SIOUX FALLS – After successfully navigating a season impacted by the CoVID-19 pandemic, the University of Sioux Falls Swimming Team (12-5) is heading to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships on Feb. 10-13 in Fargo, ND. Competition will be held at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo, ND.

USF Swimming, which has placed third in the NSIC Championships three straight seasons, has had another successful regular season with 12 dual wins in 17 competitions. USF did not lose to a DII competitor and recorded losses to DI opponents (Nebraska-Omaha, University of South Dakota, and South Dakota State University).

USF Head Coach Chris Hamstra is proud of the work by his team in 2021. And, he is excited about the opportunities presented by the NSIC Championships this week.

"With a global pandemic, this has been the toughest season I've ever seen as a coach with some really difficult circumstances," said Hamstra. "But our student-athletes have shown true resiliency and a lot of grit throughout the year. We are so excited that the NSIC Championship is still taking place and we plan to compete with everything we have and exhibit our heart throughout competition. I know that our team will pour everything they have into every race," noted Hamstra.  

At the NSIC Championships, Swimming prelims will take place each day at 10 a.m. and finals at 5:30 p.m. Diving will take place on Thursday and Saturday with prelims at 1 p.m. and finals in the evening with swimming events. Fans will not be allowed at the event.  

Schedule – NSIC Championship Site - Live Stats - Live Video - Heat Sheets - Session 1

Wednesday – 200 IM, 50 free, 1,000 free and 200 medley relay
Thursday – 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay
Friday – 500 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, 800 free relay
Saturday – 100 IM, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 1,650 free, free relay

Scoring Breakdown
Individual Events - top 16 place: 20-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Relays - top 2 teams: 40-34-32-30-28-26-24-22-18-14-12-10-8-6-4-2

NSIC All-Conference Performers
All-Conference performers shall consist of the top three place finishers in each event and the members of the top two relay teams. The swimmer scoring the most points will be named Swimmer of the Meet. If there is a tie, a breakdown of relay points that each swimmer earned will be used as the tiebreaker. The diver scoring the most points will be named Diver of the Meet. If there is a tie, the total score earned by combining scores from both boards will be used as the tiebreaker.  The team scoring the most points will be named conference champion.
 
Season individual awards including, Freshman of the Year, Swimmer of the Year, Diver of the Year, Swimming Coach of the Year and Diving Coach of the Year, will be voted on at a short coaches' meeting during the meet.

Breaking it down by event – USF leads in 10 events

As USF opens competition, they will feature four returning All-Americans and talented underclass performers. In NSIC pre-meet performance list, All-American junior Elizabeth Spaan has the top time in the 100 back, 100 IM, 200 IM and is second in the 200 back. All-American senior Jenna Krahn, who earlier this year was named the NSIC Swimmer of the Week and has 16 combined titles (10 individual), is top-ranked in the 50 free and second in the 100 free. All-American senior Chantal Kasch, who has nine overall titles (five individual) in 2021, is ranked first in the 100 breast and 200 breast. Freshman Domenica Solano, who has accumulated 11 overall titles (six individual) is ranked first in the 100 fly and second in the 100 back. Sophomore Valerie Childs, who owns 10 combined titles (six individual), is ranked first in the 200 free and second in the 200 fly. Plus, USF has the top time in the 200 free, 400 free, 800 free and 400 medley relays. And, they are second-ranked in the 200 medley relay. (competition times listed in the schedule below).

