SIOUX FALLS – Hosting the first dual meet in program history, University of Sioux Falls Swimming welcomes Minnesota State Moorhead to the Midco Aquatic Center for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference dual on Friday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m.
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The Cougars are coming off a 166.5-99.5 loss at NCAA Division I Northern Iowa on Oct. 14. Freshmen
Alex Sanchez Clark and
Gigi Bario both won events in their collegiate dual debuts. Sanchez Clark won the 1,000-yard freestyle and was followed by two more Cougars in second and third. Bario took the 100-yard backstroke title two events later in the season-opening dual for USF.
Kicking off the competition for the 2017-18 season, Sanchez Clark and teammates
Nina Groene and
Maike Doerr competed in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Open Water Nationals Championships on Sept. 16. The USF trio took seventh as a team, first among NCAA Division II competitors. Sanchez Clark placed 22nd overall and she was followed by Groene in 30th and Doerr in 32nd.
Friday's dual is the first meeting between USF and MSU Moorhead in head-to-head competition. In the NSIC preseason coaches' poll, MSU Moorhead was picked to finish third in the league and the Cougars were tabbed fourth. At the NSIC Championships last season, USF placed sixth in their first season of competition and MSU Moorhead was third.
Leading USF Swimming into their first ever home dual, interim head coach
Rita Koryukova was appointed to her position on Monday. A graduate assistant for the 2016-17 season, Koryukova was a key component for the Cougars' success in their inaugural season. She helped USF qualify five freshmen for the NCAA Championships, a competition where she has no shortage of personal success. An eight-time All-American at Wingate (N.C.), Koryukova was a member of three national championship relays teams and a major part of the national runner-up Wingate swim team in 2016.
