Drury Jumps To Top of Both Men’s, Women’s CSCAA NCAA Division II Polls

PHOENIX, Arizona, December 19. THE second College Swimming Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II poll is out, and the Drury men and women are atop both of the polls.

The CSCAA DII Poll Committee will produce in-season rankings of the 25 best performing NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving teams in rank order at the time of each poll. The poll is not designed to predict the results of the NCAA Championship, but rather which teams would win head-to-head against other teams in the country.

Specifically, the poll committee does not differentiate between the types of meets, or the status of a specific team in terms of rested versus unrested, when considering votes. Further, rankings are only based on performances that have taken place up to that point in the season, with an emphasis on action from the previous poll.

Swimming World has been invited as a media member to participate in the polling process. Jason Marsteller serves as Swimming World’s representative on these conference calls.

DII WOMEN
THE TOP 10
1. Drury, 6
Results
3rd, Missouri Showdown
L, Missouri State, 146-91
W, Delta State, 145-78
1st, Drury Invitational
NTS, Arkansas-Little Rock

The Drury women dominated their own invitational, beating Lindenwood by more than 150 points. A trio of swimmers picked up victories for the Panthers as Agnieszka Ostrowska posted a 2:20.69 in the 200 breast and the 400 IM, while Wai Ting Yu won the 100 free and 100 fly. Gretchen Stein captured the 200 fly title.

2. Queens (Charlotte), 3
Results
W, Gardner-Webb
W, Wingate
L, Davidson
W, Campbell
3rd, Fall Frenzy

Aside from a stellar USA Swimming Winter Nationals, Queens’ women’s team took third in their own Fall Frenzy. Lillian Gordy broke the school record in the women’s 100 free with a 50.66 as the top swim of the meet for Queens.

3. Wingate, 5
Results
1st, Wingate Quad Meet
L, Queens, 123-122
Fall Frenzy
1st, SCAD Invitational
Wingate’s women put together a powerful meet in Savannah, Ga., capturing the SCAD Invitational for the fifth year in a row. Freshman Jessika Weiss had an incredible meet, breaking a school record in the 200 breast with a 2:18.21. That took down assistant coach Maria Vlashchenko’s record from 2008.

T4. Delta State, 22
Results
L, Alabama, 242-50
L, Western Kentucky, 195-90
L, Drury, 145-78
W, Henderson State, 147-80
W, Ouachita Baptist, 151-60
1st, Delta State Invitational

Delta State had a nice recovery to a tough early-season schedule. After opening up 0-3 prior to the last poll that had them ranked 22nd, DSU vaulted to fourth overall this time around. DSU’s Anastasia Klyarovskaya had an amazing meet in Cleveland this weekend, setting six school records as well as the NCAA D2 record in the 200 back with a 1:56.44.

T4. Florida Southern, 4
Results
5th, All-Florida Invitational
W, Tampa, 154-108
W, Saint Leo, 159-94
W, Florida Tech, 131-65
W, Rollins, 147-58
3rd, Sharks Invitational

The Mocs remained fourth overall in the rankings after a third-place finish in the Sharks Invitational at Nova Southeastern. Lauren Reynolds and Alli Crenshaw closed out the meet strong for the Mocs, setting meet records in the 200 back and 1650 freestyle events.

T6. UC San Diego, 2
Results
W, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 191-107
L, UC Santa Barbara, 172-123
10th, Arena Invitational

The Triton women closed out a tough battle against mostly NCAA Division I talent at the Arena Invitational in Monterey Park at the end of November with a strong set of NCAA Division II times. Overall, the Tritons took 10th of 11 teams, and still have a pair of meets to go before the end of the year. They battle Cal State East Bay on Dec. 21 before taking on San Diego State on Dec. 30.

T6. Simon Fraser, 8
Results
Puget Sound
Air Force
Colorado Mines
Nebraska-Omaha
Colorado College
Clan Cup Invitational

The Simon Fraser Clan qualified a pair of swimmers to NCAA Championships at their own Clan Cup in Burnaby, British Columbia. Nicole Cossey qualified in the 50 and 100 free, while Carmen Nam also earned a qualifying mark in the 200 fly.

