2023-24 NSIC Women's Swimming & Diving Preseason Coaches' Poll

9/21/2023 10:00:00 AM

Augustana tops NSIC Swimming & Diving Coaches' Poll

BURNSVILLE, Minn. - Augustana University earned the top spot in the in the NSIC Swimming & Diving Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The defending NSIC Champions amassed 61 points and six first place votes to finish five points ahead of Minnesota State, which had 56 points and two first place votes.  St. Cloud State (47), Sioux Falls (42) and Northern State (35) round out the top five.  Concordia-St. Paul was sixth with 24 points and the final first place vote. 

Augustana's Bryn Greenwaldt was named the NSIC Preseason Swimmer of the Year while St. Cloud State's Kailey Fossell earned NSIC Preseason Diver of the Year honors. 

NSIC coaches rank each team from 1 to 8 with a first-place vote receiving 8 points, second place 7, third place 6, etc. Coaches do not rank their own team or vote for their own players in the preseason poll.

The NSIC sponsored women’s swimming and diving during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years with the aid of affiliated members. In 2016-17 season, NSIC Swimming and Diving returned as a seven team all NSIC sport. In 2019-20 the NSIC moved to eight participating members with the addition of Southwest Minnesota State and is now a nine-team league with the addition of Concordia-St. Paul in 2020-21.  

The NSIC Swimming and Diving season will get underway on Friday, September 22 with the regular season culminating at the NSIC Swimming & Diving Championship on February 14-17, 2024 at the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; hosted by the University of Sioux Falls. 

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Bryn Greenwaldt (FR/BK, So., Foley, Minn. / Foley HS) - Augustana
  • 2022-23 NSIC Swimmer of the Year
  • National Runner-up in the 50 free with a time of 22.56
  • First Team All-America in the 100 free with a time of 50.21
  • Won both the 50 free and the 100 free events at NSIC Championships 
  • Member of 400 free relay that set the school record at the NSIC championships
Bryn was the NSIC Swimmer of the Year as a freshman and will look to improve on an exceptional first year. Her performance at the NCAA Championships was memorable as she finished as the runner up in the 50 yard freestyle and A Final qualifier in the 100 Freestyle. Her impact on relays will also be felt all season long and during championship portions.
Head Coach Andrew Makepeace
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Kailey Fossell (Diver, Jr., Tower, Minn. / Mesabi East HS) - St. Cloud State
  • Placed third in the 3-meter dive at 2022-23 NSIC Championships
  • Earned All-NSIC honors in the 3-meter dive in 2022-23
  • Placed seventh in the 1-meter dive at 2022-23 NSIC Championships
  • Placed sixth in both 1 and 3-meter diving at the NSIC Championships as a freshman
  • Qualified for the NCAA Championships as a freshman
Kailey returns as a four-time NSIC finalist, NCAA qualifier, and multiple NSIC diver of the week winner. She is also the leader of our diving team. She is one of the most competitive divers in the NSIC and we look forward to seeing what she will accomplish this year.
Head Coach Jeff Hegle

COACHES' QUOTES & ATHLETES TO WATCH

AUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY 

This is my welcome back to the NSIC and familiar foe territory after spending over a decade at the University of Findlay. The talent and competition in this conference presents some great challenges that is unique to our Women's Program, but we are eager to repeat as Conference Champions and hoist the trophy once more! The group we return is makes up most of the scoring roster from a year ago, including some who would have provided some serious fire power who didn't score. They are joined by a very talented and hungry group looking to improve on the tally from last year's total. We don't speak much about the end goal, but the daily challenges and process needed to be followed to ensure the trophy remains in Sioux Falls at Augustana University! Skol!
Head Coach Andrew Makepeace
Bryn was the NSIC Swimmer of the Year as a freshman and will look to improve on an exceptional first year. Her performance at the NCAA Championships was memorable as she finished as the runner up in the 50 yard freestyle and A Final qualifier in the 100 Freestyle. Her impact on relays will also be felt all season long and during championship portions.
Head Coach Andrew Makepeace
Kate holds record for 6 and 11 Dives on the 3 Meter Board. Placed just outside top 8 at her first NSIC Championship after competing a season at USD. Kate has great potential and should hit her qualifying scores for the NCAA Pre-Qualification Meet early this season!
Head Coach Andrew Makepeace

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, ST. PAUL 

Farida enters her junior year at CSP with strong showings at the NSIC Championships the past two seasons. The 2022-2023 season ended with four second place finishes in the 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 Free at the NSIC Championships. We are excited for her to help lead the team in and out of the pool and make a run at qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
Head Coach Rachel Busch
Caitlyn was a multi-time Minnesota High School State qualifier, with a top 5 Finish, and a recipient of the HS All-American award. Caitlyn qualified for the USA Junior Zone meets in both the 14-15 and 16-18 age groups and has consistently shown improvement in developing her diving skills. Last year she tagged on a number of NCAA collegiate dual meet wins on both 1 and 3 meter, broke a pool record and achieved the division 2 national qualifying score during many of her past season dual meets. We look forward to her development and toward a goal of adding NCAA All-American to her list of accomplishments.
Head Coach Rachel Busch

UNIVERSITY OF MARY

We are very excited to have an All-American swimmer, several highly competitive returners, and lots of new energy on the team as we bring 6 new swimmers and 1 new diver to the roster this year. Continuing to build team culture and put in the work in and out of the pool gives us as a coaching staff and our athletes lots of confidence for this upcoming season.
Head coach Abigale Loel
Victoria has had an outstanding career here at the University of Mary thus far. Being named NCAA First Team All-American and winning four conference championship events in the 2022-2023 season, we are incredibly excited to see what this upcoming season holds for her.
Head coach Abigale Loel

