ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul swimming and diving returns to action this Saturday at noon to host the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons at Two Rivers Aquatic Center in Mendota Heights. [ Directions ] [ 1897 Delaware Ave, Mendota Heights, MN 55118]
 
"We are looking forward to hosting The Dragons! It was a close dual meet with them last season and we anticipate the same this season. It'll certainly be a fun, close meet," stated head coach Rachel Busch. "We are excited to host our first home meet of the season and the Moorhead Head Coach, Charlie King, and I added a special event, The Plunge. This event is one where everyone dives off the block and the winner is who goes the furthest in streamline position, without kicking, pulling, or taking a breath," Busch added.
 
RETURNING HOME
The Golden Bears will host their third home meet in program history at Two Rivers Aquatic Center this Saturday. CSP will also host two additional meets this year against No. 21 Sioux Falls on Dec. 9 and a double-dual against No. 24 Minnesota State and Division 1 St. Thomas on Jan. 20.
 
Last season, the Golden Bears made history by hosting the MSU Mavericks and the SMSU Mustangs in the inaugural CSP Meet. Their second and latest home meet was against Division 3 Augsburg, where they dominated the Auggies 161-54 after winning every single event in which they were entered.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Minnesota State and Southwest Minnesota State Double-Dual: 0-2
In the team results, Minnesota State was dominant after claiming the sweep with wins over the Golden Bears and Mustangs. CSP and SMSU battled till the finish, but the Mustangs edged the Golden Bears by 29 points, the closest the score has been between the two programs in dual action in their brief series against one another.
 
The meet kicked off with the 200 Yard Medley Relay where Sophie Leo, Charly Horn, Rebecca Hildebrand and Farida Maher tab a time of 1:54.65 to finish sixth, while the team of Zoe Hiers, Chloe Rihon, Savanna Honan and Emma Granovsky finished 10th in the event with a time of 2:00.61.
 
Maher was impressive this afternoon for the Golden Bears. The junior swimmer went a perfect 3-for-3 from the pool after claiming first-place finishes in the 100 yard freestyle, the 200 yard freestyle and the 500 yard freestyle.

The Defending NSIC Women's Diver of the Week, Caitlyn Greenwalt, was also impressive this afternoon. The sophomore diver claimed first place in the one-meter diver with a score of 237.30 and in the three-meter diver with a score of 256.05.
 
The meet closed with the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay as the team of Emma Granovsky, Marianna Perna, Charly Horn and Sierra Sherry finished ninth with a time of 1:49.89, while the team of Greenwalt, Laura Vekony, Deanna Ringler and Giulia Cury finished 11th with a time of 1:56.19
 
HISTORY AGAINST MSUM
The two programs are meeting for the second time in dual competition dating back to November 12, 2022. In the inaugural meeting between the two squads, the Dragons were able to notch a 103-83 win over the Golden Bears. Maher led the Golden Bears with three first-place finishes, while Hannah Hartlage claimed her first career event victory in the meet.
 
ABOUT THE DRAGONS
MSU Moorhead finished 3-10 last season in dual action and was picked to finish tied for eighth with 18 points in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. They finished the 2022-23 campaign with a ninth-place finish at the NSIC Championship with 97 points.
 
The Dragons are currently 4-4 this season after going 2-4 at the Sioux Falls Quad.
 
In their season debut, MSUM dominated the University of Mary Marauders 199-90 at Nemzek Pool in Moorhead. A week later, they bested the Northern State Wolves at home 167-12.
 
Last time out, they claimed a pair of victories over Northern State and dropped two duals to both Sioux Falls and Augustana.