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 Thursday.
The Coyote women received one first-place vote and 31 points in the voting and are coming off a runner-up performance at the 2024 Summit League Championships in Minneapolis.
The men's team collected 30 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 senior
Samantha Mersnick, sophomore
Anna Balfanz, sophomore
Joaquin Contreras-Fallico and redshirt-freshman
Teague Bates.
Mersnick, from St. Charles, Missouri, recorded a pair of top six finishes at the Summit League Championships with a fifth on the three-meter diving board and a sixth on the one-meter diving board.
Balfanz, a native of Baraboo, Wisconsin, recorded a trio of top 16 finishes at the Summit League Championships while she was also a member of the 400 medley relay league champs to conclude her first season as a Coyote.
Contreras-Fallico, who hails from Wheat Ridge, Colorado, posted a pair of top ten finishes at the Summit League Championships during his freshman season. He placed fifth in the 200 back and 10th in the 100 back.
Bates, from Highland Village, Texas, will enter his first season competing for the Coyotes after redshirting during the 2023-24 season.
South Dakota opens its season on Friday in Lincoln, Nebraska with duals against Nebraska and Minnesota.
2024-25 SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING PRESEASON POLL
|
Team |
Score (1st place votes) |
| 1. |
Denver |
36 (6) |
| 2. |
South Dakota State |
31 |
| 3. |
South Dakota |
30 (1) |
| 4. |
Omaha |
20 |
| 5. |
St. Thomas |
13 |
| 6. |
Eastern Illinois |
9 |
| 7. |
Southern Indiana |
7 |
2024-25 SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING PRESEASON POLL
|
Team |
Score (1st place votes) |
| 1. |
Denver |
36 (6) |
| 2. |
South Dakota |
31 (1) |
| 3. |
South Dakota State |
26 |
| 4. |
Omaha |
24 |
| 5. |
St. Thomas |
12 |
| 6. |
Southern Indiana |
10 |
| 7. |
Eastern Illinois |
7 |
