MOORHEAD, Minn. - A group of fresh new faces plus a handful of returning swimmers and divers will highlight the 2010-11 Dragon swimming and diving team as they will attempt to rebuild after graduating some of the best athletes in program history.

“Day by day we begin to build off of last year's experiences,” Head Coach Todd Peters said. “It won't be easy replacing the people we lost but we knew that going into recruiting last year so we brought in a big group of athletes who are already at a high competition level.”

The Dragons will attempt to replace last year's seniors and National Championship qualifiers Ann Gusewelle and Kayla Koenig. Gusewelle was a three time All-American, named the RMAC Swimmer of the Year and currently dominates the Dragon record books in the breaststroke and on most team relays. Gusewelle is currently training for the 2012 Olympic trials.

Koenig led the Dragon diving squad as she qualified for the National Championships last year and just missed making the finals.

Twelve returners and a freshman class of 14 will make up the Dragon squad for the 2010-11 season.

“This year we are shifting our focus to improve each day,” Peters said. “With so many new faces and with them having new challenges as they continue to grow as young adults it is important that we are patient with them and aid them in their experiences going forward.”

The experience will return both in the pool and on the diving boards as two Dragon swimmers have been selected to the pre-season All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference team.

The pre-season All-Conference picks are juniors Jessica Doar (mid-distance freestyle) and Claire Caron (Individual Medley, Butterfly). Both swimmers were top finishers in the RMAC Championships last season, who aided the Dragons to a second place finish in the team's first season in the league.

Doar had two third place finishes and one fifth place finish in the mid-distance freestyle races, while Caron had two top-five finishes, with a second place mark in the 200-yard butterfly.

The team also returns one diver, Heather Johnson, that qualified for the National Championships.

The team was ranked fourth on the RMAC preseason coach's poll released in September. They follow the returning champions No. 1 Incarnate Word (Texas), No. 2 Mesa State (Colo.) and No. 3 Grand Canyon (Colo.).

“When you look at us on paper we lost two-thirds of our points at the conference meet,” Peters said. “We are unproven but the skill we have in a large group of people will give us the competition within the squad to earn the top spots on the team.”

Leading the team into compettion will be captains Jessie Belden, Tiara Nelson and Maren Fruia.

As captains they have already initiated a program of assigning little sisters to the returning athletes to help the large freshman class with their transition into collegiate life.

DIVING
The transition may seem the easiest for the team in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events as the team will return two divers and brought in three freshman to deepen the squad.

Returning for the Dragons will be Heather Johnson (Alexandria) and Beth Pollock (Wilmar), who have been diving for Diving Coach Lindsey Gunderson for two years.

“Lindsey is very patient with our divers and that is just what we need in a Diving Coach,” Peters said. “She is a really good teacher both technically and patience wise  and that allows our athletes to develop at their own pace, which helps them over come their fears that can often be associated with new dives.”

Each of the Dragon divers will have to complete 11 technical dives by the end of the season per board, and with two returners they have a lot of potential to return to the National Championships.

Johnson returns to the team after preliminary qualifying for the National Championships, but missed the cut for the final 16 in the pre-qualifying meet.

“With Heather's experience, the rest of the divers will get to receive first hand knowledge on what it takes to compete at the national level,” Peters said. “This will not only help our returners, but also motivate our freshman to reach a higher level of competition.”

The Dragon Diving squad adds Shayna Dugger (Detroit Lakes), Kelsey Jandro (Fargo, N.D.) and Kyja Penning (Park Rapids).

Dugger joins the team after claiming a third place finish at the 2009 Class 'A' Minnesota State Championships on the 1-meter board.

Jandro comes to the team with a full list of 11 required dives on both the 1-meter and 3-meter board, marking the first time Peters has ever had a freshman come in with both boards complete.

Penning, both a diver and a swimmer, will be the first two-way athlete for Peters as she will also contend to swim in the sprint butterfly events.


SWIMMING
With the competition in the pool heating up, the Dragons swimmers will be challenged throughout the year to earn a spot at the Conference Championships in mid-February.

“We have decided to change the way we travel,” Peters said. “With the limited spots, it makes each of the spots for the RMAC Championships more treasured, making our team earn their way.”

The biggest competition on the team will come in the sprint breaststroke events, as the team will attempt to replace the loss of Gusewelle. Top challengers for the fastest time are Kylie Potter (Lincoln, Neb.), Nelson and freshman Kelly Nadeau (Foley).

“The spot's open,” Peters said. “It comes down to who will step up and fight the battle for the top spot.”

Swimming the distance freestyle events will primarily be Doar, who holds the school records in the 500-yard, 1000-yard and the mile events. Jessie Belden will also be swimming the distance events.

“Jessica Doar is very mentally tough,” Peters said. “She is very prepared and is one of the hardest workers we've had in the past two years. She will push the others to be where we want to be and is a great example both in and out of season.”

The freestyle sprints will primarily be swam by all freshmen. They include Jenna Thompson (Warroad), Megan Rieland (Sauk Centre), Amanda Walters (Manhattan, Kan.), Angelee Hale (Corcoran) and Rachel Walsh (Fitchburg, Wis.).

The Dragons will return two top swimmers in the backstroke in Victoria Honetschlager (Lakeville) and Caron, but also welcome Walters and Kate Roepke (Glencoe) into the mix.

Honetschlager and Caron's times were neck-to-neck towards the end of the 2009-10 season as they both finished in the top-eight at the RMAC Championships in the 100-yard backstroke.

Caron is a true utility swimmer for the Dragons as she swims the 200-yard breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and individual medleys.

“Claire is swimming the best that she ever has in practice,” Peters said. “She is definitely stepping up and setting a precedence for our team.”

Caron as well as Maren Fruia and Olivia Martin (Genoa, Ill.) will return to swim the butterfly. Freshman Rieland and Penning will join their ranks.

Assisting Peters this season in training and motivating the team are first year coaches Amy Roness and Katie Diiro.

Roness joins the team in more of a permanent role after volunteering the past year. She will help develop the dry land training schedule and also arrange all of the team's travel and equipment.

Diiro will head up the team's recruitment efforts and assist in the retention efforts. She has been heading up the day-to-day relations with the team on issues outside of swimming and diving.

“I'm really excited about the staff this season,” Peters said. “Their professionalism, talent and experience with our team has been great and I expect it will only keep steering our program into one of the national powerhouses.”

Before the team gets to prove themselves to the nation they will encounter some tough competitors along the way. The first coming at St. Cloud where they will go head-to-head with the Huskies in duals on Oct. 15-16.

“It will be our first test of the year,” Peters said. “We aren't sure what to expect out of our team this year but this will be a good showing to see where we have progressed and where we need to work.”

The season will continue with duals against Northern State (S.D.), St. Benedict's (Minn.) and Carleton and St. Olaf (Minn.) before being put to the test at the Mutual of Omaha Invitational in the beginning of December.

The team will continue action in January at the Tampa Relays and will face Minnesota Morris shortly after their return to the State. The Dragons will then face Concordia College before hosting the Dragon-Cobber Open at the end of January, leading the team to post season.

MSU Moorhead will open the 2010-11 season on Saturday, Oct. 9 as they go head-to-head with their alumni in the annual Alumni Meet at 3 p.m. at Nemzek Pool.