WOMEN'S SWIM TEAM OPENS WITH NEBRASKA

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

10/6/2022 4:00:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

WOMEN'S SWIM DUAL 1: Nebraska (0-0) at South Dakota State (0-0)

When	Friday, Oct. 7 \| 4 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 women's swimming and diving team opens the 2022-23 season Friday afternoon, hosting Nebraska in dual action.

Start time is set for 4 p.m. at the Stanley J. Marshall Center Pool.

The Jackrabbits, 3-5 in duals last season, placed fourth out of six teams at the 2022 Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships last March.

Nebraska, which also is making its season debut on Friday, posted a 7-1 dual record last season, including a 189-54 victory over the Jackrabbits on Oct. 2, 2021, in Lincoln. The Huskers later finished ninth of 12 teams at the Big Ten Conference Championships.

JACKRABBITS PICKED FIFTH: South Dakota State has been picked to finish fifth in the Summit League's women's swimming and diving standings, according to a preseason polls conducted among the league's head coaches that was released in September.

Denver was picked to repeat as league champion, picking up seven first-place votes in the women's survey. South Dakota was selected for second place, followed by Summit League newcomer Lindenwood in third place and Omaha in fourth.

In all, eight schools are scheduled to compete 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, Jackrabbit seniors Elisabeth Timmer and Aleni Stoakes were recognized by The Summit League as Swimmers and Divers to Watch.

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.

SEASON PREVIEW: After slipping to a fourth-place finish at the Summit League Championships last season, the South Dakota State women's swimming and diving team will rely on a group of veterans and talented newcomers to raise their standing during the upcoming 2022-23 season.

"One thing that we're looking forward to is to show off the depth that we have," head coach Doug Humphrey said. "There's a lot more excitement and confidence going into this season knowing we have a full roster and that we're deep in all areas."

Humphrey said the Jackrabbits will be battle-tested after facing a competition-heavy schedule the first two months of the season, — one that includes duals against Nebraska, Iowa State and Minnesota.

"We hit the ground running starting this weekend and pretty much every weekend until we hit our mid-season meet in Sioux Falls," Humphrey said. "We're going to be prepared for that competition because we've been simulating that a lot in practice and putting themselves up against each other."

Leading the way are team captains and school-record holders Elisabeth Timmer and Sianne Downes. Timmer set new Jackrabbit standards in the 50-yard (:23.08) and 100 freestyle (:50.45) events last season and went undefeated in the 50 leading up to the league championships. She went on to place third in the 50 free at the conference meet, followed by a fourth-place finish in the 100 freestyle and sixth-place mark in the 200 freestyle.

Downes paced the Jackrabbits in the backstroke events with third-place finishes in both the 100 (:55.77) and 200 (2:01.18) at the Summit League Championships, setting school records in both events. She rounded out her performance the league meet with an eighth-place finish in the 200 individual medley.

Kelsey Kocon also was a finalist in both backstroke events, placing fifth in the 100 back and sixth in the 200. She added an 11^th-place showing in the 200 IM. Emma Walz was another point-producing performer for the Jackrabbits in the backstroke, finishing 12^th in the 200 and 13^th in the 100.

Joining Timmer among returning scoring swimmers in the freestyle events are Grace Witherspoon, Natalie Cannell, Gabriella Gnewuch and Zoey Ahrens. A sprinter, Witherspoon placed tied for ninth in the 50 freestyle and placed 13^th in the 100 at the league championships.

The others all primarily competed in the middle-distance and distance events, with Cannell (200 freestyle) and Ahrens (1,650 freestyle) each posting 12^th-place finishes. Gnewuch's top performance at the Summit League Championships was a 14^th-place effort in the 200 freestyle.

In the breaststroke, junior Emma Bachelder is the top returner after notching a 12^th-place finish in the 100-yard competition at last season's Summit Championships. Sophomore Morgan Nelson is another key returner for the Jackrabbits as the Pierre native was a B finalist in both the 100- and 200-yard races, posting respective finishes of 13^th and 15^th.

Two other Jackrabbit returners tallied points in the individual medley events last season: Mie Due (11^th in 100 IM, 16th in 200 IM) and Kaylee Tringali (13^th in 100 IM).

One stroke the Jackrabbits struggle with last season was butterfly, but Humphrey expects a resurgence thanks to a group of incoming freshmen that will help shore up the Jackrabbit lineup in those events. Sara Juez, along with Jenna Currier and Aubrey Douds have shown plenty of promise in preseason training. Currier and Douds also are candidates to contribute in the sprint freestyle events.

Senior Aleni Stoakes is the lone diver on the Jackrabbit roster and will look to improve on her 12^th-place effort in 3-meter diving, as well as a 14^th-place showing on the 1-meter board.

With more flexibility in the lineup, Humphrey said the team will be able to experiment with various lineups to see what will be the right combination come what should be an even-more competitive Summit League Championships in late February.

"Our league has been small and so a lot of the scoring potential was kind of taken for granted in many events," Humphrey said. "Now, adding two more teams, it's going to make things a little more difficult, but I see it as a benefit. It's going to increase and improve our recruiting; we're going to be targeting those who can be successful in our conference."

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 Jackrabbits are scheduled to compete on back-to-back days next week, starting with an Oct. 14 dual at Augustana. Competition is set for 5 p.m. at the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls. That meet also will mark the season opener for the SDSU men's squad.

SDSU returns to its home pool Oct. 15 for a triangular against Northern State and Iowa Central. Start time is slated for 6 p.m. at the Marshall Center Pool.

-GoJacks.com-