HOLLAND, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's swim and dive team made the short trip to Holland to compete in the MIAA Invite. After a full day of competition, the Knights finished in second place with a team score of 683.
 
Calvin got out to a hot start when Emma Merkel (Wyoming, Mich./Grandville), Elise Bajwa (Bethesda, Md./Brookewood School), Holly VanderWeele (San Antonio, Tx./Great Hearts Monte Vista North) and Ella Andrews (Carmel, Ind./Heritage Christian School) took first place in the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:45.34. 
 
Madi McNearney (Riverside, Mo./Park Hill South), Gracie Ganger (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe), Elyse Radawski (Jenison, Mich./Jension), and Ella Andrews (Carmel, Ind./Heritage Christian School) gave the Knights another boost when they finished close behind in second place with a time of 1:48.09.
 
Zoe Poe (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette Twp.) (10:32.91) and Avery Russell (Battle Creek, Mich./Battle Creek Lakeview) (11:01.60) kept things rolling for Calvin when they claimed the top two spots in the 1000 freestyle before Maria Heeres (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) took first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:57.37.
 
In the 50 freestyle, Meghan Bengelink (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) finished at 24.13 to nab second place while Bajwa finished close behind in third with a time of 24.25. 
 
The top spot finishes continued to roll in for Calvin as Merkel finished first in the 100 backstroke (57.45), Poe finished first in the 500 freestyle (5:09.10), and Bajwa finished first in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.24).
 
The Knights wrapped up their night in the pool when Merkel, Andrews, VanderWeele, and Bengelink took second in the 400-freestyle relay.

On the diving board, Leah Schouten (St. Davids, Ontario/Eden) notched a 11th place finish on the one-meter with a score of 179.90 while Veronica Skipper (Chicago, Ill./Northside College Prep) finished in seventh on the three-meter board with a score of 218.55.
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Friday, October 31st when they compete in day one of the Quad Meet against Albion, Carthage, and Ohio Northern. The meet is set to begin at 6 PM at the Venema Aquatic Center.