BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Augustana women's swimming & diving team was picked to finish second in the NSIC Preseason Poll, released by the conference office on Thursday. Avery Lommel was selected as the NSIC Preseason Diver of the Year. The team enters the season on the heels of three consecutive conference championships just nine years into its existence.

"We have such great energy starting the year," said head coach Andrew Makepeace. "We turned a lot of our roster to graduation so we will have many new faces to the conference. Change creates uncertainty, uncertainty creates opportunity, opportunity leads to growth, our growth will lead to greatness. That in itself is enough excitement to wake up each morning eager to work toward the potential with this team! With the blend of returners and new team members, we should have another banner year here come time to compete at Fargo."
 
Lommel enters her junior campaign with heightened expectations after earning 2024-25 1M Dive Second Team All-America and 2024-25 NSIC Diver of the Championships. Lommel was an NSIC Champion in the 1M Dive while also finishing as the runner-up, 3M Dive.

"What else is there to say about Avery?" Makepeace added. "She's been the NSIC diver of the meet in both her years here at Augustana. Avery is special and she'll continue to lead our diving team to great heights. She's really only tapped into her potential and I cannot wait to see what that looks like when she can fulfill what she's capable of. If she's able to do that, then the sky is the limit at the national level.

"I'm excited to see what she has in store this year as she looks to build off a really great end of her sophomore season. She has big goals to hit this year, and watching her reach those will be a lot of fun!"

Ava Brogren was tabbed as the Viking swimmer to watch for the 2025-26 season. She enters the season following a year that saw her earn All-NSIC honors in the 200 IM and 200 Breast.

Augustana welcomes the 2025-26 season with its annual Viking Days intersquad meet on September 26 and 27. 
 
Full Preseason Poll
Minnesota State (6), 77
Augustana (3), 74
St. Cloud State (1), 68
Concordia-St. Paul, 51
Sioux Falls, 44
MSU Moorhead, 39
UMary, 38
SMSU, 31
Jamestown, 16
Northern State, 12