The USD Swimming and Diving team will be taking a dip in home waters as they take on the University of Nebraska-Omaha and the University of WisconsinGreen Bay on Nov. 2 and 3, respectively, in Vermillion.
The season has just begun for the team and Head Coach Jason Mahowald says that the team is doing well after being a bit shell- shocked against North Dakota in the first meet of the season.
“The women’s team is doing well,” Mahowald said. “They’ve corrected a lot of the mental errors that they made in their first meet.”
The Coyotes dropped their first meet of the season to UND and the women’s team finished third to Iowa State and Nebraska Oct. 26.
But the women’s team handed Northern Iowa their first loss of the season last week.
Senior Shannon Moceri, one of six seniors on the team, has been leading the way for the lady Coyotes.
Moceri took home two individual titles in the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke in the win against Northern Iowa Oct. 27.
She says that the women’s team is hoping for a winning season and believes that is possible now that the team has found their groove.
“The win definitely helps with motivation and the team is looking better and better each day,” Moceri said. “It’s also good now that the freshmen have the jitters out of the way and can focus on what they need to do to improve.”
The meet against UNO will be the first in two weeks for the men’s team and everyone is interested in seeing what the team has to offer after using the time to train.
“We are excited to get back out there into competition,” said senior Cody Horton. “It’s been two weeks of hard work in practice. And I think that after having the experience of the first meet of the season out of the way we are more prepared”
While having their home fans there is good for the team, Moceri said they also have the advantage of their home pool.
“I think there’s a huge advantage of swimming at home,” Moceri said. “One of the main reasons is having a meter pool versus a yard pool that most teams are used to. So we hope that will help us in the long run.”
Following the home meets on Nov. 2-3, the Coyotes will head to Stevens Point, Wisconsin for the Border Battle on Nov. 9.
