The Coyote women swim and dive cruises to season opening win

The USD women’s swim and dive team hosted Minnesota State in their season opener Friday night, and won 13 of 16 events to cruise to a 198-100 win.

Three school records were set during competition Friday. Freshman Emily Kahn and Sara Mayer set individual records and both swam on the 200-freestyle relay that set a record. Freshman Christina Spomer and senior Meghan Atwell also swam on the record relay team.

Khan won both the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle competitions, with a school record 26.57 in the 50-meter. Mayer’s record came in the 100-meter butterfly and won the 200 free. 

Freshman Mairead Powers won two events, taking the 400 and 800 freestyles. Freshman Emma Clark won the 100 backstroke and teamed up with Atwell, Mayer and Kahn to win the first event of the evening, the 200 medley relay.

Seniors Maddie Lavin, Naomi Bingham and Isabel Fairbanks added individual event wins. Lavin won the 200 butterfly, being just off her school record pace inthe event. Bingham won the one-meter dive and Fairbanks the 200 IM race. 

Sophomore Stella Fairbanks, Isabel’s younger sister, won the three-meter dive competition.

A plethora of Coyotes also recorded runner-up performances in the pool Friday. Sophomore Kayla Middaugh placed second in the one- and three-meter dives. Spomer placed second in the 50 free. 

Atwell (100 breast), Shannon Banark (100 free) and Madilyn Sindelar (100 fly) took runner-up in their events. Hannah Aitkin (200 free), Maddie Katz (200 fly), Maddie Grant (200 back), Kristen Quigley (400 free) and Ella Kubas (800 free) all earned runner-up finishes as well. 

The Coyote women return to the DakotaDome Pool Oct. 16 against Iowa State, while the men wait for the Kansas Tri-Duals in Lawrence, Kan. Oct. 22-23 to start their season. Both the men’s and women’s teams will compete in the Kansas Tri-Duals.