RESULTS

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's swimming and diving team kicked off the first day of the annual Calvin Winter Invite where it competed against Findlay, Grand Valley State, Grove City Indiana Wesleyan, and Northern Michigan.
 
The Knights got out to a hot start when graduate student Maggie Farrell (Portage, Mich./Portage Central), junior Meghan Bengelink (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian), sophomore Emma Merkel (Wyoming, Mich./Grandville), and senior Sydney Sonday (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) took second in the 200-freestyle relay. They recorded a time of 1:32.61 which currently ranks as the second fastest time in the country.
 
The relay team of Elyse Radawski (Jenison, Mich./Jenison), Grace Schutter (Shelby Township, Mich./Dwight D. Eisenhower), Kaelin Kelley (Athens, Ill./Sacred Heart-Griffin), and Katie Phippen (Macomb, Ill./Calvary Baptist) also competed in the 200 freestyle and finished in sixteenth with a time 1:42.25.
 
In the 500 freestyle, freshman Zoe Poe (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette Twp.) notched a collegiate best of 4:59.98, the fourth fastest time nationally. Merkel compete in the second heat where she finished at 5:08.09.
 
Freshman Gracie Ganger (Tipp City, Oh./Tippecanoe) represented the Knights in the second heat of the 200 IM where she recorded a time of 2:15.16.
 
In the 50-freestyle, Farrell finished in fifth with a time of 23.43. However, earlier in the evening Farrell recorded a 50-freestyle time of 23.33 in her opening leg of the 200-freestyle relay. The time ranks as fifth in the country, is a career best for Farrell, and counts toward national qualifying.
 
Sonday also compete in the 50 freestyle where she took eighth with a time of 23.62. In the second heat, Begelink took the top spot (23.77) while Ella Andrews (Carmel, Ind./Heritage Christian) took seventh (24.35).
 
The Knights closed out the first day of the Calvin Winter Invite when they took fifth in the 400-medley relay. The team of Merkel, Elise Bajwa (Bethesda, Md. Brookewood School), Farrell, and Sonday finish with a time of 3:47.81 while Madi McNearney (Riverside, Mo./Park Hill South), Granger, Poe, and Andrew finished in twelfth at 3:58.56. 
 
At the end of day one, the Knights sit at fourth place in the standings with 353 points.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "I think it was hard for us this morning to be here on a Thursday morning especially during exam week," said head coach Dan Gelderloos. "However, we came back tonight and saw some really good things. The two free relays were fire with several good split times in there. We had several individual swims that were solid and improved upon from this morning. Then we closed things out with some fireworks during the relays. Both the men's and women' teams qualified in the 400-medley relay with a really great comeback swim from Elise Bajwa after having surgery over the summer. Maggie Farrell and Sydney Sonday are a duo that do not quit. They are as competitive of a duo that I've had in my time here at Calvin and with the end of their careers approaching they're really making one final push. They have big goals an NCAA so watching them put up times like they did tonight on a regular basis is really cool to watch."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in the pool tomorrow for day two of the Calvin Winter Invite. The morning session will begin at 10AM and the evening session will pick back up again at 6PM.