By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
RIPON, Wis. — After spending more than a week training in tropical conditions , the icy temperatures that slapped the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota swimming and diving teams in the face when they stepped off the bus Saturday were a quick reminder that they weren't in Hawaii anymore.
 
But it didn't take long for the Cardinals to heat things up.
 
The Cardinals collected five first-place finishes — including a pair from both Brooke Shefchik and Kierra Walske — while adding 10 other top-three showings at the Ripon double-dual.
 
Shefchik collected her firsts in the 500 freestyle (5:44.99) and 1,000 freestule (11:42.33), while Walske swept the diving events, totaling 167.10 points in the one-meter and 188.65 in the three-meter.
 
Ashlyn Seifert chipped in a second in the 200 freestyle (2:09.74) and Kizzy Bell placed second behind Walske in the one-meter diving (146.80), while Erica Camarato delivered a second in the 200 breaststroke (2:54.75) and a third in the 200 IM (2:40.32). Dakota Becera and Amanda Hansen chipped in third-place efforts, Becera's in the one-meter diving (131.80) and Hansen's in the 200 backstroke (2:41.83).
 
On the men's side, Alex Morrow recorded the Cardinals' lone first-place finish, stopping the clock in 2:11.80 to win the 200 butterfly, while also added a second in the 1,000 freestyle (11:20.71). Jack Wells notched a second in the one-meter diving (162.25) and Cole Stepanovich placed third in the 200 IM (2:16.08).
  
The Cardinals return home next Saturday, squaring off against Augsburg and Hamline in a pair of duals at the Jul Gernes Pool.