GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin women’s swimming & diving team won its 12th-straight MIAA title on Saturday evening. The championship is the 14th overall for the program. The Knights scored 233 points on Saturday for a four-day total of 787.5 points. Calvin finished 47.5 points ahead of second-place Hope.
“It is a heck of an accomplishment,” said head coach Dan Gelderloos. “I couldn’t be any prouder of the team. They have worked hard since day one. The fact that we got to know each other so well made us powerful and a strong team. We knew if we started strong early in the week that we could rebound from a dip in the week and have enough time to compete and flex our muscles.”
The evening started with freshman Anna Serino (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) recording the third-fastest 1650 freestyle time in school history at 17:38.71. Serino finished in third place.
Senior Megan Schroder (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) had a stellar last night at the Venema Aquatic Center, Schroder recorded-the second-fastest 200 backstroke time in school history at 2:06.52, placing her in third. In sixth place was freshman Daniella Sugijanto (Walnut Creek, Calif./Northgate) at 2:15.37 and in eighth place was freshman Lauren Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Fremont) at 2:19.30.
A school record that stood for 10 years fell in the 100 freestyle on Saturday in the 100 freestyle. Sophomore Abby VanHarn (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) won with a NCAA “B” cut time of 50.85. The previous record was held by Becky Weima in 2006 at 50.95. Sophomore Rachel Mattson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) finished in fifth place at 52.85.
In the 200 breaststroke, junior Adrienne Wesselius (Sioux Center, Iowa/Unity Christian) touched the wall in fourth place at 2:28.68. In eighth place was sophomore Klara Oh(Kent, Wash.) at 2:32.19.
Senior Alayna Gallegos (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville) made her final swim at Venema count, earning a medal with a third-place finish in the 200 butterfly at 2:10.83. Behind her was freshman Kendall Murphy (Modesto, Calif.) in fourth place at 2:13.10. Junior Karine Rose (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) tallied an eighth-place finish at 2:23.93.
The Knights finished the Knight winning the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Megan Schroder, Rachel Mattson, Anna Serino and Abby VanHarn had an NCAA “B” cut time of 3:28.81.
FINAL 2016 MIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM SCORES
Calvin 787.5
Hope 740
Kalamazoo 717.5
Albion 613
Alma 221
Olivet 162
Swimming news courtesy of Calvin Swimming & Diving.
