The SDSU aquatic teams had a big day Dec. 3. The men’s and women’s swim team competed at the Falcon Invitational, while the dive teams made a splash at the Hawkeye Invitational.

The Jackrabbit diving teams competed at in Iowa City, Iowa where four athletes stood out from the rest. Clark Kocourek and Connor Florand finished 13th and 17th respectively in the 3-meter diving preliminaries for the men. Meanwhile Erin Eagen and Dana Greco placed 23rd and 26th in the 1-meter diving preliminary.

The men’s and women’s swimming teams competed  the same day at the Falcon Invitational, an unscored meet hosted by the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The men turned in a set of solid showing, including a winning performance from Chris Schreier in the 200-yard butterfly. Schreier went on to finish fourth in the 200-yard individual medley.

Others who placed in the top five for the Jacks were Blake Yeager, third in the 500-yard freestyle, Phil Albu and Alex McClain, who finished third and fourth, in the 200-yard backstroke. Wil Hogue,  rounded out the Jackrabbit effort taking fifth in the 50-yard freestyle.

The women’s team was led by an exceptional performance from Morgan McLain,  she set the pace, winning two events, the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard backstroke. Another event champion was Andrea Budahl, who won the 500-yard freestyle. Following Budahl in the 500-yard freestyle was Samantha Fossum, who finished second just four seconds behind Budahl.

Fossum would also finish third in the 200-yard freestyle, followed just under two seconds later by Jessica Ferley in fourth place. Trina Young was the last of the Jacks to finish in the top five, taking third in the 200-yard butterfly.

The Jackrabbit swim and dive teams return to action at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion on Saturday, Dec. 10 for their last meet of the first half of the season.

Q. How have things changed since you first started coaching 36 years ago?

A. When I first started here, I was considered full time swimming but I was also an assistant football coach for 15 years and then had the intramural program. We were pretty much a non-scholarship walk-on type of a program. Especially in the last six years since we moved to Division I, being funded, being able to recruit, and being able to get some good quality athletes, that’s probably the biggest change.

SDSU head swimming and diving coach Brad Erickson

Q. Of the 24 events for both men’s and women’s swimming and diving, 18 school records were set by the men’s team and 17 records were set by the women in the past two years. What does that say about the quality of program and athlete now at SDSU?

A. The biggest thing is you think every year ‘When is this going to stop?’. To break 18 and 17 records in two years is just unheard of. Like I said with the ability to recruit good athletes, since we got scholarship money, that’s giving us a chance to go out and get better and better athletes each year. Kids that came in four years ago, when they get to be seniors, some of them, if they had those same times as seniors i

SDSU enjoys playing at home, but they could probably do without the wind that whips through Brookings this time of year.

While wind was a factor in the match Sunday, a pair of super sophomores helped SDSU withstand both Mother Nature and IPFW to pick up a 3-0 Summit League win at Fishback Soccer Park.

Megan Kingston scored the first two goals of her career and Darci Miller had a goal and an assist each to help the Jacks move to 5-0-1 in Summit League play.
The Jacks would strike first when Kayla Braffet sent a low cross through the box to the waiting foot of Kingston, a transfer from Nebraska-Omaha, who easily tapped it in for a goal in the 22nd minute.

“Hopefully this is just the beginning of things to come for her,” SDSU head coach Lang Wedemeyer said of Kingston. “We knew she had these capabilities, which is why we moved her from midfield to forward.”

SDSU would find the goal for a second time in the 56th minute when Darci Miller was on the receiving end of a through ball from Christa Nyblom, which Miller slipped past IPFW goalkeeper Kristen McFadden, putting the Jacks up 2-0.

Kingston found the net for the second time in the 89th minute, when she fired a right-footed shot from the edge of the box that put the Jacks up by the final margin of 3-0, with Miller assisting.

“It felt really good. I’ve been learning a lot and Lang said to keep running to the ball so I focused on that today,” Kingston said.

With a breeze gusting up to 30 miles per hour from the northwest, it knocked down any ball that tried to hang in the air and affected the game from the start. SDSU generated its offense by working the through ball to its attackers and it led directly to two of the Jacks’ goals.

“The wind definitely makes a difference. It is harder to clear the ball out during a pressure situation and a lot of balls are under hit. It is so windy out so often at Fishback, we have become used to it,” Wedemeyer said.

It proved to be another banner day for the Jackrabbits defense, welcoming Steph Peterson back on to the field after missing time with an injury and goalkeeper Kat Donovan tallying her ninth shutout of the season.

In fact, eight of the Jacks’ nine wins this season have been shutouts and SDSU is in the midst of a 589 minute scoreless streak, dating back to when SDSU relinquished a late goal against North Dakota on Sept. 11. The Jackrabbits also did not give up a shot on goal in the two games over the weekend.

