STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - Though powered by five wins, the UW-Eau Claire women's swimming & diving team fell short in the team competition in today's triangular against St. Cloud State University (Minn.) and UW-Stevens Point.
The Blugolds lost 191-108 to St. Cloud and was defeated 164-135 against Stevens Point.
Nicole Dorvinen (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis./Bay Port) and defending WIAC swimmer of the week Julia Olson (Jr.-Faribault, Minn.) combined to win all five of Eau Claire's victories. Dorvinen took first in both the 500 and 1,000-yard freestyle events, with respective times of 5:18.33 and 10:53.83. She also grabbed the victory in the 200-yard butterfly competition with a winning time of 2:11.75.
Olson nabbed firsts in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events, with times of 24:65 and 54:06.
The Blugolds narrowly missed wins in two more events, recording seconds by less than one-second margins. Megan Finley (Sr.-Waunakee, Wis.) was runner-up in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:02.31. Casey Preissel's (Sr.-Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) time of 2:00.90 in the 200-yard freestyle competition was just .37 off the leader's pace. Preissel also grabbed a third in the 200-yard backstroke.
Eau Claire also posted a solid finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with the team of Olson, Preissel, Finley and Kirsten Lickel (Jr.-Madison, Wis./East) swimming a 3:41.24 good enough for third place.
The Blugolds return to the pool Saturday, Nov. 13 for a home meet against UW-Oshkosh. Competition is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the McPhee Physical Education Center.
