Division II Meet Preview: Delta State Hosts Christmas Invite

Photo Courtesy: Delta State Athletics

While many of best teams in Division II have finished their winter invitationals and are done with competitions until 2017, there are still a handful of teams still to rest this semester, including two of the top 10 teams in the country. Read about what to look out for from those teams in this week’s Division II Meet Preview!

Meet Of The Week: Delta State Christmas Invitational

Delta State University, the #8 (women) and #15 (men) ranked teams in the country, will host the Delta State Christmas Invitational this weekend, taking on Division II powerhouse Lindenwood and NAIA opponent Lindenwood-Belleville at home. Lindenwood is currently the #5 (men) and #10 (women) ranked team in the country, so expect this to be a close battle between the two teams for the overall title this weekend.

The last time these two teams met was at the Lindenwood Invitational in October, where both teams split the meet. Lindenwood won the men’s competition, beating the Delta State men by about 80 points, while on the women’s side Delta State eked out a victory over Lindenwood by about 12 points. As one of the last major invitationals in Division II, it will be interesting to see how this meet shakes out with both teams likely wearing tech suits and resting to some degree heading into the meet. Some swimmers to watch out for from both teams include:

Serghei Golban (Lindenwood), the three-time NCAA Champion last year in the 50 free (19.35), 100 back (46.56), and 100 free (42.96).
Christian Vasquez (Lindenwood), who had two runner-up finishes at NCAA’s last year in the 400 IM and 1,650 and two more top 8 appearances in the 200 butterfly and 1,000 free.
Melanie Tombers (Delta State), who was top 8 in 1,650 free, 200 breast, and 400 IM at 2016 NCAA’s.
Alecia McGillivray (Lindenwood), who was top 8 in 1,000 free, 1,650 free, and 400 IM at 2016 NCAA’s.
Mattia Schirru (Delta State), the fourth place finisher in the 100 free (43.11) at 2016 NCAA’s.

Golden Rams Invitational

West Chester University will host two Division III teams, Ursinus and Albright, at the Golden Rams Invitational this weekend in their home pool. West Chester is currently ranked #18 (men) and #23 (women) in the country, and this will be both teams first opportunity to swim with some rest this season.

The swimmer to watch out for at this meet will be senior Victor Polyakov, who won the 200 IM (1:44.95) at Division II NCAA’s last year. Polyakov was also 2nd in the 200 and 500 freestyles and seventh in the 1,650 free last year, but he has won all three of those events at NCAA’s. His freshman year he was a four time individual NCAA champion, winning the 200, 500, 1,000, and 1,650 free at the 2014 national meet. Polyakov has been unable to repeat any of those titles since that year, but has been faster in his freestyle events this year than last, indicating the senior may be ready to get back to the top of the podium this year. The meet will begin Friday afternoon and continue through Saturday.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use