reached the one-meter diving final for the second straight season, placing eighth with a score of 319.65. … Anna Smaron (Maple Plain, Minn.) got her feet wet in MIAC Championships competition with a 17th-place effort in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.6), and did herself one better in the 200 breaststroke, where she posted a time of 2:35.80 in the consolation finals.

Saint Mary's Cardinals MIAC Qualifiers:
Nikki Farmer: 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke
Sivan Fogel: 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke
Abby Kratzke: 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle
Anna Smaron: 200 IM, 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke
Linda Tierney: 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 breaststroke
Neil Heacox: 200 IM, 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke
Mark Ross: 200 IM, 400 IM, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke
Liz Flynn: 1-meter (11 dives), 3-meter (11 dives)
Sarah Jansen: 1-meter (11 dives), 3-meter (11 dives)
Brian Baker: 1-meter (11 dives), 3-meter (11dives)
Relay Qualifiers: Abby Lough, Kaitlyn McClay, Sam Schepers, Kristin Wilkes

A Word From Coach Lindquist:
"Preparations are done … Our preparations are done from October through the beginning of February. … I always start the season by saying, 'All this work for three days in February,' which seems so far away, and now we're there."