Results
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin University women's swimming and diving team finished the first session (of three) of the Calvin Quad Meet in first place on Friday night at Venema Aquatic Center.
The Knights finished the session with 425 total points to lead Carthage College (332), Ohio Northern University (159) and Albion College (111) heading into the final two sessions on Saturday.
Calvin started strong by taking the top two places in the 200 freestyle relay. The 'A' relay of
Ella Andrews (Carmel, Ind./Heritage Christian School),
Maria Heeres (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian),
Grace Van De Burg (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) and
Emma Merkel (Grandville, Mich./Grandville) won the event in a time of 1:36.27 that ranks third in NCAA III this season. The Knights' 'B' relay of
Sara Algera (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian),
Anya Hopek (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt),
Eloise Harrison (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) and
Holly VanderWeele (San Antonio, Texas/Great Hearts Monte Vista North) finished in 1:39.2 to take second place.
Zoe Poe (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette Twp.) led off the individual events by winning the 500 freestyle in a time of 5:07.67.
Avery Russell (Battle Creek, Mich./Battle Creek Lakeview) took third place in 5:15.69.
Merkel added another Calvin first-place finish in the 200 IM in a time of 2:07.48, topping the nearest competitor by more than six seconds. The time is the seventh-fastest in NCAA III.
Gracie Ganger (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) took second place (2:13.64), followed by
Natalie Gates (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) in fourth (2:17.29) and Harrison in fifth (2:18.95).
The Knights swept the top four places in the 50 freestyle, led by Andrews with a time of 24.02. Heeres finished second (24.56), followed by Algera in third (24.58) and VanderWeele in fourth (25.1).
The final swimming event was the 400 medley relay, where the Knights took home the top three places. Merkel, Ganger,
Grace Schutter (Shelby Township, Mich./Dwight D. Eisenhower) and Andrews made up the Calvin 'A' relay that took first place in 3:58.15 that ranks 10th in NCAA III. The 'B' relay of Van De Burg, Harrison, Poe and Heeres took second in 3:59.17.
Veronica Skipper (Chicago, Ill./Northside College Prep) finished second in the three-meter diving competition with 4:30.45 points, just 8.2 shy of first place.
Leah Schouten (St. Davids, Ontario, Canada/Eden) finished fourth (346.15) and
Mackenzie Schichtel (Byron Center, Mich./Byron Center) finished fifth (335.65).
COACH'S COMMENT: "A real solid evening," said Calvin head swim coach
Dan Gelderloos. "The thing that I like about this meet is that there is not a ton of pressure riding on it but there is also the opportunity for good competition. I thought we had some strong performances tonight and good attitudes with the performances we saw up on the board. We will need to continue that same attitude tomorrow as we have a busy day ahead of us."
NEXT UP: Calvin swimming and diving will return to action at Venema Aquatic Center tomorrow (Saturday, November 7) when it competes the Calvin Quad Meet with two sessions starting at 10:00 AM and 4:30 PM.
