Division II Weekend Meet Preview: Lindenwood Hosts Five Teams This Weekend

As we continue to move deeper into the fall, some of the biggest names in Division II swimming are starting to show their strengths as bigger match-ups start to pop up on the schedule. Take a look below to see previews of some of the biggest meets in Division II swimming & diving for this week!

Meet of the Week: Lindenwood vs. Delta State, Missouri S&T, Indianapolis, and Truman State

This weekend Lindenwood will host Delta State University, Missouri S&T, University of Indianapolis, and Truman State University in what should be an exciting showdown among all five teams. Last year all contests were scored as dual meets, and Lindenwood came out undefeated among all teams.

After finishing second on both the men and women’s sides at the Rocky Mountain Conference meet last year, Lindenwood will want to use this meet to put them in a position to challenge for the team titles in their conference at the end of the year. The Lion men were only 25 points back from first place last year, while women were only 22.5 points back. Both teams will also want to set themselves up to continue their success on the national level. The Lindenwood men were second at last year’s NCAA meet, while their women’s team was 9th. Their closest rival this weekend will likely be Delta State, whose men finished 5th at NCAA’s last year while their women finished 10th.

Providing big individual points and valuable leadership for the Lions will be junior Sergei Golban and senior Alecia McGillivray. Golban should be a top performer for the Lions after his strong performance in the season opener, helping in sprint free and stroke events while being a key contributor on relays. McGillivray was the Swimmer of Meet and Conference Swimmer of the Year last year, and earned a National Championship title in the 1,000 freestyle. The meet will start at 11:30am at Lindenwood University on Saturday October 22nd.

Queens vs. Emory

Division II powerhouse Queens University of Charlotte will travel to Atlanta this weekend to take on Division III powerhouse Emory is what should be a fast dual meet. Both the men and women of Queens University have won Division II NCAA’s the last two seasons, and they don’t appear to be slowing down. Meanwhile, the Emory women nabbed their seventh straight national championship, while the men finished third, their 16th straight top 5 finish.

On the women’s side, look for Queens to look for new talent to fill the holes that Patricia Castro-Ortega leaves upon graduation. While her loss while surely be felt in the freestyle and IM’s, Queens still has a relatively balanced roster that includes 2016 NCAA champ in the 100 backstroke Hannah Peiffer and a strong breaststroker in Dasha Talanova. And with sophomore Kyrie Dobson in the sprint events and McKenzie Stevens in the mid-distance and distance free, the Royals will have good leaderships across the freestyle events. Emory will be able to challenge is in the freestyle events, and if they capitalize on their depth in the sprint events and win some close match-ups they may be able to stay in the hunt.

The Queens men will be led by junior Dion Dreesens, who was the 2016 NCAA champion in the 200, 500, and 100 freestyles, breaking the NCAA records in the 200 and 500 free in the process. He should be able to secure big points in the mid-distance and distance free events, while juniors Paul Pijulet and Ben Mayes should provide good 1-2 punches in the sprint free events. Some of the closer match-ups will likely come in the 100 and 200’s of stroke, and that is where Emory will have to secure big points if they want to come out on top.

Notably, the Emory men have returned Andrew Wilson to their men’s roster this year, who red-shirted last season to prepare for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Wilson was 55.55 and 2:02.47 in both breaststrokes at the Emory intersquad meet, which should give him the wins in those events. The meet will begin at 1:00 EST in Atlanta on Saturday, October 22nd.

Florida Southern vs. Florida Tech, Keiser University

Coming off a tough loss to Tampa on both the men’s and women’s sides, Florida Southern will look to regain some momentum when they take on in-state conference competitor Florida Tech. The Florida Tech women were 6th and the men 4th at the conference meet last year, and the men ended the season with a 21st place at NCAA’s and the largest group of nationals qualifiers in school history.

But as reigning conference champions, Florida Southern should have a big edge on Tech. Look for NC State transfer Noah Franz to continue to be a standout for the Florida Southern men, while juniors Peyton Breault and Jacinda Whittenburg should bring home individual wins in the freestyle and IM events respectively. The meet will begin at 2:00pm at Florida Southern on Saturday October 22nd.

Florida International vs. Indian River, Nova Southeastern

Division II Nova Southeastern will take on two opponents outside their division this weekend, facing off against Division I Florida International University and NJCAA powerhouse Indian River State College. Nova actually faced off against Indian River last weekend, with both the men and women sweeping the meet handily for the Sharks. Last year both teams fell to Indian River, and while FIU should provide some stiffer competition for Nova Southeastern the Sharks look to be set up for a big year.

With a weaker Florida Southern team this year, Nova will want to continue to set themselves up to be the top team in the Sunshine State Conference and continue to move up nationally. At NCAA’s last year, the Nova Southeastern men finished 4th while the Nova women finished 11th. Nova Southeastern return with junior Anton Lobanov, who is the Division II record holder in both breaststroke events and was NCAA champion last year. The meet will kick off at 5:00pm at FIU on Friday, October 21st.

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