Van Dyne's love for swimming grows as a Coyote

The daughter of two collegiate swimmers, Ashley Van Dyne was destined for greatness in the pool. 

Van Dyne fell in love with swimming from a young age. She not only appreciated the way it allowed her to de-stress and step away from the world for a couple hours a day, but also how it provided her with instant friends for life. 

When deciding where to continue her swimming career, Van Dyne said USD was the obvious choice because of the atmosphere the Coyotes had both in and out of the pool. 

“It was the culture that the team had,” Van Dyne said. “You could tell that everyone wanted to be together. It was a family. You always had a group of people that were there for you no matter what. You could count on them, rely on them through anything.”

Her first year in the DakotaDome pool, Van Dyne was already making waves. She was named to the Summit League Championship roster as a freshman. 

“I definitely didn’t expect to be named to that list,” Van Dyne said. “I came onto the team wanting to get better and I knew the program here would be able to push me to do that.”

Following her successful break-out season, Van Dyne spent two years using that as motivation to strengthen her skills and get better.

Van Dyne came into her senior season thinking it was her last and wanting to enjoy every moment. By having fun and laying it all out in the pool, she was not only able to regain a spot on the Summit League Championship roster, after two years of missing out, but she also finished fifth in the 100 fly and tallied her collegiate bests in all her individual events. 

As the native of Lakeville, Minnesota, looked to wrap up her collegiate career, Van Dyne knew she wasn’t ready to let go of the family she had made here at USD, so she decided to take her fifth year. 

Van Dyne said her biggest goal for this last season is to enjoy every moment and surround herself with all the friends she has made throughout this journey.

Looking towards the future, Van Dyne knows USD swim will still be a part of her life. After graduation she plans to move to Sioux Falls to pursue a career in personal training while also making trips down to Vermillion to cheer on the newest member of the Coyote team, Van Dyne’s youngest sister, Alexa.

“I think she’s going to be able to grow in more ways than one with this program,” Van Dyne said. “I know she has a great support system here. But also, I know that no matter what I’ve done for this team, she gets to pave her own path. I’m so excited to watch her do that.”

So while this may be Van Dyne’s last season competing for the Coyotes, she plans to continue being a staple at USD swim meets.