Swim and Dive kicks off Season with a Splash

Daniel McElroy ® Sports Editor |

The Minnesota State University  swim and dive team started their season last Thursday with a 205-73 win over Southwest Minnesota State University, and another 187-111 win over St. Cloud State University.

The Mavericks came out with something to prove on Thursday, who took first place in all 16 events on the night.

It started out with the Mavericks winning first in the 200 yard medley relay with the combination of Meredith Cox, Elise Mishmash, Kayla Rinderknecht, and Lauren Szolyga who finished with a time of 1:50.87.

Eve Berg then took first in her 1000 yard freestyle event with a time of 11:06.55 with second place, Annika Freiburger from SMSU, finishing just over 23 seconds later.

The Mavericks took the top seven spots in the 200 yard freestyle, with Ella DeFever taking first with a time of 1:56.70. The women did the same in the 50 yard freestyle, this time with Liv Meinberg and Anja Enervold who both finished first at 28.18. Liv Meinberg took another first place win in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 25.02. Ella DeFever also took her second first place finish of the night in the 100 yard backstroke, who finished with a time of 59.97.

Emily Goodman took first place in the 50 yard breaststroke with a time of 30.69 and Katie Steiff finished first in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.69. Steiff took another first place finish with a time of 27.27 in the 50 yard butterfly.

In the ninth event of the night, Elise Mishmash finished first in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 54.31. In the 500 yard freestyle, Emelia Selky took first with a time of 5:23.29.

In the 3-meter dive, Minnesota State University’s Ayla Taylor and Kayla Joye went head to head as the only diving competitors, with Taylor taking first with a score of 176.50, and Joye with a score of 155.50. In the one meter dive, Taylor beat out Joye again with a score of 177.6, to Joye’s close 174.60.

Katie Steiff took yet another first place win in the 100 yard IM, with a time of 1:02.16, finishing the day with 3 first place victories. 

In the final event, the Mavericks took first in the 200 yard freestyle relay with the team of Mishmash, Meinberg, Enervold, and DeFever with a time of 1:39.70.

In Saturday’s meet against St. Cloud State University, Minnesota State University took a big win over a Huskies team that ranked first in the preseason NSIC coaches poll, just one spot above the Mavericks. 

The Mavericks took first in the 200 yard medley relay and 400 yard freestyle relay with times of 1:48.30, and 3:36.17 respectively.

Ella DeFever took first in three individual events, the first in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:56.91, the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 25.03, and the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 53.83. DeFever was also part of the squad who took first in the 400 yard freestyle relay.

Emelia Selky took first place in the 1000 yard freestyle event with a time of 10:54.32. Selky also took first in the 500 yard freestyle event with a time of 5:18.50, and was also part of the winning relay team with DeFever. 

In a meeting that could end up being the most important of the season, the Mavericks showed who deserves to be number one, with a very convincing win against the top ranked team in the conference. 

The Mavericks start out the season with a 2-0 record, as they get ready to take on Minnesota State University, Moorhead on Saturday, Jan. 16. 

Header photo courtesy of Maverick Athletics.