RESULTS

HOLLAND, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's swim and dive team took second place in the MIAA Invite with a score of 704. Host team Hope College took the top spot with a score of 825.5 while Kalamazoo rounded out the top three with a score of 207.5
 
The Knights got off to a strong start when they took the top two spots in the 200 medley relay with senior Emma Merkel (Grandville, Mich./Grandville), junior Gracie Ganger (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippercanoe), junior Grace Schutter (Shelby Township, Mich./Dwight D. Eisenhower), and junior Ella Andrews (Carmel, Ind./Heritage Christian School) recording a time of 1:46.37 while  freshman Josie Fries (Fenton, Mich./Fenton), junior Eloise Harrison (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern), freshman Natalie Gates (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian), and sophomore Holly VanderWeele (San Antonio, Tx./Great Hearts Monte Vista North) finished at 1:50.55.
 
Sophomore Avery Russell (Battle Creek, Mich./Battle Creek Lakeview) kept things rolling when she took second in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 10:57.36. In the 200-freestyle freshman Grace Van De Burg (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) recorded a first place finish with a time of 1:55.63 while junior Maria Heeres (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) was close behind in second place at 1:57.68.
 
Andrews (24.34) and sophomore Sara Algera (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) (24.65) were the top finishers in the 50 freestyle while junior Zoe Poe (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette Twp.) continued to dominate the 400-yard IM (4:41.32) and the 500 freestyle (5:09.62) when she nabbed the top spot in both events.
 
On the one meter diving board, freshman Mackenzie Schichtel (Byron Center, Mich./Byron Center) finished in third place with a score of 211.60 while also taking fourth place on the three meter board with a score of 211.10.
 
Back in the pool, Schutter (59.44) and Ganger (59.63) both had strong showings in the 100 butterfly when they finished in second and third place, respectively. Van De Burg and Heeres took the top two spots in the 100 freestyle with times of 53.59 and 53.72 while Merkel posted a time of 56.96 in the 100 backstroke which marked the fifth fastest time in Division III this season.
 
Ganger continued to show up big for the Knights as she took the top spot in the 100 breaststroke at 1:06.93 while Harrison was close behind in second place at 1:07.69. Calvin wrapped up their day in style when Merkel, Andrews, Heeres, and Van De Burg finished in first in the 400-freestyle relay with a time of 3:30.93.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "Today was a nice way to start MIAA competition," said head coach Dan Gelderloos. "We had a lot of good performances throughout the entire team."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Friday, November 6th for day one of the Quad Meet in the Venema Aquatic Center at 6 PM.