SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – South Dakota women's swimming and diving team has been picked to finish second while the men's team was selected third in the Summit League preseason coaches' poll, released Wednesday.
The Coyote women received one first-place vote and 41 points in the voting and are coming off a runner-up performance at the 2023 Summit League Championships in Minneapolis.
The men's team collected 36 points in being picked third, the same place they finished during last February's league championships.
Four members of the South Dakota swimming and diving program were named as preseason swimmers and divers to watch by the Summit League.
The four athletes are fifth-year senior
Zachary Kopp, freshman
Charlie Matthews, junior
Emily Kahn and senior
Stella Fairbanks.
Kopp earned All-Summit League honors in five events (one individual, four relays) at the Summit League Championships and finished in the top five in all seven finals contested. The Otsego, Minnesota, native, set school records in the 50 free (19.70) and 100 free (44.14) during the 2022-23 season.
Matthews joins the Coyotes after a strong high school career for Olathe East in Kansas Class 6A where he was a three-time state qualifier. He was the state champion as a senior and sophomore while finishing third as a junior.
Kahn etched her name into the Coyote record books in a strong sophomore campaign in 2022-23 where she became just the third two-time individual Summit League champion in the same meet. She won the 50 free and 100 free at the Summit League Championships and also swam on a title-winning 200 free relay. The Denver, Colorado, native was a six-time All-Summit League honoree last season set school records in the 50 free (22.68) and 100 free (49.73) to go along with four relay school records.
Fairbanks, the 2022 Summit League Women's Diver of the Year, earned All-Summit League honors while finishing third on both boards, the one-meter and three-meter, in last season's Summit League Championships. The Highland, Michigan, native, qualified in the three-meter event for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships.
South Dakota has its annual red-white scrimmage meet on Friday at 6 p.m. at the DakotaDome Pool.
| 2023-24 Summit League Men's Swimming & Diving Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
School |
Points (1st) |
2023 Championship Finish |
| 1. |
Denver |
47 (5) |
1st (902 pts) |
| 2. |
Lindenwood |
45 (3) |
2nd (798.5 pts) |
| 3. |
South Dakota |
36 |
3rd (546 pts) |
| 4. |
South Dakota State |
29 |
4th (495 pts) |
| 5. |
Omaha |
26 |
5th (345 pts) |
| 6. |
St. Thomas |
19 |
6th (242 pts) |
| 7. |
Eastern Illinois |
12 |
7th (171.5 pts) |
| 8. |
Southern Indiana |
10 |
8th (137 pts) |
| 2023-24 Summit League Women's Swimming & Diving Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
School |
Points (1st) |
2023 Championship Finish |
| 1. |
Denver |
49 (7) |
1st (1,047 pts) |
| 2. |
South Dakota |
41 (1) |
2nd (695.5 pts) |
| 3. |
Lindenwood |
39 |
3rd (566.5 pts) |
| 4. |
Omaha |
29 |
4th (479 pts) |
| 5. |
South Dakota State |
27 |
5th (317 pts) |
| 6. |
St. Thomas |
17 |
6th (219 pts) |
| 7. |
Eastern Illinois |
12 |
7th (189 pts) |
| 8. |
Southern Indiana |
10 |
8th (125 pts) |
