The Nevada Swim and Dive team is preparing for the 2025-26 season, with their first meet scheduled for next week. The Pack held its annual Silver & Blue meet on Sept. 26 to develop its athletes for the upcoming season.
As for the meet, stats acquired by the swimmers and divers in the preseason scrimmage don’t count towards their personal achievements. Head coach Brendon Bray scheduled nine events throughout the meet, where the athletes of the team competed against one another.
Junior Molly Von Seggern mentioned how important having a scrimmage is and how it assembles the team. “I think the meet yesterday was a great way to start the season,” Von Seggern said. “Even though they weren’t our typical meet events, I think that it really showed us what we need to do to prepare for the meets ahead.”
The meet kicked off with the 150-yard freestyle, where freshman Jennifer Griner took home first place. Griner holds school records at Cambridge High School, including the 200 freestyle relay and the 500 freestyle at Swim Atlanta Midway.
Junior Scarlett Ferris took first place in both the 50-yard butterfly & backstroke. Ferris was last year’s team captain, where she won Mountain West Swimmer of the week on two occasions (Oct. 22, Jan. 21) and took home two Mountain West Championships in the 100-yard backstroke.
The 50-yard breaststroke and 100-yard individual medley were both won by junior Sara Mihalic, while the 50-yard freestyle was won by junior Evie Floate. The event ended with the diving one meter, where redshirt senior Bailey Heydra took the victory.
The divers completed their “full list” with six dives off 1m and were scored by their assistant coaches. While the events didn’t count towards a competition, this allowed the opportunity for the divers to work on their dives. The divers continue to expand each season, with the team having six athletes compete.
The athletes are eager to continue their momentum built at the scrimmage. Junior Audrey Bull is confident in how prepared the team is for the upcoming season. “I believe we have a strong team this upcoming season,” Bull said. “We are excited to have kicked off the season strong and keep the momentum going into Cal State East Bay!”
Bray goes into his ninth season as the head coach of the Pack.
“It was great to get some racing and diving in a competitive situation to kick off our season,” Bray said. “We had a great showing, and I can’t wait for our next competition on October 4th!”
The Nevada Swim and Dive Team will have their next competition on Saturday, Oct. 4, against Cal State East Bay at Lombardi Pool at 10 a.m.
James Williams can be reached via email at jamesrw244@gmail.com
