SWIM TEAMS FACE FULL WEEKEND IN THE POOL

Friday, October 14

Sioux Falls, S.D.

5 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Augustana

10/13/2022 12:55:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S DUALS: South Dakota State at Augustana

When	Friday, Oct. 14 \| 5 p.m.
Where	Midco Aquatic Center \| Sioux Falls, South Dakota
TV	Live Video
Results	Meet Mobile
Meet Notes	See Below \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

MEN'S DUAL/WOMEN'S TRIANGULAR: SDSU vs. Northern State (W)/Iowa Central (M/W)

When	Saturday, Oct. 15 \| 6 p.m.
Where	Stanley J. Marshall Center Pool \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	None
Results	Live Results \| Meet Mobile
Meet Notes	See Below \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

The South Dakota State swimming and diving teams will face a full weekend in the pool with competitions on back to back days.

The Jackrabbits are slated to travel to Sioux Falls Friday for 5 p.m. duals against Augustana at the Midco Aquatic Center. The meet will mark the season debut for the SDSU men, while the women's squad enters their dual with an 0-1 record.

Saturday, SDSU is set to host a triangular on the women's side featuring Northern State and Iowa Central, with the men's competition a dual between the Jackrabbits and Iowa Central. That meet is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start at the Stanley J. Marshall Center Pool.

WOMEN'S RECAP: Elisabeth Timmer won a pair of events and two other South Dakota State swimmers claimed event titles in a 151-111, season-opening defeat to Nebraska in women's swimming action Friday afternoon at the Stanley J. Marshall Center Pool.

A senior from Savaneta, Aruba, Timmer clocked a winning time of 52.29 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle, followed by a time of 59.60 seconds to edge Nebraska's Gabriela Donahue by .04 seconds in the 100 individual medley. Timmer also posted a runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle in her first event of the afternoon with a time of 1 minute, 54.86 seconds, and anchored the Jackrabbits' runner-up 200 freestyle relay to close out the meet.

Also victorious for the Jackrabbits were Sianne Downes in the 50 backstroke (27.57 seconds) and Katie Pattee in the 50 freestyle (25.11 seconds). Downes led a 1-2 Jackrabbit finish in her event as teammate Kelsey Kocon was right behind in 27.83 seconds.

Kocon and Downes placed second and third, respectively, in the 100 backstroke with times of 57.88 and 58.04 seconds.

Newcomer Sara Juez paced SDSU in the butterfly events with a pair of runner-up finishes. The freshman from Zaragoza, Spain, clocked times of 26.69 seconds in the 50-yard race and 59.23 seconds in the 100.

Emma Bachelder led the Jackrabbits in the breaststroke races with two second-place efforts. She posted times of 30.92 seconds in the 50-yard event 1:07.74 in the 100.

MEN'S PREVIEW: With nine returning all-Summit League performers and a crop of talented newcomers, the Jackrabbit men's swimming and diving team will feature perhaps its deepest roster in program history.

"The guys are on a mission," head coach Doug Humphrey said, noting that the team's fifth-place ranking in the Summit League preseason poll is serving as extra motivation. "Top to bottom, we are loaded and we don't really have a weak spot. There are some really talented and fast guys on our team who aren't our number 1. So rather than one or two fighting for a spot, we have four or five people fighting for that same spot."

Among the returning swimmers, Humphrey points to senior Alex Kraft and sophomores Sam Johnson and Austin Smith among those ready to lead the Jackrabbits this season.

"All of them finished very well last year and everything we've seen so far makes us think they're ready to take that next step forward."

Kraft has been a mainstay in the lineup in the freestyle events throughout his career, while Johnson came on strong at season's end to record a runner-up finish in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2022 Summit League Championships. Smith is perhaps the team's most versatile performer and is coming off a strong freshman season in which he set school records in the 100 butterfly and 100 individual medley.

Sophomore Eric Anderson was another record-setter for the Jackrabbits as a freshman last season, establishing new marks in the 100 freestyle and as a member of the 200 freestyle relay team. He finished just out of the medals at the league championships with fourth-place finishes in both the 50 and 100 freestyle finals.

Also expected to contribute in the sprint freestyle events are Rafael Negri and Charles Sieglaff, along with newcomer Jon Galles. Negri and Sieglaff were both members of the all-league 200 freestyle relay team, along with Anderson and Justin Wallar.

Negri also is one of the team's top backstrokers, along with Marcus Benson and Caleb Harthoorn, while Sieglaff joined Smith as a Summit League finalist in the 100 butterfly last winter. Harthoorn, meanwhile, has turned in a fifth-place finish in the 200 backstroke at the league championships each of the past two seasons.