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO 

Our team is young with 15 freshman. It will be interesting and exciting to see how the team comes together and how the freshman perform/progress throughout the year. With so many unknows, it's hard to project how competitive we can be at the end of the season, so we'll take it one day at a time. We're excited for the season!
Head Coach Nathan Owens
Abby is an elite backstroker who's continued to improve year to year. As a freshman she was a conference champion in the 100 backstroke and a National Qualifier. In her second year, she was able to drop time improve and become a NSIC champion in the 100 & 200 back in route to becoming an All-American in the 100 backstroke finishing 7th overall.
Head Coach Nathan Owens
Aspen is such a hard worker and hold herself to a very high standard. She a blast to work with and makes her coaches look good. She has dedicated herself to be better year to year and continues improving. Aspen has been All-Conference and qualified for the National Championship in her first two years and we're excited to see where she can take her diving in year number three.
Head Coach Nathan Owens

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MOORHEAD

Entering the 2023-24 season, we couldn’t be more motivated and excited to start the year. We have a fantastic group of strong returners who have set the foundation of commitment and team culture that will drive our success. We have been impressed with our team leaders showing the first years what it means to be a Dragon. Our first years came in ready to go and have been stepping up in practice and showing great potential. The fresh faces on deck have brought a new level of excitement and energy that has been bringing our practices to new levels. We can’t wait to race!
Head Coach Charlie King
Cami is a dedicated and promising swimmer who is ready to step up and have a great year. We have to thank her high school and club coaches for doing a great job helping her become the swimmer she is today. She is very motivated and easy to coach. Every time Cami gets in the pool, she is pushing herself to get to a new level. She always has a great attitude, and a subtle intensity that fuels her training. We feel lucky and are excited to have her as part of our team.
Head Coach Charlie King
Isabelle Johnson is dedicated to her team and an incredibly talented hard worker. She always gives 100% and has a courageous spirit that never backs down from new or challenging dives. While being one of the hardest workers, she always wears a smile and makes others feel welcome. Isabelle is a fantastic teammate that makes others around her better. We are very excited to see what she will do this year!
Head Coach Charlie King

NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY

We have some great opportunities this year, we have dedicated student-athletes who gave us an amazing season this past year to set the foundation for this coming season. We will also have diving for the first time in years. Our incoming class consists of freshman, transfer and graduate students that want to be successful in the pool and the classroom. They have role model returners who are just as hungry for the success they had this past year. As a coach, you can't ask for much more than that.
Head Coach Kaden Huntrods
Lilly is coming off of an amazing freshman year with 4 individual victories from this past conference and 3 NCAA swims placing 24th in Division II in the 200 Fly. She also had the 2nd fastest 100 IM in Division II. She is excited for this coming year and wants to continue her past success into this year. She has been a great individual on the team, in the classroom and her community.
Head Coach Kaden Huntrods
Jacie is coming to us from Boone, IA to kickstart our Dive program for the first time in many years. She concluded her high school diving career as the most decorated diver in Boone High School history. She has broken both 6 and 11 one-meter diving records at her school, and qualified for Iowa State High School Diving every year with improvements each year concluding with a 10th place finish this past season.
Head Coach Kaden Huntrods

UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS

We are very excited about this season for USF swimming. With a great mix of returners, veteran leadership and a large incoming class of new swimmers we believe this team has the potential to be extremely special in the pool and classroom.
Head Coach Chris Hamstra
We are very excited that Val decided to return for a 5th year. She is a team leader and captain. Val broke through last year recorded her first ever NCAA B Standard. She comes back hungry and ready to get to work. We expect another great season in and out of the pool from Val.
Head Coach Chris Hamstra

SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY

We have continued to build depth in events and have continued to become more competitive in the NSIC in our five years as a program. Our current freshman class is the largest that we have ever recruited and we returning a lot of talent in our So, Jr and Sr's. We are excited about our team's potential, and can't wait to get into meet season!
Head Coach Marty Wahle
Maija has continued to improve each year with consistently working hard in practice and consistently swimming well in meets. Maija always shows up and swims her best for her team and teammates; she had some of the top freestyle and backstroke relay splits at last year's NSIC Champs. We are looking forward to Maija's ability to add speed to our relays, and also excited about her potential to improve in individual events as well!
Head Coach Marty Wahle
Sarah has steadily improved in her three years with the Mustangs. She continues to work on challenging dives in practice and perfecting foundational diving aspects. Sarah's confidence in big meet scenarios has continued to grow, and we are looking forward to seeing her and our other divers excel on the boards this season!
Head Coach Marty Wahle

ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY

We have returned a talented and versatile group of upperclassmen that will lead our team this year. We've also brought in a strong incoming class of first year and transfers that will make immediate contributions to our team success. We're excited to see what this group accomplishes this year!
Head Coach Jeff Hegle
Meredith returns as one of the top performers in the NSIC. She is the school record holder in the 200 IM, named to the All-Conference team in the 200 IM, 400 IM, 800 Free Relay and 400 Free Relay, and has been named NSIC Swimmer of the Week multiple times. Meredith has been building on her success as a freshman and sophomore and will continue her success this season.
Head Coach Jeff Hegle
Kailey returns as a four-time NSIC finalist, NCAA qualifier, and multiple NSIC diver of the week winner. She is also the leader of our diving team. She is one of the most competitive divers in the NSIC and we look forward to seeing what she will accomplish this year.
Head Coach Jeff Hegle
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