GREENSBORO, NC – University of Sioux Falls Head Swimming Coach Chris Hamstra was pleased with the performance of freshman Inte Pas, sophomore Ilinde du Plessis and senior Elizabeth Spaans, who had solid performances at the NCAA DII Swimming and Diving Championships which wrapped up competition on Saturday (March 12).

Pas just missed qualifying for the championship round by placing 17^th in the 200 breaststroke at 2:18.89, which was just .03 from 16^th. Also on Saturday, Ilinde du Plessis wrapped up her competition at DII nationals by placing 31^st in the 200 back with a clocking of 2:05.28.

"I was very proud of how Lizzy, Ilinde and Inte represented USF with distinction at the DII Championships," said Hamstra, whose trio of national qualifiers helped USF finish fourth place at the NSIC Championships in late February. "It may not have been exactly how we had hoped the meet would go but each of them fought hard for everything. I couldn't be more proud of their determination and focus," he said.

With du Plessis earning a team point in the 100 back on Friday (March 12), USF has now scored points at the NCAA DII Championships for the fourth time in six seasons in the pool. 

Wrap on DII Nationals  – du Plessis earns Honorable Mention All-American on Friday
With a near personal-best performance (55.74 prelims), du Plessis placed 16th in the 100 back and earned Honorable Mention All-American honors on Friday. A sophomore from Vereeniging, Gauteng, South Africa, du Plessis continued her outstanding season at USF with the performance. In the prelims, she finished in 55.74 which was just .02 off her career best of .55.72. In the finals, she finished in 56.75. Ranked 23th entering the competition, du Plessis moved up seven spots to earn the Honorable Mention All-American status and earn USF team points. The USF standout has recorded 10 top-eight finishes at the NSIC Championships. In addition, du Plessis also placed 39^th in the 200 free in 1:53.28 and 31^st in the 200 back in 2:05.28

Aside from du Plessis, USF senior Elizabeth Spaans competed in the 100 back and 200 IM in her third (fourth invite) NCAA DII Championship meet. She finished with a 29th place finish in the 100 back in 56.70, which was just off her seed time of 55.85. Spaans, who was named a CSCAA All-American in 2020, finished 34th in the 200 IM but did not advance to finals. A CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree, she was part of three third place USF teams that placed third and one that placed fourth in 2022 at the NSIC Championships. At the NSIC Swimming and Diving Championships, Spaans claimed NSIC titles in both the 100 IM and 200 IM while also helping the 800 Free Relay team to a victory and meet record. As a result, Spaans was part of 10 team or individual NSIC titles. A three-time Academic All-NSIC honoree, she landed three B cut times in 2022 with 2:03.41 in the 200 IM, 55.85 in the 100 Back, and 56.15 also in the 100 Back.  

As for Pas, a freshman from Nieuwerkerk aan den IJ, Netherlands, she also competed in the 100 breaststroke and placed 28th in 1:03.89, which was just off her seed time of 1:03.82 on Thursday. Pas, who was named NSIC Swimmer of the Week earlier this year, finished her competition on Saturday at nationals by placing 17th in the 200 breaststroke in 2:18.89.

Each of the three USF standouts received an invite to the DII Championships due to their B cut standard times they posted earlier this season. This was the third straight year USF  received three or more invites to the NCAA Championships.