Upcoming Event: Women's Swimming and Diving versus Augustana on October 10, 2025 at 1 p.m.
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1 p.m.
Women's Swimming and Diving
vs Augustana
South Dakota State University Athletics
Jacks prepare for Summit League Championships
2/20/2008 1:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
The South Dakota State University swimming and diving teams close out the season this weekend by competing in The Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships in Rochester, Mich.
The three-day meet runs from Thursday through Saturday at the Recreation and Athletics Center on the Oakland University campus. Preliminaries begin at 11 a.m. Eastern Time each day, with event finals beginning at 6:30 p.m. each night.
The 2008 championships mark the first year for SDSU as a full-fledged member of The Summit League. The Jackrabbits competed each of the last two seasons as an associate member of the league (previously the Mid-Continent Conference) along with Eastern Illinois. The other four teams competing include Centenary, IUPUI, Oakland and Western Illinois.
Oakland is the defending champion in both the men's and women's divisions. The Golden Grizzlies were picked to repeat as champions in the preseason coaches' polls. SDSU was picked to finish fifth in the women's division and in a tie for fifth place with IUPUI on the men's side.
WOMEN'S SEASON RECAP: Although they won only one dual meet during the 2007-08 campaign, the Jackrabbits have continued to develop the depth necessary to move up the standings within The Summit League.
The Jackrabbits also have rewritten the record book five times this season. Sophomore Alexandra Hoffman, a transfer from the University of Minnesota, has led SDSU in the backstroke, setting new marks in the 100-yard event (:59.61) and 200 (2:07.25) Feb. 8-9 at the Minnesota Challenge. Hoffman also has posted the squad's top times in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle.
In the distance freestyle events, Kayleigh Boucher set a Jackrabbit record in the 1,000 freestyle, posting a time of 10:59.56 in December, and has been within four seconds of the 1,650 freestyle record this season. Christina Gerometta has clocked the second-fastest time in school history in the 500 freestyle (5:21.25) this season.
Junior Mallory Onisk, a runner-up at the conference championships in the butterfly events and 200 individual medley as a freshman, has had another solid season for the Jackrabbits. She currently ranks second in the league in the 100 butterfly (:59.09), stands third in the 200 butterfly (2:08.67), is tied for fifth in the 200 individual medley (2:12.56) and ranks sixth in the 400 IM (4:45.18).
Sophomore Emily Tschetter is right behind Onisk in the 400 IM (4:47.53), while anchoring the squad in the breaststroke with ranks of second in the 200 (2:26.64) and seventh in the 100 (1:09.95).
The team's lone diver, Sasha Porter, has had a breakthrough season during her sophomore campaign. A native of Soldotna, Alaska, Porter scored 213.00 on the 3-meter board in December to establish a new school record, and also posted a season-best score of 213.68 in 1-meter competition.
SDSU also has set a new school record in the 200 freestyle relay, as the quartet of Hoffman, Onisk, Sara Olenich and Rachel Musser clocked a time of 1:41.07 in January.
MEN'S SEASON RECAP: Following a limited dual schedule in which they won two meets, the Jackrabbits enter The Summit League Championships with some momentum after establishing 10 season-best times at the Minnesota Challenge two weeks ago.
Junior Mark Garrigues has been the top performer for the Jackrabbits this season, ranking among the top 10 on the league's performance list in four different categories. He currently ranks fifth in the 400 individual medley (4:19.00), seventh in the 200 freestyle (1:44.70), eighth in the 200 IM (1:59.12) and 10th in the 100 freestyle (:47.73).
SDSU will bring a 1-2 punch in the breaststroke events with junior Cade Roberts and freshman Blake Gipson. Roberts currently ranks eighth in both the 100 (1:00.85) and 200 (1:00.95), while Gipson is sixth in the 200 (2:14.77) and ninth in the 100 (1:00.95).
In the distance freestyle events, junior Josh Mueller ranks ninth in the league in the 500 freestyle (4:53.83) and 10th in the 1,000 (10:12.68).
Leading the backstroke events are senior Chris Holzwarth and sophomore Matt Josephson. Holzwarth stands seventh in the 100 backstroke (:54.41), with Josephson eighth in the 200 (2:00.63).
