BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Augustana women's swimming & diving team earned a trio of preseason accolades Thursday. Bryn Greenwaldt was named the NSIC Preseason Swimmer of the Year and Avery Lommel was selected as the NSIC Preseason Diver of the Year. The team as a whole was picked to repeat as the NSIC Champions, a year after earning its second consecutive conference championship just eight years into its existence.
 
The two-time NSIC Swimmer of the Year earned four First Team All-America accolades in the pool in 2023-24 including earning national runner-up honors in the 50 and 100 freestyles. In addition to the first-team accolades, she earned Second Team All-America in another three events. Within the NSIC, Greenwaldt claimed five NSIC Championships as part of two individual swims and three relays while helping AU to its second-straight NSIC Championship. She was also a first-team Academic All-American.
 
"Bryn is special," Augustana head coach Andrew Makepeace said. "She is coming off a summer where she competed at U.S. Olympic Team Trials and NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in High Jump. She placed second at the NCAA swimming and diving championship in the 50 and 100 freestyle, and was also the ninth place finisher in the 100 Backstroke and was on four relays that placed in the top 16. 

"All of those things show how important she is from a performance perspective, but doesn't really tell how dedicated and hard working she is when the bright lights are turned off. Bryn is incredibly coachable and willing to try new things. She makes our team better as others see a top performer willing to get better."
 
Lommel enters her sophomore campaign with heightened expectations after earning 2023-24 NSIC Diver of the Year and NSIC Diver of the Meet. She won both the 3-meter and 1-meter dives at 2023-24 NSIC Championships and earned Second Team All-American honors at 2023-24 NCAA Championships in 3-meter & 1-meter dives.

"Avery is coming off a stellar first season," Makepeace added. "She should only continue to get better, which is crazy to say to someone who won both the diving competitions at NSIC Championships while also placing fourth and 10th at the NCAA Championships. Avery has a great outlook on diving, practice and competition that makes it very easy to coach her and see that the sky is the limit. 

"Her teammates rally around her and she brings great energy to practice. I can't wait to see what is in her future as she'll continue reaching new heights. Avery is a generational talent who will be hard to reckon with this year and beyond."

Augustana opens its 2023-24 season on Saturday, Oct. 26, with a meet at Omaha. Start time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
Full Preseason Poll
Augustana (6), 62
Minnesota State (3), 59
St. Cloud State, 49
Sioux Falls, 42
Concordia-St. Paul, 35
SMSU, 23
Northern State, 21
UMary, 20
MSU Moorhead, 13