18th Annual Orange Bowl Swim Classic
- January 3, 2022
- Jacobs Aquatic Center, Key Largo, Florida
- Short Course Meters (SCM)
- Results
The Northern Michigan University Men’s and Women’s teams swept the 18th Annual Orange Bowl Swim Classic over the weekend. The meet, held in conjunction with the Orange Bowl Football Classic, featured seven teams for this year’s edition, including the Northern Michigan Men’s and Women’s teams, the Valparaiso University Men’s and Women’s Teams, the College of the Florida Keys Men’s and Women’s teams, and the Colby Sawyer Women.
Men’s Meet Recap:
Final Scores:
- Northern Michigan – 263
- Valparaiso University – 58
- College of the Florida Keys – 19
Northern Michigan swept every event on the men’s side, getting some valuable wins from the freshman class. Individually, freshmen Patrick Andrews and Ezra Billings each won an event. Andrews picked up his victory in the 400 freestyle, swimming a time of 4:21.02 to lead a 1-2-3 finish for Northern Michigan with senior Grant Combs and freshman Jackson Cotter. Billings saw his victory in the 50 freestyle, where he touched in a time of 23.51 to contribute 9 points to his team’s total.
In the 200 IM, Northern Michigan also saw a 1-2-3 sweep, lead by junior Erikas Kapocius, who touched first in a time of 2:16.01, just ahead of Andrews and senior Levi Lewis. Sophomore Thibault Auger also contributed victories for the Northern Michigan Men, as he won the 50 and 100 backstroke, with times of 27.81 and 1:00.17, respectively.
In the relays, the Northern Michigan men dominated as well. Opening the meet, the team of Auger, Roberto Camera, Ryan Lund, and Billings won the 200 medley relay by almost 7 seconds, touching in a time of 1:45.14. Later, in the 200 freestyle relay, Auger was replaced by junior Ivan Amillo-Escobedo, and the team combined for a time of 1:37.33, winning by 3 seconds.
Women’s Meet Recap:
Final Scores:
- Northern Michigan – 273
- Valparaiso University – 97
- Colby Sawyer – 63
- College of the Florida Keys – 12
Like the men’s meet, the Northern Michigan women swept all of the races, largely due to a contribution from the freshman class. Freshmen Heidi Billings, Camilla Carbone, Zoe DeKievit, Donna Hannig, and Becca Burrows all contributed individual victories for the Northern Michigan women, with several swimmers taking multiple victories.
Billings topped the podium in both the 50 butterfly and 200 IM, with times of 29.85 and 2:25.74. In both events, she led 1-2-3 sweeps for Northern Michigan. In the 100 backstroke, Carbone got her hand to the wall first, stopping the clock in a time of 1:05.79 to win the event by almost 3 seconds ahead of teammate Faith Sill.
In the breaststroke events, DeKievit dominated, winning both races by large margins. First, she won the 50 breaststroke in a time of 34.95, touching first by 2 seconds ahead of the field. Later, she was back in the pool, winning the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:15.19, over 6 seconds ahead of the field.
Hannig and Burrows led a sweep of the freestyle events for Michigan, taking the 100 and 50 freestyle, respectively, with times of 59.88 and 27.56.
In the 200 medley relay, Carbone, DeKievit, and Burrows combined with junior Michaela Nelson to touch in a time of 2:00.66, over 7 seconds ahead of the field. Later, the team of Nelson, Burrows, Pilar Perello-Ferrer, and Jasper Bunker dominated the 200 freestyle relay, winning by 10 seconds with a time of 2:01.55.
