GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's swim and dive team hosted the MIAA Invite where they took first place with a team score of 793. Hope College finished in second with a score of 740 while Kalamazoo rounded out the top three with 246 points.
 
The Knights had a start when they claimed the top two spots in the 400-medley relay. The relay team made up of senior Madi McNearney (Riverside, Mo./Park Hill South), junior Elise Bajwa (Bethesda, Md./Brookewood School), senior Elyse Radawski (Jenison, Mich./Jenison), and sophomore Ella Andrews (Carmel, Ind./Heritage Christian School) nabbed first place with a time of 3:52.27 while sophomore Grace Schutter (Shelby Township, Mich./Dwight D. Eisenhower), sophomore Gracie Ganger (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippercanoe), freshman Holly VanderWeele (San Antonio, Tx./Great Hearts Monte Vista North), and sophomore Maria Heeres (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) was close behind in second with a time of 4:02.53.
 
Sophomore Zoe Poe (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette Twp.) (17:07.81) and freshman Avery Russell (Battle Creek, Mich./Battle Creek Lakeview) (18:25.16) claim the top two spots in the 1650 freestyle while junior Emma Merkel (Wyoming, Mich./Grandville) took first place in the 200 freestyle (1:52.56).
 
Senior Meghan Bengelink (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) started her night with a first-place finish in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.76 while Bajwa was close behind in second at 24.12 and VanderWeele rounded out the top three at 24.42.
 
McNearney was the top finisher for the Knights in the 400 IM when she took sixth place with a time of 4:51.20. In the diving section of the meet, junior Leah Schouten (St. Davids, Ontario/Eden) took eight place in the one-meter with a score of 195.00 while fellow junior Veronica Skipper (Chicago, Ill./Northside College Prep) took sixth on the three-meter board with a score of 218.15. 
 
Back in the pool, Schutter (2:16.10) and Dylewski (2:17.73) took second and third place in the 200 butterfly while Bengelink (52.67) and Andrews (53.61) claimed the second and fourth place spots in the 100 freestyle. In the 200 backstroke, Merkel nabbed another first-place finish with a time of 2:01.26 and McNearney was close behind in third with a time of 2:11.88.
 
Poe (5:02.76) and Russell (5:18.89) finished in first and second place in the 500 freestyle while Bajwa (2:21.69), Ganger (2:24.61), and Eloise Harrison (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton) claimed the top three spots in the 200 breaststroke. 
 
Calvin rounded out their evening in the 200-freestyle relay where Bengelink, Merkel, Radawski, and Andrews gave the Knights a boost when they finished in second place with a time of 1:34.57. Sara Algera (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian), Schutter, Poe, and Emmersyn Erway (Davison, Mich./Davison) finished in third place with a time of 1:42.24.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "This meet was a great barometer to see where we are four weeks out from MIAA," said head coach Dan Gelderloos. "It really showed that we are on track for some great performances down the road, exciting! And to get the wins on both sides was the icing on the cake."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Friday, January 30th when they travel to take on Grove City College at 5 PM.