ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women’s swim and dive team opened its 2025-26 season with a strong performance, finishing second at the College of Saint Benedict Fall Invite on Saturday in St. Joseph, Minn.
Host St. Benedict won the meet with 811 points, while the Cougars took second place with 620 points in a five-team field.
Brynna York got the Cougars started with a third-place finish in the three-meter dive. McKenna Falak followed with a runner-up performance in the 1000-yard freestyle, clocking in at 11:48.14. Shannon Dougherty also reached the podium with a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Falak placed third, followed closely by Rhio Fay in fourth. Kaitlyn Mello and Rylie Wendt both finished in the top five in the 100-yard breaststroke. Sam Haaf added a second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, while Dougherty and Fay placed second and third, respectively, in the 50-yard freestyle.
York earned the Cougars’ first event win of the day, claiming first place in the one-meter dive with a score of 185.35. Dougherty added another third-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle, and Wendt secured her first top-three finish by placing third in the 200-yard backstroke. Falak narrowly missed second place in the 500-yard freestyle by less than a second. Haaf followed with a third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly.
The Cougars wrapped up the meet with another strong showing as the team of Dougherty, Falak, Wendt, and Faith Hamm placed second in the 200-yard freestyle relay—UMM’s final top-three result of the meet.
Minnesota Morris returns to action on Thursday, Oct. 24, when they travel to Nebraska Wesleyan University for a 6 p.m. meet.
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