This Week
The University of North Dakota swimming and diving teams head to Houston, Texas for the 2016 WAC Championships on Feb. 24-27. The championship begins Wednesday afternoon at 10:30 a.m. CT with women's 1-meter diving prelims followed by the men's 3-meter diving prelims. The first finals events will begin in the evening session on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT, with the 200 medley and 800 free relays and finals for diving. You can find a full schedule of events here.
Live Coverage
The WAC will be streaming the finals of all four nights. Viewers can watch for free by going to www.wacsports.com/live.
UND Coverage
Follow along with the 2016 WAC Championships as daily recaps, interviews, and all the top 10 finishers for UND will be posted at UNDsports.com.
Social Media
Receive daily coverage by following @UNDswimdive, the official Twitter account of the University of North Dakota swimming and diving program. Stay connected with the WAC Championships by using #WACsd for all of the coverage in Houston.
#WACTION
This marks the third full-season of competition in the Western Athletic Conference for the UND men, and the fifth for the women.
Third Time's the Charm
UND will try and break the title streak of UNLV (Men) and Northern Arizona (Women) this weekend as both schools have won the last two titles.
Poll Position
The Western Athletic Conference announced its men's and women's swimming and diving pre-championship coaches polls, as voted on by the seven men's head coaches and the eight women's head coaches in the league. Air Force was selected as the favorite to win the men's championship and NM State and Northern Arizona were tied as the favorite to win the women's championship. UND was picked to finish sixth on the men's side, and fifth on the women's side.
Looking Back
Last season, the UND men and women finished sixth and seventh in their respective standings at the 2015 WAC Championships in San Antonio. Noah Lucas set a new school record in the 200-free on the men's side; while Courtney Funk became UND's first-ever female WAC champion by winning the 50-free.
Women - FINAL Team Rankings
1. Northern Arizona 666
2. New Mexico State 539
3. Northern Colorado 447.5
4. Grand Canyon 447
5. Bakersfield 438
6. Idaho 422
7. North Dakota 361
8. Seattle U 270.5
Men - FINAL Team Rankings
1. UNLV 715.5
2. Air Force 705.5
3. Wyoming 691.5
4. Grand Canyon 544.5
5. Bakersfield 370.5
6. North Dakota 257.5
7. Seattle U 191
Double Trouble
North Dakota's Jacob Wielinski was named Western Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Week for the second time this season for Oct. 12-18.
Wielinski, a freshman from Moundsview, Minn. (Irondale HS) continued his impressive start to his collegiate career with three individual wins in UND's win over South Dakota State. He easily outdistanced the competition with a 9:25.87 time in the 1,000 free, a 4:36.84 showing in the 500 free and a winning 1:57.05 time in the 200 IM.
Wielinski was named WAC Swimmer of the Week for the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 4 after UND's win over St. Cloud State.
Diving Zone
North Dakota's Megan Seehusen was named Western Athletic Conference Women's Diver of the Week for Oct. 19-25 after her perfomance at Air Force.
Seehusen, a freshman from St. Cloud, Minn. (St. Cloud Technical HS) picked up her first collegiate win on the 1-meter board, scoring a 232.45. UND also finished 2-3-4 on the 3-meter board with Seehusen (226.45), Ariana Brace (219.15), and Alexis Eissinger (218.50) rounding out the top four.
"It was great to see Megan get her first win," said head diving coach Brian Strom. "I thought overall it was a good meet following a hard training program."
Hyslop Hysteria
The UND swimming and diving teams have been nearly unbeatable at home the last two seasons, going 18-4. The UND women are now 11-1 at home in the last two seasons with the only loss coming vs. Minnesota.
Dual of Fates
It would've been wise to buy stock in the UND swimming and diving teams a while back because it would now be paying dividends. UND has seen its dual meet record finish at .500 or better in every season under third-year head coach Chris Maiello. A look at how the dual meet records have been trending upwards in recent seasons:
WOMEN
2015-16 5-2
2014-15 12-5
2013-14 9-7
2012-13 8-9-1
MEN
2015-16 4-3
2014-15 6-6
2013-14 7-5
2012-13 2-11
Racking Up Winners in the WAC
North Dakota athletes were recognized five different times in 2014-15 with "Athlete of the Week" accolades from the conference. Freshman martin Pozniak got his collegiate career off to a great start, winning the Male Swimmer of the Week in each of the first two weeks of the season. Steph Frey won the Female Swimmer of the Week (Jan. 12) while Clayton Metcalf (Oct. 27) and Jen Anklan (Nov. 10) each picked up Diver of the Week accolades.
Moment of Silence for the Champion
Senior Courtney Funk became UND's first female WAC Champion last season with a 22.85 in the 50-yard freestyle. Funk was also a member of the winning 200 free relay team at the WAC Championships.
Hey! Freshmen can do stuff too!
Martin Pozniak was named the Male Freshman of the Year last season by UND Athletics. Pozniak finished as the two-time WAC Swimmer of the Week and broke the school record in the 50-yard backstroke at the WAC Championships. Pozniak also led the team in points while winning a combined 24 individual and team events.
