FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks swimming team opens its season this weekend at the Patty Center Pool with a meet against San Diego State.
Friday, Oct. 11
vs. San Diego State | 5:00 p.m.
Patty Center Pool
Saturday, Oct. 12
vs. San Diego State | 10:00 a.m.
Patty Center Pool
Watch
Last Time Out
The Nanooks held their annual Blue/Gold Meet on Saturday, September 28, in the Patty Center Pool, with Blue earning the 154-121 victory.
The day began with the 200-yard medley relay, with Jordan O'Connor, Dorka Dancsok, Janci Pangburn and Eva Markovic placing first for Team Blue with a 1:52.19. The 200-yard freestyle followed as Naomi Burgan picked up Team Blue's first victory of the day, taking first with a time of 2:03.53. Dancsok earned Team Blue another victory in the following event: the 100-yard breaststroke. The sophomore posted a 1:09.04 to lead the pack by over five seconds. Pangburn continued Blue's dominance in the 50-yard freestyle, collecting their fourth victory in as many events.
In the fifth event, Charlotte Fletcher-Stables placed first in the 200-yard backstroke to give Team Gold its first victory, finishing with a 2:12.49. Cosima Schmiedel made it two wins in a row for Team Gold in the 100-yard butterfly, taking first place with a 1:00.49 in the event.
Dancsok collected her second victory of the meet in the 200-yard IM, posting a 2:15.80 to place first in the seventh event of the day. Pangburn took her second victory for Blue the following event, finishing with a 55.41 in the 100-yard freestyle.
Tori Shoemaker secured victory for Team Gold in the 200-yard breaststroke, posting a 2:42.97 to notch her first victory in the ninth event of the meet, and Fletcher-Stables followed with another win for Team Gold, taking first place in the 100-yard backstroke with a 1:01.55.
Adeline Berry won in the penultimate event of the meet, taking first in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:19.02. In the final event, both teams squared off in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Markovic, O'Connor, Pangburn and Berry finished with a 3:49.88 for Team Blue, good enough to earn them first place and give Blue their eighth win of the day.
#NookNotes
- The Nanooks are looking for their first win against SDSU, with their last meet coming on January 9 of this year. Alaska fell to the Aztecs 33-24 in a dual meet while dropping their quad meet the day prior 157.5-82.5.
- Their other meet against San Diego State came in September 2019 when the Nanooks hosted them for a pair of competitions. Alaska fell on both days by finals of 113-54 and 117-114.
- The Aztecs have swam five times this season, winning their meets vs. San Diego (33-24, 71-43) and at Pepperdine (95-52), while taking second in the Fresno State Invitational.
- SDSU went 15-0 last season, winning its third straight Mountain West championship.
Hilinski's Hope
This week, the Nanooks are proud to participate in Student-Athlete Mental Health Week alongside @HilinskisHope. This week is a call to action to raise mental health awareness, destigmatize help-seeking, and provide quality resources to our student-athletes because #MentalHealthMatters. The Hilinski's Hope Foundation was founded in 2018 by Mark and Kym Hilinski to honor the life of their son Tyler, who died by suicide yet never showed any signs of depression or struggle. Hilinski's Hope helps colleges and universities change and save lives, eliminate stigma, and scale mental wellness programs for student-athletes by sharing Tyler's story, connecting students with mental health resources, and assisting universities to institutionalize best practices.
2023-24 Finish
The Nanooks finished last season with a 2-10 record, winning both their dual meets against Westmont College (Calif.) 103.5-101.5 and 105-100. Alaska took second in the Logger Invitational at the University of Puget Sound with a score of 650.5. They finished the season taking seventh in the PCSC Championships in Monterey Park, Calif., tallying 527 points. This marked their best finish since the 2021-22 season.
Fletcher-Stables posted Alaska's first NCAA appearance since 2019-20 when Oda Bygdnes qualified, but the championships were not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Newcomers
The Nanooks welcome eight newcomers to the 2024-25 squad: Sam Bristor, Eva Markovic, Jordan O'Connor, Janci Pangburn, Sariah Rodgers, Mayumi Schaetzle, Cosima Schmiedel and Charisma Watkins.
Follow the 'Nooks
Instagram - @NanookSwim
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Facebook - Alaska Nanooks Swim