2007 MEN'S MID-CON RECAP: The Jackrabbit men set six school records while finishing fifth out of seven teams at the 2007 Mid-Continent Conference Championships in Indianapolis.
Individually, senior Chad Thomsen led the Jackrabbits with runner-up finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke (:55.76) and 200 breaststroke (2:05.67). Cade Roberts added a third-place time of 2:07.43 in the 200 breaststroke, and also placed eighth in the 200 individual medley (1:58.39).
Mark Garrigues added a pair of top-five finishes. He placed third in the 400 individual medley (4:16.96) and fifth in the 200 IM (1:56.23).
Chris Holzwarth chipped in with a sixth-place effort in the 400 individual medley (4:16.96) and ninth in the 500 freestyle with a school-record time of 4:41.12.
In the relays, SDSU set school records in both the 200 and 400 medley relays. The 400 medley relay team of Matt Josephson, Thomsen, Garrigues and Holzwarth finished a surprising second with a time of 3:30.31, breaking the previous school record by more than seven seconds. The 200 medley relay of Holzwarth, Garrigues, Thomsen and Hadleigh Tyler finished third with a school-record time of 1:36.23.
Oakland (Mich.) won its ninth consecutive conference title with 982 points. Centenary (La.) finished second with 603.5 points. SDSU settled into fifth place with 331 points, followed by host IUPUI with 307 and Valparaiso (Ind.) at 187.
2007 WOMEN'S MID-CON RECAP: After placing sixth in its inaugural season in the conference, SDSU climbed two spots to finish fourth out of seven teams at the 2007 Mid-Continent Conference Championships.
Freshman Emily Tschetter established three school records during a strong performance at the conference meet. The Brookings native finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:23.56), was fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.46) and placed seventh in the 400 individual medley (4:39.84).
Fellow freshmen Rachel Musser and Kayleigh Boucher also set school records during the conference championships. Musser clocked a time of 1:57.30 to place ninth in the 200 freestyle, with Boucher recording a time of 5:15.52 to place 10th in the 500 freestyle.
Senior Mariah Pavlicek closed out her career by setting a new standard in the 200 backstroke, 2:11.77, en route to a sixth-place finish.
In addition, the 400 medley relay team of Pavlicek, Tschetter, Onisk and Musser posted a second-place finish at the conference meet with a school-record time of 4:00.77.
The Jackrabbits also gained points in the diving events as Sasha Porter placed third in the 3-meter diving competition.
COACH BRAD ERICKSON: SDSU head coach Brad Erickson is in his 32nd season as the head coach of the Jackrabbit men's and women's swimming teams.
Since being named head swimming coach in 1976, Erickson has coached the Jackrabbit men to a North Central Conference championship in 1979 and the SDSU women to an NCC title in 1981. In the 2000-01 season he was named the NCC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year after leading SDSU to a fourth-place finish at the conference meet.
In the fall of 2002, Erickson was honored with SDSU's Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence, which honors an SDSU alumnus in the field of education and coaching.
A 1974 graduate of South Dakota State, Erickson became the first SDSU swimmer to
compete in the NCAA Division II Championships, as a junior. The Arlington, S.D., native won three North Central Conference titles, winning the 200-yard breaststroke twice and the 100-yard breaststroke once.
Erickson has continued to represent SDSU at NCAA swimming championships during his coaching career, serving as a meet official and judge at the Division I women's and men's championships since 1982. He also has served as the Division II Championships coordinator since 1996 and is a past member of the NCAA Swimming Committee.
He is assisted by fourth-year assistant coach Phil Hurley and first-year diving coach Amie Buoy.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Summit League Championships will conclude the season for SDSU. The Jackrabbits are not eligible to compete in the NCAA Championships until their transition to full Division I status is completed at the end of the 2007-08 school year.
To view the entire release, download the document below.
Players Mentioned
BF
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
IM
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
FS
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
BRS
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
FBK
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
FS-S
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
BKS
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
FS-D
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
ME
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
FS
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
BUI
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
DV
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
BRS
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
BRI
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
FS-S
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