New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference Ends Fall Semester with December Meets

White St. Cloud State

Photo by Kyle Staggs

By Rachel Ewart, Swimming World Intern

ARKADELPHIA – As the month of December begins, teams from the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference conclude the semester by competing in their final meets of 2014. Six of the nine teams will compete this coming weekend: St. Cloud, Minnesota State Mankato, Minnesota State Moorhead, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist and Northern State.

Looking Back
Teams in the NSISC were able to take a rest from meets this past weekend due to the Thanksgiving holiday; however, several teams performed well on the weekend of November 21. On the women’s side, West Florida finished strong at the Wingate Fall Frenzy as the Argonauts achieved second place out of 14 teams, defeating several Division I opponents. West Florida also set four new school records and qualified for 10 NCAA B-cut times. Queens was the overall winner of the meet with a total of 1461 points, while Division I teams Gardner Webb and College of Charleston finished third and fourth.

West Florida’s head coach was proud of his team as he states, “Throughout the weekend our team showed determination and the spirit that defines UWF. It was a pleasure to see our hard work pay off.” A few highlights for the Argonauts included Madeline Pitt’s 1650 freestyle as she finished fourth with a time of 17:18.59, breaking her own school record and also achieving a B-cut time. Additionally, Angelina Gallastequi placed sixth in the same event also accomplishing B-cut with the time of 17:26.16. Both girls also finished fast enough to earn B-cuts at the 1,000-yard mark of the race. Nicole Machado finished fifth in the 200 backstroke and set a new school record with a time of 2:03.26, which earned her a B-cut. Machado currently holds both the 100 and 200 backstroke school records. The three-day meet went in the books for the second-year program as six new school records were set, five of them by freshmen in swimming events. West Florida will return to competition on Jan. 3 for its meet against Ouachita Baptist.

On the men’s side of NSISC competition, St. Cloud’s men’s team performed excellent at its meet on November 21. Both men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams claimed dual victories against the University of South Dakota. The women’s team stole wins in eight events and finished with an overall score of 161.5-138.5, while the men’s team won 13 events and ended with a dominate victory of 189-108. Freshmen Justin Winnett stood out as he took three individual wins in the 100 breaststroke (58:56), the 200 breaststroke (2:10.01) and the 200 individual medley (1:59.16). Alex Bryson took victories in two events, winning the 1,000 freestyle with a 9:56.54 and the 200 freestyle in 1:44.39.

For men’s diving, Tyler Magalis won both the one-meter (320.75) and the three-meter board (339.25). Winnett and Magalis were awarded NSISC swimmer and diver of the week as a result of their excellent performances at the meet. This is the third time that Magalis has been awarded NSISC diver of the week this season.

DELTA STATE
No meets this week

WEST FLORIDA
No meets this week

ST. CLOUD STATE
The Huskies will host the Rochester Invite this weekend. On the women’s team, sophomore Emily Tiedeman should lead the team in the backstroke events. Senior Kellyn Craig is strong in the breaststroke and the individual medley, as she won both the 200 breaststroke (2:23.96) and 200 individual medley (2:12.84) at St Cloud’s meet against University of South Dakota. On the men’s side, the Huskies have solid relays and also potential to excel in the diving events. It should be a competitive atmosphere for both the men’s and women’s teams.

MINNESOTA STATE MANKATO
At MSU Mankato’s last meet, the Border Battle, the Mavericks finished the two-day meet in fourth place as they totaled 636 points. Highlights of the meet included MSU’s 200-medley relay, which was comprised of freshmen Cecilia Hake, junior Emilie Berg, freshman Taylor Bass and senior Emily Green; the relay finished third with a time of 1:50.90. For individual races, Bass claimed second place in both the 100 backstroke (59.58) and the 100 freestyle (53.79). Green also swam well in the 100 backstroke as she placed fourth with a time of 59.96.

