By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Mesa enters the 2024 season with six consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles to its credit and is favored to run that streak to seven as it was picked as favorites in the league’s coaches poll released Wednesday.
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
2024 Women’s Swimming & Diving
Coaches’ Poll
|
| PL |
Team |
Points |
| 1. |
Colorado Mesa (7) |
63 |
| 2. |
Simon Fraser (2) |
54 |
| 3. |
Colorado School of Mines |
52 |
| 4. |
Oklahoma Christian |
45 |
| 5. |
Western Colorado |
32 |
| 6. |
Texas Permian Basin |
27 |
| 7. |
CSU Pueblo |
24 |
| 8. |
Nebraska-Kearney |
18 |
| 9. |
Adams State |
9 |
- First-place votes in parentheses.
- In the men’s poll, eight points were awarded for a first-place vote, with one point less for each succeeding place. (Maximum score = 64).
- Coaches were not allowed to vote for their team
|
Colorado Mesa was the top pick of seven of the league’s nine coaches, who could not vote for their own team, and scored 63 of a maximum 64 points. Simon Fraser claimed the remaining two first-place votes and scored 54 points to finish second in the poll.
The Colorado School of Mines was picked third behind the Mavericks and Red Leafs, scoring 52 points. The Orediggers were followed by Oklahoma Christian (45 points) and Western Colorado (32 points), who rounded out the top five.
Texas Permian Basin led the second half of the poll with 27 points to finish sixth. CSU Pueblo (24 points), Nebraska-Kearney (18), and Adams State (nine) closed out the nine-team poll.
Colorado Mesa followed up their 2023 RMAC championship with a second-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. National Coach of the Year Mickey Wender returns five event national champions, Agata Naskret, the RMAC Swimmer of the Year, and Jenna Hurley, the RMAC Diver of the Year.
After finishing third in the RMAC championships last season, Simon Fraser returns nearly its entire squad. Senior Tori Meklensek returns after claiming All-America recognition in four individual and two relay events last season, she claimed the gold medal in the 200, 500, and 1,000-yard freestyle events at last season’s RMAC championships. Sophomore Laine Perry also returns and looks to build on a season that saw her named the RMAC Women’s Freshman of the Year.
Colorado School of Mines posted their fifth-straight runner-up finish last season, finishing 11 points ahead of Simon Fraser. Junior Jordan Tierney returns to led the Orediggers after winning the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events at last season’s RMAC championships. She capped her 2023-24 season by finishing third in the 100-yard breaststroke at the NCAA championships, helping Colorado Mines to a 25th-place team finish at the NCAAs.
The 2024 regular season began Sept. 29 but the ramp up to the 2024 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships begins in January with the bulk of the league’s teams competing on three consecutive weekends between Jan. 10-26. The 2024 RMAC Championships are set for Feb. 11-15 with Colorado Mesa serving as host in Grand Junction.
About the RMAC
The RMAC is a premier NCAA Division II conference located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with 15 member schools. The RMAC sponsors 22 varsity NCAA sports and has produced 65 NCAA Division II national champions and 52 national runners-up since 1992.
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