8. West Chester, 7
Results
W, Southern Connecticut State, 221-118
W, Shippensburg, 237-121
W, Bloomsburg, 170-53
L, Lehigh, 128.5-97.5
Rutgers Invitational
TCNJ Diving Invitational

Kendall Somer had an amazing outing at the Rutgers Invitational in Piscataway, N.J. to close out the women’s fall season. Somer managed to win the 200 breast against a loaded field, and took second in the 100 breast. She also posted a 1:02.90 split to help the 400 medley relay to a B cut time that just missed the NCAA A cut.

9. Grand Valley State, 1
Results
W, Northern Michigan, 138-105
L, UW-Milwaukee, 191-112
W, Hillsdale, 159-77
W, Calvin, 149-93
W, Ashland, 138-90
W, Lewis, 191-90
L, Michigan State, 162-138
2nd, Doug Coers Invite
1st, Calvin College Invitational

Last time out, Grand Valley State took home the Calvin College Invitational title, but still managed to drop in the rankings, nearly outside of the top 10 after holding the top ranking in the first poll. The Laker women concluded the Calvin College Invite with wins in the 200 and 400 medley relays, while also picking up a boatload of NCAA B cuts.

10. Lindenwood, T16
Results
4th, Show-Me Showdown
L, Truman State, 149-113
W, Saint Louis
W, Maryville
2nd, Drury Invitational
2nd, Delta State Invitational

While the men won the Delta State Invitational, the Lindenwood women took home second-place honors. Alecia McGillivray had a breakout meet with a win in the 1000 free (10.07.78) and an NCAA B cut in the 200 free (1:53.09). She also helped the Lady Lions to an NCAA B cut in the 800 free relay.

REST OF THE BEST
11. LIU Post, 9
12. Alaska-Fairbanks, 19
13. Tampa, 11
14. Cal Baptist, 18
T15. Nova Southeastern, 14
T15. Northern Michigan, T16
17. Wayne State, 10
18. West Florida, 21
19. Ashland, T25
20. Saint Cloud State, 24
T21. Truman State, 13
T21. Edinboro, 20
23. Indianapolis, 15
24. Bridgeport, NR
25. Gannon, NR

Also receiving votes: Limestone, Indiana (PA), Bloomsburg, Cal East Bay, Hillsdale, Findlay
Dropped out: Bloomsburg (23), Florida Tech (T25)

DII MEN
THE TOP 10
1. Drury, 5
Results
4th, Missouri Showdown
L, Missouri State, 147-96
W, Delta State, 170-67
1st, Drury Invitational
NTS, Arkansas-Little Rock

The Drury men had a strong outing at their own Drury Invitational, outpacing Incarnate Word by more than 100 points. Junior Banjo Borja set the pool record in the 200 breast with a 2:01.47 to lead the way for the Panthers.

T2. Grand Valley State, 2
Results
W, Northern Michigan, 138-105
L, UW-Milwaukee, 191-112
W, Hillsdale, 159-77
W, Calvin, 149-93
W, Ashland, 138-90
W, Lewis, 191-90
L, Michigan State, 162-138
1st, Doug Coers Invite
1st, Calvin College Invitational

The Lakers remained in the second spot with a pair of invitational wins since the last poll. The Laker men dominated the Calvin College Invitational with a total tally of 1,320. Calvin, the hosts, stood second overall with 583 points to demonstrate just how deep GVSU is in championship scoring format.

T2. Queens (Charlotte), 3
Results
W, Gardner-Webb
L, Wingate
W, Davidson
1st, Fall Frenzy

All-everything Matt Josa continued to post incredible times this year. First, he broke the NCAA D2 record in the 200 back during prelims while also taking down school records in the 200 IM, 100 fly and 100 back.

4. Florida Southern, 1
Results
3rd, All-Florida Invite
W, Tampa, 138-124
W, Saint Leo, 143-119
W, Florida Tech, 126-74
W, Rollins, 154-50
2nd, Sharks Invitational

The Mocs certainly set themselves up for a strong NCAA Championship season with a pair of automatic qualifiers at the Sharks Invitational with Thomas Nguyen and Luis Rojas both cleared the NCAA A cut in the 200 back with a 1-2 finish in the distance dorsal finale.