The backstroke group is expected to be further bolstered in January, when transfer Denilson Cyprianos, an NCAA Division II national qualifier in the 200 backstroke at Carson-Newman, becomes eligible to compete.

The distance freestyle crew is led by senior Damon Venner and sophomore Collin Schock. Humphrey also expects incoming freshman and Omaha native Jack Ellison to make an immediate impact in the races of 500 yards on up. Venner also notched a third-place finish in the 200 butterfly at last year's league championships, an event in which the Jackrabbits also return 2021 Summit League champion Max White.

In the breaststroke, Humphrey said freshmen Conner Harr and Matthew Heaphy will vie for top spots in the lineup to complement a group of returners that include Gavin Wheeler and Matt Sorenson. Wheeler will look to regain the form that led him to record a third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke as a sophomore, as well as a pair of all-league performances in the 100 individual medley.

Another group with the ability to rack up points for the Jackrabbits is their trio of divers consisting of Zach Boyd, Spencer Fritze and Erik Thompson. All three were honored as a Summit League Diver of Week last season, and Boyd was selected as the Summit League Men's Diver of the Year during the 2020-21 campaign.

"The divers we have are all seniors and have a lot of experience and have a lot to show this season," Humphrey said. "With this being their last shot, they're going to step up to that challenge."

JACKRABBITS PICKED FIFTH: Both the South Dakota State men's and women's swimming and diving teams have been picked to finish fifth in The Summit League standings, according to preseason polls conducted among the league's head coaches that were released in mid-September.

The Jackrabbit men posted a third-place finish out of six teams at the 2022 Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships, while the women's squad finished fourth.

Denver was picked to repeat as league champion in both divisions, picking up six first-place votes in the men's poll and seven in the women's survey. In fact, the order of finish in both the men's and women's polls was nearly identical, with the lone exception being new affiliate member Lindenwood tying for second with South Dakota in the men's poll, while USD took sole possession of second place in the women's poll followed by Lindenwood in third place.

In all, eight schools are scheduled to compete in both divisions at the 2023 Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships, which are set for Feb. 22-25 at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. Also new to Summit League competition for the upcoming season is Southern Indiana.

In addition, four Jackrabbits were recognized by the Summit League as Swimmers and Divers to Watch. Representing the SDSU men were sophomore Austin Smith and senior Zach Boyd, while the women's team featured seniors Elisabeth Timmer and Aleni Stoakes.

Smith established new school records in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 individual medley during his freshman season. At the 2022 Summit League Championships, he earned all-league honors with a third-place individual finish in the 100 IM and as a member of the runner-up 800 freestyle relay team.

Boyd is a two-time individual league champion on the 1-meter board and added a 3-meter title during the 2020-21 season en route to being named the Summit League Men's Diver of the Year. The Omaha native has earned six Summit League Diver of the Week honors in his Jackrabbit career.

Timmer, a native of Savaneta, Aruba, holds school records in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. She was a four-time Summit League Women's Swimmer of the Week honoree a season ago before posting a third-place finish in the 50 freestyle at the league championships.

Stoakes, from Lincoln, Nebraska, was the Jackrabbits' top diver a season ago and earned her first Summit League Diver of the Week award. She was a consolation finalist on the 3-meter board at the 2022 Summit League Championships, placing 12^th.

COACH HUMPHREY: Doug Humphrey is in his sixth season as head coach of the South Dakota State men's and women's swimming and diving teams.

During the 2021-22 season, Humphrey led the Jackrabbits to a third-place finish in the men's division and a fourth-place showing in the women's division at the Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships.

The previous campaign, one that was abbreviated by the COVID-19 pandemic, SDSU recorded runner-up finishes in both divisions, continuing an upward trend in the standings. SDSU had previously finished third in the men's race in each of Humphrey's previous seasons on deck with the Jackrabbits, along with a pair of third-place performances on the women's side.

Prior to SDSU, Humphrey served as the head women's swimming and diving coach at Northern Iowa for five seasons. His Panther squads showed steady progression in the Missouri Valley Conference, including posting back-to-back third-place finishes at the conference championship his final two seasons in Cedar Falls.

Humphrey served as the assistant swimming coach at the University of Nebraska from 2000-12 under Olympic gold medalist Pablo Morales. He swam for the Huskers from 1991-96 and later served as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbit women continue their competition-heavy early season with an Oct. 22 dual at Iowa State. Start time is set for 2 p.m. at Beyer Pool in Ames, Iowa.

The SDSU men's squad returns to action Oct. 28 in Minneapolis, competing in a triangular against Minnesota and St. Thomas. That meet, which also will feature women's competition, is slated for 5 p.m. at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the University of Minnesota campus.

-GoJacks.com-