DOWNES NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® TEAM

AUSTIN, Texas — South Dakota State's Sianne Downes was honored Tuesday as a member of the 2023-24 Academic All-America® Women's Swimming & Diving Team as selected by the College Sports Communicators. She is the first Jackrabbit women's swimming and diving student-athlete to receive the recognition.

A native of Edenvale, South Africa, Downes was a third-team selection to the NCAA Division I squad. She compiled a 3.85 grade-point average as an undergraduate student and has posted a 4.0 GPA in graduate coursework while studying mechanical engineering.

In the pool, Downes has earned all-Summit League honors four times in the backstroke events, including winning the 100-yard backstroke title during the 2020-21 season. She holds school records in both the 100 (54.98 seconds) and 200 backstroke (1:59.79).

Downes is the third SDSU student-athlete to earn Academic All-America® recognition during the 2023-24 academic year, joining Jackrabbit football players Mark Gronowski and Ryan Van Marel.

-GoJacks.com-

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Sianne Downes

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving versus Summit League Championships on February 18, 2026 , , 4th of 7 Teams — 458 Points

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at Coyote Invite on January 30, 2026 , , No Team Scores — 3 Event Titles

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at South Dakota on January 24, 2026 , Loss , 110.5, to, 188.5

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving versus St. Thomas on January 17, 2026 , Loss , 97, to, 142

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at Minnesota on January 17, 2026 , Loss , 43, to, 198

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at St. Thomas Invite on November 20, 2025 , , 2nd of 4 Teams — 1,239 Points

South Dakota State University Athletics