Three conference games remain, with the finale coming on Oct. 29 at home against rival and defending champion NDSU at home.

“We definitely clicked today and hopefully we can stay undefeated and win the conference,” Miller said.

Shakir Bell showed the Jacks that appearances can be deceiving. Indiana State’s 5’8’’ back appeared to be bottled up by the SDSU defense in the first half of last Saturday’s Beef Bowl, as Bell was held to just 38 yards in the first half. Then in the second half, he showed everyone at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium why he was second in the nation in yards per game (142 ypg) heading into the contest.

Bell busted out for 122 yards on only 10 carries and one touchdown in the third quarter to eventually lead the Sycamores to their second conference victory.

“He’s just got that instinct. He’s got ‘it’, whatever ‘it’ is, he’s got it,” ISU head coach Trent Miles said.

When all was said and done, Bell had racked up 199 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. His offensive line dominated SDSU’s banged up defensive front in the second half. The only reason he didn’t eclipse the 200 yard mark was due to a bad first quarter, in which the Jacks held Bell to -6 yards.

“I really can’t take full credit for what I’m doing back there. It all starts up front…I just do what I do after I get past those guys, and if you look at the film, they make great holes,” Bell said.

Harris out for season
A bizarre play ended in what head coach John Stiegelmeier called “a terrible tragedy” for senior captain and kicker Kyle Harris.

Harris was set to kickoff after nailing a 19 yard field goal in the final minutes of the first quarter. He didn’t even reach the ball.

While running up to kick the ball, Harris’ leg buckled about two steps from making contact and fell over the football. ISU’s Larry King scooped up the ball and ran for six yards as many of the SDSU players looked toward Harris, who was on laying on the grass, clearly in pain.

It turns out Harris broke both bones in his leg and went into surgery Saturday night after leaving the field. He’s done for the season.

“It’s a tough loss. A senior captain, really a leader on our team. We’re going to miss him,” quarterback Austin Sumner said.

Redshirt freshman Justin Syrovatka hit two field goals after the injury and Ethan Sawyer performed well in place of Harris on kickoffs.

Offensive line
There were differing opinions after the game regarding the play of Indiana State’s defense. Quarterback Austin Sumner praised his offensive line, and asked, in almost disbelief, if he had even gotten sacked (he was sacked twice).

“I’d say our line did a good job for the most part. They’re [ISU] an okie team, they like to bring a lot of pressure…[the offensive line] protected me pretty well,” Sumner said.

Surprising, considering Sumner had to avoid a heavy Sycamores pass rush most of the game, often extending plays with his feet and throwing on the run.
Head coach John Stiegelmeier gave credit to the offensive line as well, but had a little different view on how ISU’s defense played. Stiegelmeier was asked if the pressure on his quarterback was due to coverage or not.

“I don’t think he (Sumner) always had guys open, so I would give some credit to their coverage,” Stiegelmeier said. “They didn’t blitz much at all.”

It was a different story in terms of run blocking, as the Jacks failed to get much going on the ground. Tyrel Kool and Zach Zenner combined for 100 yards on 25 rushes, averaging out to four yards a carry as the running game hasn’t progressed much since the SDSU’s lone victory over Southern Utah.

This coming Sunday will mark the one year anniversary of the Yankees sweeping the Twins out of the 2010 playoffs by a combined score of 17-7. The following 12 months have to be some of the worst that Minnesota sports fans have ever had to endure.

Oct. 9th – The Twins end the season at Target Field with a 6-1 loss to the Yankees to run their playoffs losing streak to 12 games in a row dating back to 2004.

Oct. 17th –After a 1-6 start, the University of Minnesota fires head football coach Tim Brewster after three and a half seasons. He went 15-30 with a 6-21 record in the Big Ten. He was 0-10 in rivalry games.

Nov. 2nd – 27 days after trading for the greatest receiver in franchise history, Vikings head coach Brad Childress decides to release Randy Moss.

Nov. 22nd – The Vikings fire head coach Brad Childress one day after losing to the Green Bay Packers, 31-3. Vikings fans everywhere rejoice.

Dec. 5th – Vikings QB Brett Favre is knocked out of the game in the first quarter vs. the Buffalo Bills. He would play one more game the rest of the season.

