March 8, 2002
Calvin to Send Six to NCAA III Men's Swimming & Diving Championships
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - For the second consecutive year, Calvin College will be
sending six individuals to the NCAA III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.
The championship meet will be held March 21-23 in Oxford, Ohio, on the campus
of Miami University with the College of Wooster serving as host.
All six of Calvin's national qualifiers are underclassmen - three of which are
freshman. Competing for Calvin at the national meet will be juniors A.J.
Penninga and Dan Hekman, sophomore Brad White and freshmen Brian Unser, Ryan
Preston and Peter Boumgarden. In addition, Calvin has qualifiers in three
individual events - its highest total in Calvin men's swimming and diving
history.
Penninga is a native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian
High School. A three-time All-MIAA selection, Penninga is seeded 12th in the
200 freestyle (1:41.81) and 18th in the 100 freestyle (46.40). He will also
compete on Calvin's 800 freestyle relay team that is seeded fourth (6:51.81);
Calvin's 400 freestyle relay team which is seeded ninth (3:06.85); Calvin's 400
medley relay which is seeded sixth (3:26.73); Calvin's 200 medley relay which is
seeded 19th (1:36.11) and Calvin's 200 freestyle relay which is seeded 15th
(1:26.09). Penninga will be making his second straight trip to the NCAA III
Championships.
A native of Calimesa, California and a graduate of Yuceipa High School, Hekman
will also be making his second straight appearance at the NCAA III
Championships. A year ago, Hekman was part of Calvin's 800 freestyle relay that
took seventh at the NCAA III Championships, becoming the first men's relay team
in Calvin swimming history to achieve All-America status.
White hails from Traverse City although he originally resided in Dayton, Ohio,
where he graduated from Dayton Christian High School. A two-time All-MIAA
performer, White will also be making his second straight appearance at the
national meet. White is seeded 12th in the 100 freestyle (46.26) and 31st in
the 50 freestyle (21.34). He will also compete on all five of Calvin's relay
teams. A year ago, White was a member of Calvin's All-American 800 freestyle
relay team and also garnered honorable mention All-America honors in the 50 and
100 freestyle, taking 11th place in both events.
Boumgarden is Calvin's third individual qualifier as he is the nation's
top-seed in the 100 butterfly with a time of 49.70 and is also seeded seventh in
the 200 butterfly (1:53.45). A member of the All-MIAA men's swimming and diving
team this year, Boumgarden is a native of Naperville, Illinois and is a graduate
of Naperville North High School. Boumgarden is also slated to compete in all
five of Calvin's relays.
Unser is also from Naperville, Illinois and is a graduate of Benet Academy High
School. He is scheduled to compete on Calvin's 200 and 400 freestyle relay
relay teams. Preston is from Richmond, Indiana and is a graduate of Richmond
High school. Preston is scheduled to compete on Calvin's 200 and 400 medley
relay teams. At the MIAA Championships earlier this year, Preston established
new Calvin records in the 100 breaststroke (59.94) and 200 breaststroke
(2:11.29).
A year ago, the Calvin men's swimming and diving team posted its best-ever
national finish as the Knights took 18th place with 52 points, marking the first
time Calvin had cracked the top-20 at nationals. Calvin's best-ever individual
finish at the NCAA III Championships came in 1996 when Mike Lubbers finished
second in the 100 backstroke.
A full preview of the upcoming NCAA III men's and women's swimming and diving
championships can be found on the College of Wooster web site with information
on the women's meet located at: http://www.wooster.edu/athletics/swim/ncaawomen/
and information on the men's meet located at:
http://www.wooster.edu/athletics/swim/ncaamen/.
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