University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
South Dakota
Players Mentioned
Swim and Dive Season to Begin Friday Night
10/12/2023 1:09:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
MINNEAPOLIS - The 2023-24 season officially kicks off on Friday evening for the Minnesota swimming and diving programs at Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. The women will face the University of Nebraska and the University of South Dakota in a tri-dual, while the men will face the Coyotes only.
The diving portion of the meet is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. with swimming to follow at 5 p.m. Streaming is available through B1G+ and live results can be found on the MeetMobile app.
The men return six of the nine athletes that competed at the 2023 NCAA Championships for Minnesota. The team finished in 21st place last year, extending the Gophers top-25 finish streak to 32 years, the seventh-longest streak in the nation.
The men's squad is highlighted by three returning individual Minnesota swimming record holders.
Bar Soloveychik enters his junior year after previously being named a 2023 All-Big Ten honoree and a 2022 All-American. The Israel native currently holds school records in the 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free and 800 free relay, two of which he set last season. Over the summer, Soloveychik also broke his home country's national record in the 400 free (long-course meters) at the Israeli World Trials meet.
The 'U' also returns senior Kaiser Neverman who owns three individual school records in the 100 fly, 200 fly and 200 IM, as well as two records in the 800 free relay and 200 medley relay.
Rounding out the returning Gopher individual record holders is graduate senior Desmon Sachtjen who currently holds the school record in the 200 back. The trio of Soloveychik, Neverman and Sachtjen accounted for the top times in nine of the 14 individual events last year.
Joining the Gopher swimmers this year are two transfer students - Neil Simpson and Joe Rudd. Simpson comes to Minnesota for his fifth year after swimming his first four at UPenn. While with the Quakers, he qualified for the Ivy League Championships each year, and was part of the 200 medley relay team that set a program record in 2023. The Quebec native was also a silver medalist in the 200 breaststroke at the 2023 Canadian National Meet.
Rudd joins the Gophers after spending his first two seasons at cross-town competitor, St. Thomas. In his first season with the Tommies, Rudd broke the school record for the 200 breaststroke and was named Summit League Swimmer of the Week.
The men's diving team is returning their top diver from last year, sophomore Drew Bennett. Bennett earned the top scores in each of the three diving events for Minnesota last season as a freshman. The two-time Big Ten Diver of the Week qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in all three events and made it to the national meet in 3-meter springboard and platform.
Aside from the two transfers, the men's team welcomes 10 freshmen in YuTong Wang (diving), Braden Lemke (diving), Omar Abdelwahab (swimming), Smith Connor (swimming), Tyler Hansen (swimming), Davide Harabagiu (swimming), Max Scheurer (swimming), Ryan Slonac (swimming), Ian Steffen (swimming) and Grant Wodny (swimming).
The women's team, ranked No. 24 by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA), returns five of the six swimmers who accounted for the top times in the 14 individual events last season. Last year's team extended their streak of top-25 NCAA Championship finishes to 17-straight seasons after their 17th-place finish.
Megan Van Berkom leads the women's swim team, coming off a 2022-23 season in which she was named a First-Team All-American and Second-Team All-Big Ten. Last season, Van Berkom was responsible for Minnesota's fastest time in five of the 14 individual events (500 free, 1000 free, 200 fly, 200 IM, 400 IM). The senior also holds Minnesota records in both the 200 fly and 200 IM.
Junior Hannah Cornish returns after a strong 2022-23 season in which she swam the top time in three of the Gophers 14 individual events (50 free, 100 free, 200 free). She was also a member of all five of the relay teams and holds the Minnesota record in the 200 free relay.
In addition to Van Berkom and Cornish, the Gophers get Paula Rodriguez Rivero, Eliot Kennedy and Ava Yablonski back, who posted the top times in four individual events for Minnesota last season.
The swimming roster also features eight new freshmen in Ava Goodno, Elise Jacobs, Anja Kaljevic, Mina Kaljevic, Katie McCarthy, Claire Reinke, Jade Roghair and Morgan Thomas.
The women's diving team returns all but one of their NCAA Zone Diving qualifiers from a season ago.
Leading the divers is two-time All-American Vivi Del Angel. After qualifying for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in all three dives, the Veracruz, Mexico native went on to place third in the platform and 16th in the three-meter at the NCAA Championships. Over the summer, Del Angel brought home a silver medal from the World Aquatics Championships after representing her home country in the mixed 10-meter synchronized dive.
Rounding out the diving roster is senior Av Osero, who represented the 'U' in the one-meter at the NCAA Championships, Megan Phillip, Kate LaMonica, Addie Albrecht and newcomer Elna Widerstrom.
Friday will mark the open of the season for Nebraska and the South Dakota men. The South Dakota women began their season last Friday with a 192-108 win over Minnesota State. Taylor Buhr was part of four victories for the Coyotes (100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM, 200 medley relay), while diving counterpart Samanth Mersnick was runner-up in the three-meter dive. For their efforts, the duo was named TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performers of the Week.