5. Wingate, 4
Results
1st, Wingate Quad Meet
W, Queens, 140-105
Fall Frenzy
2nd, SCAD Invitational

Wingate’s men finished second only to junior college power Indian River State College at the SCAD Invitational. Roman Kanyuka put together a strong performance in Savannah, winning the 200 breaststroke with a school record time of 2:00.42. The clipped teammate Damjan Petrovski’s mark of 2:00.52 from last year.

6. Tampa, 8
Results
L, Florida Southern
L, Indian River State
W, Saint Leo
W, Florida Tech
L, Nova Southeastern
1st, Nova Southeastern Invitational

Tampa walked away with the team title at the Sharks Invitational hosted by Nova Southeastern. The Tampa relays truly shined as the Spartans wound up with five school records in as many relays, while Karl Burdis took an individual mark in the 200 back with a NCAA B cut time fo 1:47.21.

7. Lindenwood, 7
Results
3rd, Show-Me Showdown
W, Truman State, 179-83
W, Saint Louis
W, Missouri S&T
3rd, Drury Invitational
1st, Delta State Invitational

The Lindenwood men managed to capture the team title at the Delta State Invitational, beating the hosts by more than 200 points. Sylwester Borowicz-Skoneczny made school history with the team’s first NCAA A cut at the Division II level in its inaugural season. He won the 1000 free in 9:07.96 en route to the history mark.

8. UC San Diego, 6
Results
W, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 174-126
L, UC Santa Barbara, 183-113
2nd, Arena Invitational

The Triton men finished second at the Arena Invitational behind Hawaii in Monterey Park, Calif. There were a total of five teams at the meet. Nicholas Korth put together an incredible meet, he undercut the meet record in the 200 breast with a 1:56.26. Korth is the 2011 NCAA D2 champ in the event, and could be going for a special swim in March 2014.

9. West Chester, 11
Results
W, Southern Connecticut State, 220-140
W, Shippensburg, 265-87
W, Bloomsburg, 190-47
W, Lehigh, 134-107
Rutgers Invitational
TCNJ Diving Invitational

Victor Polyakov had an unbelievable swim at the Rutgers Invitational to close out the fall season for West Chest. Polyakov posted a 4:20.26 to break the NCAA record in the event, then he set a conference record in the 200 free with a 1:36.86 leadoff in the 800 free relay. Then he popped an NCAA A cut 15:19.23 in the 1650 free.

T10. St. Cloud State, 18
Results
W, South Dakota State, 178.5-121.5
L, North Dakota, 169-129
W, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 177.5-122.5
W, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 201-99
2nd, UW-Green Bay, UW-Whitewater
L, Gustavus Adolphus, 193-96
W, Wisconsin-La Crosse, 150.5-88.5
W, South Dakota, 189-109
1st, Rochester Invitational

The Huskies closed out the fall season strong with a win at the Rochester Invitational. The meet featured a school record in the 1650 free by Alex Bryson with a 15:27.94 as well as a 1:39.86 in the 200 free for another school record.

T10. Bridgeport, 13
Results
W, Queens (NY), 115-89
W, St. Rose, 141-107
3rd, TCNJ Invitational

Oscar Pereiro gave the Bridgeport men something to cheer for at the TCNJ Invitational at the beginning of the month as he surged to an NCAA A cut time in the 100 back with a 47.79. He also won the 50 free (20.49) and 100 free (44.97) at the competition.

REST OF THE BEST
12. Indianapolis, 9
13. Missouri S&T, 15
14. Nova Southeastern, 10
15. Delta State, 17
16. Fairmont State, T22
17. Cal Baptist, 16
18. Wayne State, 12
19. Limestone, NR
20. Ashland, 21
21. Saint Leo, 14
22. Lewis, 25
23. Malone, NR
24. Simon Fraser, 24
25. Lake Erie, NR

Also receiving votes: Colorado School of Mines, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist, Gannon, Florida Tech, Mesa State, Bloomsburg, Pfeiffer
Dropped out: Indiana (PA) (19), Florida Tech (20), Henderson State (T22)

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