Dec. 6th – The Gophers hire Jerry Kill from Norther

Despite an electrifying third set, the North Dakota State Bison proved to be too much for the Jacks volleyball team Oct. 1 at Frost Arena.
To say that the first two sets were all NDSU may be an understatement.. The Jacks didn’t  put up much of a fight offensively, scoring only 13 points in each of the first two sets. Things weren’t much better on the defensive end either as NDSU (12-6, 5-1 Summit) never trailed until the beginning of the third set.
The hard-fought third set may give Jackrabbit fans reason to believe that this team can play among the best teams in the Summit League. After being blown out in the first two sets, SDSU played much better in set three as they battled through nine tie scores and held a five point lead at one point.
The set got off to a quick start for the Jacks with kills by Kelli Fiegen and Ellyce Youngren. Another kill from Youngren eventually capped a 12-7 SDSU run and appeared to be enough for a legitimate comeback. SDSU and NDSU traded points for the remainder of the set, which included five lead changes, until NDSU eventually took the set from the Jacks 29-27.
Although there were several bright spots in the loss, SDSU head volleyball coach Phil McDaniel will be looking for more from the Jackrabbits in the future.
“The effort in the third (set) is what I was looking for. My one question was, ‘Why didn’t we start that way in the first two sets?’ That’s what we’re battling right now…we’re not coming out with that same intensity, that same focus, from 0-0, and we have to … We can’t wait for something to happen, we have to make something happen,” McDaniel said.
For junior Kelly Herrmann, the difference between the third set and the first two came down to one thing: bad communication.
Herrmann expressed the same sentiments about the match as her coach, pointing to the many mental mistakes SDSU made over the course of the match.
“We missed 11 serves tonight, which in a three set match is a lot…Those are the little things that make a big difference,” Herrmann said.
SDSU will have little time to make mental adjustments with the top team in the Summit League, Oral Roberts, coming to Frost Arena on Friday, Oct. 7 followed by another Summit League opponent, Southern Utah, on Saturday night.

For the SDSU Jackrabbits soccer team last Friday, it was all about seizing the opportunity when it presented itself.

Behind a stellar defensive effort, the Jacks took full advantage of their offensive opportunities en route to a 2-0 victory over Oral Roberts in the Summit League opener for SDSU. With the win, the Jacks improve to 5-5-1 overall and 1-0-0 in the Summit League while Oral Roberts drops to 4-7-1 and 1-1-0.

The first period was reasonably competitive, with both teams attempting the same number of shots (3) and Oral Roberts saving two potential goal opportunities for the Jacks. Senior Kayla Braffet broke the stalemate with a goal in the 34th minute following a crossing pass from fellow senior Danielle Neuhalfen to put the Jacks up 1-0.

The second period was all SDSU as the Jackrabbits outshot

One thing was clear after SDSU swept Western Illinois at Frost Arena last Saturday night: the Jacks will defend home court with everything they have.

“This is our home and teams should not look forward to coming here. It’s just going to be a battle,” Kelli Fiegen said.

Shay Birath celebrates a point during the Jacks' 3-0 win over Western Illinois

After cruising to 25-16 and 25-18 victories in sets one and two, the Jacks found themselves in an up and down battle in the third set that featured eight tie scores, two lead changes and extra points to determine a winner.

The offense sputtered a bit in set three and the Jacks found themselves trailing 21-23. But back-to-back blocks by Ellyce Youngren and Kelli Fiegen tied things up at 23-23. Each team went back and forth, exchanging points and staving off defeat until the Jacks received a Bailey Philippot spike and a Kaitlin Klingemann kill to seal the set 29-27 – a three-set victory to remain undefeated at home on the season.

Philippot and Kelly Herrmann came through with some nice hitting from the outside, slamming 10 and nine kills, respectively. Four of Herrmann’s kills came in the high drama third set.

“Something we’ve really been stressing lately is that we’ve got to get some kills from the outside. We’ve got to be productive out there. Those two really stepped up tonight and we were able to get them in the system enough to get them some quality swings,” head coach Phil McDaniel said.

The win was a team effort. Six players registered kills with setter Lexi Fowler dishing out 40 assists in the match and appearing to have better timing with her hitters than the previous night against IUPUI.

McDaniel also mixed in a few new players in the rotation, as Margit Hansing, Kelsey Hansen and Ashley Bartek each played a set.

“It’s important to get them in … it’s not just a chance for them to see the court, it’s a chance for them to be productive,” McDaniel said.

After a solid weekend, Shay Birath was honored as the Summit League defensive player of the week for the third time in her career. Birath notched 47 digs and three service aces in wins over IUPUI and WIU. She currently leads the Summit League with 5.88 digs per set and only needs 36 more digs to reach 1,000 career digs.

With the sweep of WIU and five set victory over IUPUI, the Jacks sit at 2-0 in the conference and are now 10-4 overall in McDaniel’s first season as head coach. The 2-0 start in conference is especially important because the Jacks won’t be back to Frost Arena until Oct. 1 against NDSU.

“We’re feeling pretty strong. We still have a lot of tough competition in the conference with NDSU and USD, but we look forward to playing at their level and beating them,” Philippot said.