South Dakota at Western Illinois
- Jan. 11, 2019
- Men: South Dakota def. WIU 145-91
- Women: South Dakota def. WIU 169.5-70.5
- Results
Courtesy: South Dakota Athletics
MACOMB, Ill. – South Dakota swimming and diving posted a complete sweep during a two-day meet at Brophy Hall Pool on the campus of Western Illinois, highlighted by a trio of NCAA Zone Diving Qualifying marks during the meet.
The Coyotes opened Summit League dual action by sweeping both Friday and Saturday’s dual meets for both men and women against the host Leathernecks while Saturday they also posted wins in both men and women duals over Eastern Illinois.
South Dakota divers Hudson Wilkerson and Sarah Schank swept the one-meter and three-meter events on both Friday and Saturday, all four times with increased scoring from the first day to the second day.
Wilkerson, a freshman, set new personal bests in both events on both days as he climbed the Coyote top-10 chart to second in both events, while also securing NCAA Zone Diving Qualifying marks in the one-meter (300.90) and three-meter (333.45) events. Wilkerson now trails only Isaac Morris, the 2018 Summit League men’s diver of the year, on the school’s top-10 list in both six-dive events.
Schank, one of seven seniors on the women’s team, set new personal bests in the three-meter event on Saturday. Schank moved to third on the all-time list in the three-meter event with 297.60, which surpasses the NCAA Zone Diving Qualifying mark.
During Friday’s dual, the Coyote men’s squad won nine of the 13 events contested to earn a 145-91 win while the women’s team claimed 11 of the 13 events contested and downed Western Illinois 169.5-70.5.
A quartet of South Dakota athletes, Jacob Won (500 free, 200 fly), Jake Leichner (200 free, 200 breast), Katie Coleman (100 free, 50 free) and Sabrina Sabadeanu (200 back, 200 IM), raced to a pair of individual wins each during Friday’s swimming portion of the dual.
Isabelle Davenport was the lone South Dakota swimmer to move into the top-10 charts during Friday’s competition when she captured the 200 breaststroke in 2:24.59, which sits 10th all-time.
The Coyotes backed up Friday’s strong evening with a solid outing again on Saturday where the women won 14 of the 16 events contested and the men came away winners in nine of 16 events.
The women’s team posted wins over Western Illinois (217.5-75.5) and Eastern Illinois (235-57) while the men also came away with a pair of dual wins over Western Illinois (180.5-111.5) and Eastern Illinois (187-100).
Leichner, a freshman from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, raced to a pair of individual victories again on Saturday, claiming the 100 IM and the 50 breaststroke.
Leichner’s time of 52.78 in the 100 IM moves him into fourth on the school’s all-time list while teammate Won, second in the race with a 53.94, moved into eighth on the all-time list.
Taylor Kidd, a senior, was the lone double individual winner for the women’s team in Saturday’s swimming portion. Kidd swam to wins in the 500 free and the 200 free.
South Dakota diver Anthony Mudek moved into the top-10 list in the one-meter event, now 10th with 263.34 points and the three-meter event, now ninth with 275.10 points, during this weekend’s competition.
South Dakota women will compete against Omaha on Saturday, Jan. 19 while the men and women’s team will face off with rival South Dakota State on Saturday, Jan. 26. Both matches take place in the DakotaDome Pool.
Courtesy: Western Illinois Athletics
MACOMB, Ill. – Weather slightly altered the field from three competitors to two, as the Western Illinois swimming and diving team played host to South Dakota Friday night (Jan. 11).
The dual meet served as an opportunity for the Summit League programs to scope each other out ahead of the league championship, and the visiting Coyotes edged Western’s men, 145-91, and the women, 169.5-70.5.
“Given that we are coming out of a very hard winter break training, I was very pleased with how we raced. I have seen meets at the end of winter break where we absolutely flopped in the pool, and tonight was definitely not one of those meets,” said head coach Greg Naumann. “We could definitely see some tired swims in tonight’s events, but we got up and sprinted very well. I’m not concerned about our tired swimming as that is something that is to be expected at this point in the season.
“I look forward to seeing tomorrow’s event format since it is shorter distances, which we have excelled at in recent meets.”
The Leathernecks claimed six wins in their home meet, highlighted by men and women victories in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The final two events saw Miranda Mathus, Alexis Dreyer, Marissa Purdum, and Casey Roberts set the standard in 3:39.80 while the men’s relay, comprised of Brennan Bladel, Adam Peterson, Chance McQuigg, and Samir Almhiemid, did the same in 3:11.08. The men were also grouped together in the 400-yard medley, where they finished first with a time of 3:30.13.
Individually, Mathus, Bladel and Peterson each secured victories in the 200-yard freestyle (1:58.67), 200-yard backstroke (1:58.19) and 50-yard freestyle (21.66), respectively.
Western will return to the pool Saturday in races against Eastern Illinois and South Dakota. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and will also serve as Senior Day.
