NCAA Division II Preview: Truman State, Lindenwood, Tampa Hope to Climb Rankings

PHOENIX, Arizona, November 1. IN a relatively light weekend of competition in Division II, three meets involving Truman State, Lindenwood and Tampa highlight this weekend’s swimming and diving action.

Truman State, the eighth ranked team in Division II in Collegeswimming.com’s rankings, will take on Division I Western Illinois this Saturday. Redshirt freshman Evyn Spencer has been one of the key leaders in the pool for the Lady Bulldogs this season, garnering Great Lakes Valley Conference swimmer of the week honors and the only NCAA B cut on the women’s team, in the 200 IM. Abby Hempen and Beth Eyanson are also knocking on the door of B cuts in the breaststroke and butterfly events, respectively, and could break through this weekend. Truman State does not currently have any men ranked in the top 25 in any events, so the men’s squad will be looking for some solid performances this weekend against a solid Division I opponent.

Also on Saturday, 11th-ranked Lindenwood will host Saint Louis and Missouri S&T in a tri-meet. Lindenwood has steadily been climbing the Division II ranks, and will look to continue that trend this weekend. Freshman Gustavo Silva Santo has been impressive in the sprint and mid-distance freestyle events thus far, posting a 46.46 in the 100 free, 1:39.96 in the 200 free and 4:33.39 in the 500 free. His 200 and 500 times are both second-best in Division II. Teammate Sylwester Borowicz-Skoneczny is also ranked second nationally in the 1,000 free with a 9:32.43. Between those two, Lindenwood has the opportunity to sweep the freestyle events at tomorrow’s meet. On the women’s side, Alecia McGillivray has posted exceptional swims in the 200 back (2:08.16), 500 free (5:07.10) and 400 IM (4:35.94) this season. Her time in the 500 is a Division II B cut, and she’ll have a chance to upgrade that to an A cut this weekend.

Tampa will take on Indian River State College on Saturday in what should be an excellent matchup. The Indian River women are coming off their 35th National Junior College Athletic Association title, while the men have won 39 straight NJCAA titles and are shooting for number 40 this season. Reigning NJCAA Swimmers of the Meet Yuri Nakano and Josh Oathout both return for Indian River this season and should give Tampa all they can handle.

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