Macalester's women won the seven-team Macalester Swimming and Diving Invitational Saturday, Nov. 16 at Leonard Natatorium, placing first in four events to go along with seven second-place performances and four third-place efforts. The women's strong performances gave them a big win over conference rivals St. Thomas, Hamline and St. Benedict; they are now 4–0 on the season. The men's team also finished strong, placing fourth out of seven teams.

The meet began with convincing performances from the Scots' divers. Liz Fitzgerald '04 had first place finishes on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards, with scores of 224.20 and 205.60 respectively. Both scores were meet records.

"I am definitely diving better now than I was at this point last season, maybe even better than I was at the end of last season," Fitzgerald said of her efforts so far this season.

The swimmers got started early in the afternoon as the Scots continued to place high in many events. Heather Lendway '06 won the 100-meter backstroke in 1:13.17 and added second place finishes in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:39.61 and the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:03.06. Her 100 freestyle mark breaks a five-year-old school record. Macalester's other event winner was Natalie Ross '05, who claimed the top finish in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 5:34.23. Ross also took third in the 200 free, finishing in 2:23.28.

Second-place swimming performances came from Johanna Moore '03 in the 100 butterfly, who finished her race in 1:13.77 and from Lisa Lendway '03 in three events: the 400 individual medley in 5:36.98, the 800 free in 10:13.99 and the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:59.12. Julie Rokosky '03 placed third in the 400 free with a time of 5:05.21 and 800 free with a time of 10:31.73, and Emma Hansen '04 was third in the 200-meter backstroke finishing in 2:41.92. The Scots' 200-meter medley relay team placed second with a 2:13.88 clocking.

Joe Hanes '03 lead the men's team to their fourth place finish, winning the 400-meter individual medley in 4:58.26 and the 800-meter freestyle in 9:25.38. His 400 IM time is a school, pool and meet record and his 800 free mark is a meet record. Hanes was also second in the 200 breaststroke with a clocking of 2:45.37. Fellow swimmer Chucky Baldner '05 placed second in the 400 free at 4:41.64 and third in the 800 free at 9:46.76. The Scots also placed third in the 400 freestyle relay with a 3:56.01 clocking.

"The guys on our team are good. Last year everyone scored at conference. We just don't have enough people to be competitive on a team level, but we always have swimmers competing," Hanes remarked. "Part of the problem with numbers is that the five month season is a huge commitment," Hanes continued. The swimmers have two-a-day practices four days a week.

Both Fitzgerald and Hanes remarked about the importance of the divers to both the men and women's teams. "It's huge to have the divers," Hanes said. "The girls owe a lot to kathRyn (Tomko '03) and Liz." Fitzgerald added that the divers made the difference when the Scots beat UW-Riverfalls earlier this season.

Fitzgerald closed by saying, "We've got a lot of season left," to which Tomko added, "We're in a better place right now than we thought we would be, so that makes us really excited for the rest of the season."

The Scots host St. Thomas in a MIAC co-ed dual meet Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. in Leonard Natatorium.