Next weekend kicks off many of the major conferences in Division II Swimming & Diving, giving fans a preview of what they can expect to see at NCAA Championships in March. Take a look below to find out who to watch across some of the biggest D2 conferences.<\/p>\n
Wayne State University will return to the meet as the defending conference champions on the women\u2019s side, while Grand Valley State University will return as the defending conference champions for the men. This year, Grand Valley State seems to be the strongest team on paper to win both championships. <\/span><\/p>\n Senior <\/span>Leonie Van Noort<\/b>, who was a two-time NCAA Champion last year, will return for her last season leading the Lakers and should help get some big individual points and boost their relays. The Laker men will be lead by junior <\/span>Gabriel Souza, <\/b>who is part of a deep sprint group that includes sophomore <\/span>Benjamin Walling <\/b>and senior <\/span>Daniel Abbott<\/b>. <\/b>Between these three the GVSU men should rack up some big points individually and with relays. <\/span><\/p>\n While Grand Valley State looks to be the favorite, don\u2019t count out Northern Michigan, who could conceivably make a run for either conference title. Freshman <\/span>Rachel Helm <\/b>could be one of the biggest breakout stars of this year and has the potential to win individual titles in the 100 free, 100 back, and 100 fly. Wayne State also returns sophomore <\/span>Lezlie Bueno Estrada <\/b>and senior All-American <\/span>Manuela Ferreira<\/b>, who can both challenge for individual titles in the sprint free and breaststroke events respectively. The 2017 GLIAC Championships will run Feb 8 – 11 at the Gerstacker Regional Aquatic Center at Saginaw Valley State University. <\/span><\/p>\n All eyes will be on the defending NCAA Champions Queens University of Charlotte at the 2017 ASC Championships as fans look to see if the Royals have enough in the tank to repeat their wins this year. Queens lost a great class last year that was key to their championship titles, but both their men and women are still strong enough to challenge for both titles in March. While some of their swimmers may not be fully rested for this meet, the Royals performance should give a good indication of what the team has left to challenge for a championship title. <\/span><\/p>\n Junior <\/span>Dion Dreesens <\/b>is coming off an amazing sophomore year and hasn\u2019t been too far off his in-season times from last year. He was 43.84, 1:34.20, and 9:14.08 at the 2016 ASC meet to take the 100, 200, and 1000 individual titles, and was able to drop considerably at NCAA\u2019s. If he is anywhere near those times it will be a good sign for him past the conference meet. Fellow junior <\/span>Nick Arakelian <\/b>is having a stellar season and should do his part to grab a few individual titles, as could newcomer <\/span>Paul Pijulet <\/b>who joins an incredible junior class for Queens.\u00a0<\/span>The Lady Royals will return several conference champions of their own, including <\/span>McKenzie Stevens <\/b>in the distance events, <\/span>Hannah Peiffer <\/b>in sprint fly and back, and <\/span>Kyrie Dobson <\/b>in the sprint events. <\/span><\/p>\n Wingate will be looking to hold on to their runner-up position in the conference. Redshirt junior\u00a0Sebastian Holmberg\u00a0<\/strong>will\u00a0help strengthen Wingate’s point haul. As a swimmer for Bluegrass Mountain Conference rival Catawba Holmberg recorded three top three placings in the 100 back, 100 fly, and 100 free.\u00a0Senior Leif-Henning Kluever <\/b>should also be good for three top 8 individual appearances in addition to helping out on the relays.\u00a0The Bulldog women’s greatest asset in the conference will be their\u00a0breaststroke duo of seniors <\/span>Olga Kosheleva <\/b>and <\/span>Jessika Weiss.\u00a0<\/b>Weiss won the 200 breast at last years meet, while Josheleva was dual champion in the 100 and 200 breast in 2015.\u00a0The 2017 Bluegrass Mountain Championships will be begin February 8th at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. <\/span><\/p>\n UC San Diego is in a good place to defend their 2016 PCSC Championship titles at this year\u2019s conference championships and extend their streak of 8 consecutive team titles for both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams. <\/span><\/p>\n The Triton women have some high level talent in the breaststroke events, with the trio of sophomore <\/span>Lily Maxfield <\/b>(11th), junior <\/span>Anshanika Phetbenjakul <\/b>(10th)<\/span>,<\/b> and senior <\/span>Jaimie Bryan<\/b> (3rd)<\/span> all ranked within the top 11 nationally from their times in the fall. Bryan has never won either breaststroke event at the conference level, but with the way she is swimming expect her to challenge for the top of the podium in either event to set herself up for a great NCAA\u2019s. Other swimmers to watch will include sophomore transfer <\/span>Amanda Sumrow, <\/b>who posted a 2:01.23 in the 200 butterfly at mid-season. That is a tenth faster than what won that event last year. Sophomore <\/span>Reagan Eickert <\/b>also seemed poised to grab an individual title after going a best time in the 500 free (4:57.37) at the A3 Invitational. It took a 4:59.32 to win the event last year. <\/span><\/p>\n For the men, All-American senior <\/span>Michael Cohn <\/b>should be in a position to win his third consecutive 200 backstroke given his third ranked time from the fall (1:45.56) and defend his conference titles in the 200 and 500 free. Junior All-American <\/span>Kevin Wylder <\/b>will also be looking for a three-time title defense in the 100 butterfly and could be a title threat in multiple events. Senior transfer <\/span>Gabriel Hernandez <\/b>will also be one to watch — he\u2019s currently ranked #1 in the conference in the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 fly. The 2017 Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships will begin February 8th in Monterey Park. <\/span><\/p>\nBluegrass Mountain\u00a0Conference Championships<\/b><\/h3>\n
Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships<\/b><\/h3>\n
Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships<\/b><\/h3>\n