MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. -- Minnesota State Moorhead swimming & diving may have been short-handed to open the 2026-27 season, but it did not deter the Dragons from victory. MSUM defeated Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday, 157-142 to secure its first win of the regular season.

Moorhead entered the dual missing five of its student-athletes due to illness or other injury. MSUM would use the absences and adversity to begin the dual in winning fashion. Kennedy Olson, Moorhead's 'Preseason Diver To Watch', would win 1-meter diving to post nine team points for the Dragons. Olson scored a 208.05 in six dives for the victory. Freshmen Jovie Ebertowski (177.55) and Aubrey Piechowski (160.60) would place fifth and sixth respectively in their first collegiate events. Olson would also win the 3-meter event with a personal best score of 221.65. Ebertowski (160.05) and Piechowski (156.20) would finish sixth and seventh for the Dragons. 

The Dragons would only continue to achieve high marks with a win in the 200-yard medley relay. Isabel Koch, Rose Urick, Ruth Pavelski and Sophia Verke would mark a collective 1:49.79 for the victory. Moorhead's team of Brooke Ruoff, Lauren Phillips, Fernanda Leon and Ella Ritz would place third behind a time of 1:51.76. To conclude the dual, MSUM would secure the team victory thanks to a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Maggie Moore, Pavelski, Koch and Verke snagged the win at 3:40.92. Verke swam a 54.18 anchor leg for the Dragons. The Dragon team of Ruoff, Haley Stainbrook, Anika Grunenwald and Ritz placed third at 3:46.06. 

Grunenwald would lead the Dragons in the 1000-yard freestyle, finishing runner-up at 11:23.87 while Cami Mayo secured team points with a fifth-place finish (11:44.27). Moore (1:59.90) and Pavelski (2:01.62) would finish second and third respectively for Moorhead in the 200-yard freestyle. The Dragons would take the top two places in the 100-yard backstroke with Koch winning the event at 1:01.63. Ruoff would finish runner-up with a time of 1:01.65. Koch would also win the 200-yard backstroke for Moorhead with a swim of 2:14.76 while Ruoff (2:16.33) was runner-up. MSUM would see more valuable team points in the 100-yard breaststroke as Phillips (1:09.35), Roslyn Waite (1:09.39) and Urick (1:09.47) would place second, third and fourth in the event. 

Leon would cruise to a victory in the 200-yard fly, winning by nearly four full seconds behind a time of 2:10.97. Mayo would place fourth with a swim of 2:29.81. Moore and Verke would pace the Dragons in the 50-yard freestyle, placing second and third respectively. Moore swam a 24.81 for the runner-up spot while Verke clocked a 25.0. The senior duo would see a reversal of that order in the 100-yard freestyle race. Verke clocked a 54.28 for runner-up marks while Moore swam a 54.93 for third place. Ritz would collect fifth place in the event with a lifetime best of 56.69. 

MSUM would see a bevy of team points come out of the 200-yard breaststroke, led by a runner-up swim from Phillips. The freshman clocked a 2:29.15 for the placement while Moorhead also claimed the next three placewinners. Urick (2:30.67), Waite (2:33.36) and Marian Martin (2:38.71) would place third, fourth and fifth respectively. Grunenwald would earn another runner-up spot in the 500-yard freestyle, touching the wall at 5:31.61. Danielle Hintz added a team point for Moorhead in the race, finishing sixth with a time of 5:57.24. 

In the final two individual events, Moorhead would see back-to-back victories from the junior Leon. The Lima, Peru, product won the 100-yard fly with a time of 59.35 with Pavelski close behind at 59.59. Leon would also capture victory in the 200-yard IM, touching the wall at 2:12.02, more than three seconds faster than the runner-up. Phillips (2:19.68) would place fourth for the Dragons in the same race. 

Up Next

MSUM is set to begin the home portion of its dual schedule next. The Dragons are set to host Sioux Falls inside Nemzek Pool on Saturday, October 17 beginning at 2 p.m.