South Dakota State at Omaha
- Jan. 25, 2019
- Omaha def. South Dakota State 196-98
- Results
Courtesy: Omaha Athletics
OMAHA, Neb. – Celebrating Senior Night, the Omaha swimming & diving program delivered a 196-98 team win against South Dakota State Friday evening, capping its home slate at H&K Pool.
The Mavericks won a total of 15 events against the Jackrabbits and improve to 3-5 overall and 2-1 in conference dual meet action. Omaha also honored seniors Kylene Abraham, Grete Baker, Annika Clinton, Madison Ewald, Indiga Hadford, Kirsten Kracke, Isabelle Robuck and Kylie Vermeire.
“I’m very proud of our seniors because they have grown so much and contribute in more ways than just swimming,” said head coach Todd Samland. “The culture of our team is stronger and better because of them. They are so talented and have so much potential after college. It is going to bring much joy to watch the many adventurous paths they blaze.”
Several seniors shined as Vermeire, Clinton, Kracke and Baker all won multiple individual events. Vermeire took home victories in the 200-yard back (2:11.44) and a season-best 1000-yard free (10:38.25). Baker had a pair of first-place finishes in 200-yard fly (2:10.52) and the 200-yard IM (2:13.39) and was runner-up in the 200 back (2:14.24).
Kracke also had two top finishes in the 100-yard back (1:00.44) and the 50-yard free (25.15). Clinton was the last of the seniors to win multiple events, as she took home top scores in the 3-meter and 1-meter dives with an identical 261.22.
Rachel Morrow also tallied two individual top finishes for the meet, recording victories in the 200-yard free (1:55.44) and the 100-yard free (53.66). Teammates Lizzy Giese, Bethany Gatlin and Abbey Mitchell also had wins for the Mavericks. Giese swam a 5:18.60 in the 500-yard free to finish atop the standings, while Gatlin recorded a 58.92 in the 100-yard fly to finish first. Mitchell took the top spot in the 200-yard breast (2:27.53).
Lastly, the Mavericks swept the relay events with the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard free relay. The quartet of Kracke, Gatlin, Morrow and Mitchell won the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:50.23. For the 400 free relay, Vermeire, Abraham, Morrow and Kracke tallied a time of 3:35.57 to win the event.
“This was a good meet for us to look at the conference championships coming up in four weeks,” said Samland. “We have a lineup in mind, but we are always looking for the next breakout performance to give us momentum. I thought we had some very good performances and our seniors had one of their best meets of the year, winning multiple events.”
Omaha now sets its sights on competitions the weekend of Feb. 1-2. The swimmers head to Sioux Falls, S.D., to compete in the Coyote Invitational, while the divers travel to the UIC Invite in Chicago, Ill., on Feb 2.
Courtesy: South Dakota State Athletics
The South Dakota State women’s swimming and diving team dropped its Friday meet to Omaha 196-98.
“Great efforts tonight, but we ran into a talented and ready UNO team,” said head coach Doug Humphrey. “We fought hard but things didn’t go our way. Now we focus on better performances tomorrow.”
As a team, the Jacks won one event along with one career-best performance and a pair of personal season-bests.
SDSU’s lone win came from Mikayla Beckman‘s 1:09.09 time in the 100 breast. That’s her second win of the season after netting her first last weekend against St. Cloud State, also in the 100 breast.
Maria Currie swam a personal season-best and a career-best in the 1,000 free with a time of 11:11.13. Rori Conners also swam a personal season-best during the meet with a 5:20.89 time in the 500 free.
The Jacks finished second in the 400 free relay with a 3:44.69 time (Langerud, Pincus, Santillan, Bruyckere) and third in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:52.51 (Nguyen, Beckman, Davis, Theobald). A total of eight second-place, and 10 third-place finishes also highlighted the meet.
Up Next
The Jackrabbits will turn around and face-off against South Dakota Saturday in Vermillion, S.D. Both men’s and women’s squads will compete.
