CKSR (MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships Day Two Recap)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 13, 2014

MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships Day Two Recap

MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
By Mark DeHaan

A day after setting the MIAA record in the 800 yard freestyle relay, the Calvin men's swim and dive team looked to continue its strong swimming on day two of the MIAA Championships.

In the first event of the evening, the 200 freestyle relay, Calvin's relay team of sophomore Brandon Muma, sophomore Mitch Schroder, freshman Eli Holstege, and junior Alex Boumann took fourth in 1:24.92.

In the 500 freestyle, sophomores Aaron Venema and Caleb Meindertsma dominated the field. The two sophomores took 1-2 in the event, finishing in 4:34.00 and 4:35.59, respectively. Both times beat the previous Calvin record, set by Venema earlier in the year, and both swimmers finished ahead of defending champion Brad Melpolder of Albion, who placed third in 4:42.26.

In the 200 yard individual medley, the Knights picked up another 1-2 finish, with junior Travis Vincent taking first in 1:53.64 and freshman Brett Stoughton finishing second in 1:54.48. Sophomore Johnson Cochran finished seventh in the final in 1:56.33.

The 50 yard free final saw Calvin earn a fourth place finish, as senior Andrew Mitchell finished in 21.07, and a seventh place finish, with Holstege swimming a 21.44.

The men's 1m board saw two Knights place in the top eight. Freshman Dirk Tanis took third with a score of 399.40 while freshman Michael Stephens finished seventh with a total of 273.30.

In the final event of the night, the Calvin 400 medley relay team took first in a school record of 3:21.96. Mitchell, Cochran, Stoughton, and Schroder were the foursome that set the record for the Knights.

"I was proud of Travis standing up there on the awards stand. He works his tail off and is one of the nicest kids, and to see him up on the top there and see his work pay off was a cool moment," said head coach Dan Gelderloos. "(The 200 IM) was a big event for us and I think we benefitted from having several guys in the heat and swimming like a team."

After day two, the men's team sits in first place at 290 points while Hope is second with 243. Kalamazoo is in third with 215 points while Albion sits in fourth at 210. Olivet's in fifth at 127 points while Alma rounds out the field in sixth at 69 points.

WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
By Brett VenHuizen

With two days of competition left to go at the MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships, the Calvin women's team sits in second place with 271 points - nine points behind first place Hope.

The Knights started out the second session of Thursday's meet with a second place finish in the 200 free relay final with the quartet of Adrienne Wesselius, Michaela Rookus, Kristen Kinzer, and Kathryn Wrobel. The team posted a time of 1:36.25. Next was the 500 free finals where the Knights took fourth and sixth. Fourth place was taken by Kathryn Wrobel with a time of 5:07.93 and sixth was taken by Elizabeth Schleh with a time of 5:16.68.

Junior Erika Waugh had a big day, breaking the MIAA record in the 100 backstroke twice as the leadoff leg of Calvin's 400 medley relay. In the morning prelims, she clocked a time of 57.52 and then came back with a record time of 57.44 in the evening finals. Waugh's 100 back time broke a 20-year-old MIAA record, set originally by Hope's Susan Looman (:57.82) in 1994 and equaled in 2009 by Hope's Brittaney Reest Delo.

Calvin posted a strong showing in the 200 IM Finals by taking first, second and fourth. Michela Rookus came in first for the Knights with a 2:07.62, winning the event for the second straight year. Lexi Scott came in second with 2:09.11, and Erika Waugh took fourth with 2:10.00. In the 50 freestyle, Calvin's Adrienne Wesselius was eighth with a time of 24.91.

During the three-meter diving final, Calvin's Lizz Roth took second with a score of 432.80. In fourth was Rebecca Mumby with a score of 412.85 and in sixth was the Knights Rebecca Freed with a score of 372.92. The final event of the night for the women was the exciting 400 medley relay. Calvin came in second with a season-best time of 3:52.90. The relay consisted of Erika Waugh, Lexi Scott, Kristen Kinzer and Michaela Rookus.

"I think the one thing that is quite clear after two days of competition is that every team came here to swim fast and give it their best shot and that's exciting but it's also a challenge to our team over the next two days," said Calvin head swim coach Dan Gelderloos. "We've got to work to do if we want to take back the lead. We have some opportunities tomorrow but it won't be given to us by any stretch of the imagination. That's what a championship competition should be about though - giving it your best shot."

Kalamazoo currently sits in third place with 231 points followed by Albion and Alma with 153 and Olivet with 102 points.
Received on Thu Feb 13 23:40:07 2014