The South Dakota State men’s swimming and diving team has been picked to finish second in the 2024-25 Summit League standings and the women’s squad has been tabbed to place third in preseason polls announced Thursday.
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SIOUX FALLS — The South Dakota State men’s swimming and diving team has been picked to finish second in the 2024-25 Summit League standings and the women’s squad has been tabbed to place third in preseason polls announced Thursday.
The Jackrabbit men totaled 31 points to finish behind defending champion Denver with 36 points and six first-place votes. South Dakota received the other first-place vote and placed third in the poll, which was conducted among the league’s seven head coaches.
SDSU finished fourth in the league standings a season ago.
In the women’s division, SDSU collected 26 points to stand behind Denver (36 points) and South Dakota (31 points). The defending champion Pioneers received six first-place votes to take the top spot, with USD gaining the other first-place vote.
The Jackrabbits placed fifth out of eight teams at last season’s league championships.
Four Jackrabbits were named swimmers and divers to watch for the upcoming season. Representing the SDSU men were Denilson Cyprianos and Reece Reid, while Gigi Hioki and Anna Mei Castro were nominated on the women’s side.
Cyprianos, a graduate student from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, is the school record holder in the 200-yard backstroke (1:44.03) and was runner-up in the event at the 2024 Summit League Championships. He also recorded sixth-place individual finishes in the 200 and 500 freestyle events at the league meet.
Cyprianos went on to represent his home country in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Reid, a sophomore from Keller, Texas, placed 17th in 3-meter diving at the 2024 Summit League Championships.
A sophomore from Liberty Lake, Washington, Hioki excelled in the freestyle events for the Jackrabbit women last season, placing seventh in both the 200 and 1,650 freestyle at the league championships.
Castro, a sophomore from Barcelona, Spain, recorded a ninth-place finish in 1-meter diving at the 2024 Summit League Championships and added a 15th-place effort on the 3-meter board.
South Dakota State is scheduled to host an intrasquad meet at 4 p.m. Friday before the women’s squad kicks off the 2024-25 campaign Oct. 10 with a dual meet at Iowa State. First action for the men’s team is slated for Oct. 18 with the Jackrabbits competing in a tri-dual against St. Thomas and Minnesota in Minneapolis.
The 2025 Summit League Championships are slated for Feb. 19-22 in Iowa City, Iowa.
