Omaha, Neb. – The Omaha Mavericks had a major sweep of the University of South Dakota Coyotes on senior night. The women won 139-104 and the men picked up their first ever program win over the Coyotes 121-119. 

"Our swimmers swam fast and raced hard when the easy route was to slow down and avoid the pain," said head coach Jessica Hessel. "They are hungry and have a lot of fight in them. We don't always walk away with victories, but tonight felt extra special to get a win for our men and women. What a way to rally behind our seniors, and let them leave their home turf on top."

Friday's conference meet opened with the 200-medley relay where the women picked up first place. A team comprised of Gracie Streblow, Jillian Altmaier, Annika Bussinger, and Payton Easley finished with a time of 1:46.22. The men's team comprised of Mason Schroeder, Amir Haviv, Jace Walker, and Grant Waszak placed second with a time of 1:33.26. 

In the 1000-free Carina Monroe claimed second with a time of 10:46.59. Nick Walkley picked up three points for the men in the third-place spot with a time of 10:21.45.

In the 200-free Hailey Matthews (1:54.78) and Julia Thomas (1:56.03) earned first and second, respectively. For the men, Michael Johnson earned first with a time of 1:44.28 and Caleb Miller capped off the top three with a time of 1:45.23. 

Payton Easley once again finished first in the 50-free with a time of 23.41. Morgan Baker picked up two points in the fourth-place spot with a time of 24.77. In the men's event, Owen Hoak (21.33) claimed second, Amir Haviv (21.65) earned third, and Grant Waszak (21.68) took fourth.

Heidi Lenarz earned second in the women's 400 IM with a time of 4:41.71. For the men, Caden Murphy earned two points in the fourth place spot, finishing 4:25.49. 

Annika Bussinger earned first in the 100-butterfly after finishing with a time of 57.56. Jace Walker claimed another first-place finish after pacing the race with a time of 50.88.

The women took four of the top-five spots in the 100-free, being led by Olivia Dendinger with a time of 53.69. The men took 3 of the five, being paced by Owen Hoak with a time of 47.01. 

Gracie Streblow earned second in the 100-back after finishing 59.44. For the men, Mason Schroeder picked up third with a time of 51.48. 

In the 500-free, Hailey Matthews had another first place finish on the night with a time of 5:09.37. For the men, Nick Walkley took fourth with a time of 5:04.02. 

Jillian Altmaier (1:08.44) and Kadence Jeffries (1:09.52) earned third and fourth place in the 100-breast. Amir Haviv picked up a first place finish with his time of 57.41. 

To close out senior night, the women raced in the 400-free relay. A team of Payton Easley, Hailey Matthews, Parker Hagemann, and Olivia Dendinger earned first with a time of 3:27.87. The men's team of Jace Walker, Caleb Miller, Grant Schaeffer, and Owen Hoak also earned first with a time of 3:05.29. 

In the diving portion of the meet the women took the top-three spots on the 1-meter. Darby Drake picked up another first-place finish on the year with a score of 261.55. Reece Cooper (245.20) earned second and Brooke Robbins (235.60) claimed third. For the men, Ian Blackstock continued his win streak, earning first with a score of 285.60. Will Mueller claimed second with a score of 270.90.

 On the 3-meter, Drake earned the first place spot once again with a final score of 268.65. The top-five was capped off with Brooke Robbins (261.35) in third, Bella Price (247.25) in fourth, and Reece Cooper (239.75) in fifth. For the men, Blackstock picked up another first place win with a score of 285.25. The other top-four spots were claimed by Cort Chiodo (259.10), Will Mueller (258.45), and David Goodwin (243.45). 

""This was a great night for our diving program," said diving coach Eric Sprague. "I challenged the group to make a statement this evening and they more than met the challenge.  Ian and Darby did their thing picking up the wins on both boards, but it's the rest of the team hitting dives and performing at a high level that will make us tough to deal with as this season comes to an end.  Our guys and girls sweeping the last diving events was big and something we hadn't accomplished against the Coyotes in my time here as coach.  We're going to keep pushing and focusing these new few weeks to keep this momentum going."
 
"Sending our seniors Reece and David out with the team getting a win was fitting for two people who have put a large part of their lives into being a part of this program.  I'm grateful and appreciative to have been a part of their journey to this point and I'm looking forward to our time together these last few weeks."

"This was a great night for our diving program," said diving coach Eric Sprague. "I challenged the group to make a statement this evening and they more than met the challenge.  Ian and Darby did their thing picking up the wins on both boards, but it's the rest of the team hitting dives and performing at a high level that will make us tough to deal with as this season comes to an end.  Our guys and girls sweeping the last diving events was big and something we hadn't accomplished against the Coyotes in my time here as coach.  We're going to keep pushing and focusing these new few weeks to keep this momentum going."
 
"Sending our seniors Reece and David out with the team getting a win was fitting for two people who have put a large part of their lives into being a part of this program.  I'm grateful and appreciative to have been a part of their journey to this point and I'm looking forward to our time together these last few weeks."

UP NEXT
The Mavericks will travel to Vermillion, SD to face off against the South Dakota Coyotes once again next weekend in the Coyote Invite.