Here is a breakdown by event on where USF swimmers rank in the events to be contested --

Wednesday – 200 IM, 50 free, 1,000 free and 200 medley relay
 
200 IM – Elizabeth Spaans, first, 2:09.38; Paulina Ruelas, fifth, 2:13.49.
50-Free – Jenna Krahn, 1^st, 22.88; Ursula Demarquet, 3^rd, 24.77; Tori Bailey, 15^th, 25.38
1,000 Free – Nina Groene, 4^th, 10:45.57; Elizabeth Spaans, 6^th, 10:58.70; Evelyn VanDeMark, 7^th, 11:00.98; Ilinde du Plessis, 9^th, 11:02.86; Abigail Ford, 11^th, 11:16.33; Alex Sanchez-Clark, 13^th, 11:19.27
200 Medley Relay – USF, 2nd, 1:48.81
Thursday – 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay
400 IM – Makenzy Kennedy, 2^nd, 4:49.04; Chantal Kasch, 4^th, 4:52.72; Paulina Ruelas, 5^th, 4:54.70; and Aleah Rohde, 10^th, 5:11.52
100 Fly – Domenica Solano, 1^st, 58.18; Makenzy Kennedy, 2^nd, 58.47; Valerie Childs, 4^th, 59.19; Emily Solarski, 8^th, 1:00.10; and Paulina Ruelas, 9^th, 1:00.12
200 Free – Valerie Childs, 1^st, 1:55.12; Ilinde du Plessis, 3^rd, 1:56.49; and Elizabeth Spaans, 11^th, 1:59.42
200 Free Relay – USF, 1^st, 1:37.99
400 Medley Relay – USF, 1^st, 3:54.85
Friday – 500 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, 800 free relay
500 Free – Valerie Childs, 7^th, 5:23.75; Abigail Ford, 8^th, 5:23.77; Evelyn VanDeMark, 10^th, 5:24.70; Paulina Ruelas, 12^th, 5:29.37; Ilinde du Plessis, 13^th, 5:29.36; and KayLee Tringali, 14^th, 5:31.59
100 Back – Elizabeth Spaans, 1^st, 57.77; Domenica Solano, 2^nd, 58.45; Ilinde du Plessis, 5^th, 59.67; Paulina Ruelas, 10^th, 1:00.92; Gio Bario, 11^th, 1:01.21
100 Breast – Chantal Kasch, 1^st, 1:06.73; and Elizabeth Spaans, 7^th, 1:08.51
200 Fly – Valerie Childs, 2^nd, 2:12.53; Makenzy Kennedy, 3^rd, 2:23.28; Paulina Ruelas, 5^th, 2:14.32; Evelyn VanDeMark, 9^th, 2:22.40; and Emily Solarski, 112^th, 2:03.87
800 Free Relay – USF, 1^st, 7:59.45
Saturday – 100 IM, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 1,650 free, free relay
100 IM – Elizabeth Spaans, 1^st, 1:00.25; Paulina Ruelas, 2^nd, 1:01.49; Domenica Solano, 1:02:01
100 Free – Jenna Krahn, 2^nd, 53.81; Ursula Demarquet, 8^th, 54.67; and Domenica Solano, 13^th, 54.91
200 Back – Elizabeth Spaans, 2^nd, 2:08.15; Ilinde du Plessis, 3^rd, 2:09.07; Domenica Solano, 4^th, 2:11.42
200 Breast – Chantal Kasch, 1^st, 2:24.69; Abigail Ford, 10^th, 2:31.67; and Paulina Ruelas, 12^th, 2:32.52
1,650 Free – None ranked.
400 Free Relay – USF, 1^st 3:35.55
 
2019-20 Review – Cougars finished third at NSIC Championships
Directed by Head Coach Chris Hamstra, finished third for the third straight year at the NSIC Championships and advanced four individuals (junior Chantal Kasch, sophomore Elizabeth Spaans, junior Ella Johnson and junior Jenna Krahn) to the NCAA DII Championships for the first time. The Cougars, which recorded an unbeaten record in dual competitions for a first time in the four-year program's history, had a program best 797 points or 192 more than 2018-19 (605.5, 2019). USF had eight individuals or relays crowned champions at the 2020 NSIC Championships, and finished third for a third consecutive year but with 797 points the team finished just 8.5 points from second place and Minnesota State at 805.5 points. They had 12 DII provisional marks and 34 All-NSIC performers.