With only three weeks left until the MWC championships, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams traveled to Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. this past weekend for a tune up meet against both Carleton and St. Cloud State University.

Despite carrying many swimmers, both teams finished third in the meet. “Carleton is a very good team,” said swimmier Casey Strickler ’12. “Though we are deeper, they have a better top lineup.”

In the pool, the 800-yard relay team of Strickler, Valerie Stimac ’09, Morgan Horton ’11 (the S&B’s opinion editor), and Meghan McDoniel ’10 placed third. Stimac also finished second in the 100-yard freestyle. On the platform, diver Kelly Bruce ’12 placed first in one-meter diving, and Hannah LaFollette ’11 placed first in three-meter diving. “I found that my accomplishments were of surprise,” LaFollette said. “I think I’m finally peaking when I need to be and it feels good.”

On the men’s side, Paul Gagne ’11 finished second in the 1650-yard freestyle and Nick Smith ’10 finished second in three-meter diving. Cy Mistry ’11 captured victory in the 200-yard breastroke. “I didn’t specifically set the goal of winning at Carleton, but as soon as I saw the heat sheets and meet entries, I definitely pushed myself to win,” Mistry said. “To some extent, you just have to take it one meet at a time and put in your best.”

There is one swim meet left before the men and women’s swimming and diving teams participate in the MWC Championships. It is a double swim meet in which the team will swim against Coe College and Luther College. “Luther is going to be a very exciting meet, and everyone is getting pumped,” Strickler said.

With the season coming to an end, the team members are energized about what promise the end of the season brings.

“Taper, the last two weeks of the season, is a fun time for swimmers generally, as we get to finally rest and swim fast,” Strickler said. “We are confident that we can repeat as Conference Champions this year, which increases the excitement on the team.”