Additionally, the Mavericks have two new members that signed NCAA Letters of Intent: Bailey DuPay and Alycia Holwerda. Bailey is a diverse athlete who competed in three sports during her high school years; she will be a great addition to the Mavericks diving team next fall. Alycia is all an all around outstanding athlete who swims primarily IM and breaststroke. Swimming and Diving coach Nathan Owens mentions that he is excited to welcome both versatile athletes aboard the team.

Similar to St. Cloud State, the Mavericks will also have a full weekend of racing ahead of them at the Rochester Invite.

MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD
MSU Moorhead women’s swimming and diving team took the win against Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which is its third straight win of the season. The final score was a 164-136 win over Eau Claire. The Dragons are currently 4-1 in duals for the season. Freshmen Erin Sullivan lead the way for the Dragons as she won two individual events and also took part in two winning relays. UWEC’s Sara Axness and Amanda Baker both broke pool records in the one-meter diving events; Axnes scored 455.55 and Baker finished second with 438.8 points. For the Dragons, junior Emily Pascavis also eclipsed the one-meter diving pool record with a score of 431.70 and finished third. Another highlight of the meet included the Dragon’s 400 medley relay team of Sullivan, junior Jackie Woods, senior Susie Kitzman and junior Annika Bordak. The relay fell short of the Nemzek Hall pool record of 3:58.38 with a time of 3:59.47. This was the fastest 400 medley relay unrested time in Dragon swimming history; Sulivan and Bordak both swam best times in the race. The Dragons will continue on to compete at the Rochester Invite this coming weekend.

OUACHITA BAPTIST
The Tigersharks will compete at the UALR Christmas Invitational this coming weekend for their final meet of the semester. Swimming and Diving coach Steven Bostick mentions that the upcoming meet is Ouachita’s best competition year-round. “On the women’s side, I see potential in Rachel Ewart and Tatiane Pacheco to have a great a 500 freestyle.”

For the men’s team, senior Emile Maritz has exceled this season in the backstroke events, while junior David Wray has also raced well in the butterfly events. The men also have a strong core group for the 400 medley relay which includes Maritz, freshmen Tristen Di Sibio, Wray and junior Matt Cox. “I’m expecting to see a good swim out of David in the 200 fly and Emile in the backstroke events,” Bostick said. “I also think the men’s 400 medley and 400 freestyle relay can throw down a good time.” Overall the meet should provide a good challenge and solid competition for Ouachita.

HENDERSON STATE
Similar to Ouachita, Henderson State has a busy weekend of competition ahead of them at the UALR Christmas Invitational. Lauren Sutton and Jeanne Miller have both performed consistently strong in leading the women’s team throughout the season. Sutton has potential to place well in the sprint freestyle events while Miller could knock out the butterfly, distance freestyle and individual medley events. For the men’s team, Colton Laramore, Guy Buls and Max Pohl have swam excellent this season. HSU’s men’s team is also capable of producing fast relay swims at the upcoming meet, particularly in the 200 freestyle relay, which would include Hunter Arnold, Pohl, Laramore and Aaron Villemez. Henderson has talented, diverse athletes on both men’s and women’s teams, which should allow them to perform well this weekend. The meet will be HSU’s last competition of the semester before the team begins Christmas training.

LINDENWOOD BELLEVILLE
No meets this week

NORTHERN STATE
Northern tied with Nebraska-Kearney in its last dual meet on November 21. The Wolves earned nine first-place finishes and ended with a score of 130-130. Northern’s 200 medley relay won with a time of 1:57.01; the relay included Jamie Fuse, Eliza Jacob, Kamie Wagar and Kayla Sproles. Both Eliza Jacob and Kayla Sproles finished the meet with four victories each. Jacob won the 100 breaststroke (1:12.53) and also the 50 breaststroke (33.51) for her individual events, and Sproles took the win in both the 50 freestyle (25.61) and the 100 freestyle (56.42). This weekend the Wolves will travel to compete at the Rochester Invitational. The multiple-team meet should provide a competitive and challenging atmosphere for the Wolves as they finish out their semester.

Upcoming Schedule
December 13-16: Delta State University Christmas Invitational
December 13-15: Lindenwood Belleville competes at Delta State Invitational

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