FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks swimming team is back in action this week with their annual Blue/Gold Intrasquad Meet on Friday, Sept. 25, at 5 p.m., followed by an Alumni Meet the next morning at 10 a.m.
Friday, Sept. 25
Blue/Gold | 5 p.m. | Watch (Free)
Patty Center Pool | Fairbanks
Saturday, Sept. 26
Alumni Meet | 10 a.m.
Patty Center Pool | Fairbanks
Looking Back
The Nanooks broke multiple program records last season en route to a fifth-place finish at the PCSC Championships and their first All-American result since 2019. They tallied 751 points at last season's conference championships, giving them their second consecutive fifth-place finish. Cosima Schmiedel set the program record in the 200-yard butterfly at the meet, finishing the finals of the event in 2:04.35 to put her fourth. Dorka Dancsok also set the program record in the 400-yard IM, posting a 4:23.31, which gave her the victory in the event.
Dancsok used her record time in the 400-yard IM to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships, the first time a Nanook had qualified for the championships since 2023-24, when Charlotte Fletcher-Stables competed in the 100-yard backstroke. Dancsok's NCAA B-Cuts also allowed her to compete in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke, along with the 200-yard IM. She recorded three top-30 finishes, placing 25th and 29th in the 200-yard IM and 200-yard breaststroke, respectively. Her 14th-place result in the 400-yard IM earned her All-American Second Team, Alaska's first All-American since Oda Bygdnes in 2019.
Coach Ceglowski
The Alaska Nanooks announced the hiring of new head coach Riley Ceglowski this past spring. Ceglowski arrived in Fairbanks after spending over a year as the aquatics coordinator for the City of Fruita in Colorado. Before that, she served as head coach of the Adams State University men's and women's swimming teams and the Ave Maria University swimming team.
#NookNotes
- The 'Nooks return 10 swimmers from last year's roster: Dorka Dancsok, Kitti Marton, Giorgia Merlo, MacKenzie O'Keefe, Sariah Rodgers, Mayumi Schaetzle, Cosima Schmiedel, Mariia Sirotinskaia, Charisma Watkins and Talia Wentz. Additionally, Sam Bristor, who was on the 'Nooks 2024-25 roster, makes her return to the squad.
- Alaska has announced five new swimmers to this season's team: Monica Botha, a freshman from Durban, South Africa; Marilia Persidou, a freshman from Drama, Greece; Zhenia Stukova, a freshman from Vinnytsia, Ukraine; Ava Thomas, a freshman from Grande Prairie, Alta.; and Zsófia Varga, a freshman from Budapest, Hungary.
Looking Ahead
The Nanooks officially begin their season with a trip to California, starting with a dual meet vs. Biola on Friday, Oct. 9, before heading over to the University of Redlands for the Bulldog Pentathlon on Saturday, Oct. 10.
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