Grand Valley State University’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams dominated in a tri-meet on Saturday, Oct. 26 against Northern Michigan University and Saginaw Valley State University, breaking 11 swim records. The men’s team led 202 to 94 against NMU and 203 to 96 against SVSU. At the same time, the women’s team led 172.5 to 127.5 against NMU and 232 to 68 against SVSU.
The records broken by the men’s team were the 100 free (43.91), 400 free relay (2:59.72), 100 breast (54.76), 200 breast (2:01.14) and the 200 individual medley (1:49.98). For the women’s team, records were broken in the 200 free (1:48.26), 400 free relay (3:28.08), 100 breast (1:03.03), 200 breast (2:17.18), 100 fly (56.04) and the 500 free (4:54.85).
The men’s 100 free was a show of dominance, with the Lakers’ Matt Bosch breaking another GVSU pool record. Bosch won with an impressive DIIB standard time of 43.91. Not far behind in second was GVSU’s Evan Scotto Divetta with another DIIB time of 45.07. NMU’s Gabriel Fulconi was neck and neck with Scotto Divetta in a battle for second place. Scotto Divetta beat Fulconi by .91 of a second, with Fulconi finishing at 45.98.
The men’s 400 free relay was a race to remember. The Lakers absolutely dominated in under three minutes at 2:59.72, breaking their pool record. The team was made up of Scotto Divetta, Andrew Goh, Carsyn Christoffel and Bosch. Behind GVSU by 1.90 seconds were the Wildcats, who finished at 3:01.62, also breaking their pool record.
In the women’s 200 free, Laker Lucy Hedley crushed it. Hedley broke GVSU’s 200 free pool record with a time of 1:48.26. Hedley was untouchable, securing the win by coming in first with a time that met the NCAA Division II B standard. The fight for second place was fierce, with GVSU’s Angelica Angilletta and NMU’s Elana Curti neck and neck. In the end, Curti came out on top by tenths of a second. Curti finished at 1:54.26 and Angilletta at 1:54.45.
The women’s 400 free relay was extremely competitive, with GVSU and NMU finishing only .79 of a second apart. GVSU’s relay team was stacked with Kiersten Harmon, Angilletta, Linda Frick and Hedley. NMU’s team consisted of Becca Burrows, Mia Strazny, Joanne Arbic and Curti. The race was close and both teams fought hard to the finish, but the Lakers took home the win. The Lakers relay team not only won, but they also broke a pool record at 3:28.08. The Wildcats were right there with them, finishing at 3:28.87 to beat their previous school record of 3:32.28.
The Lakers’ performance was nothing short of an excellent showcase of their dominance within the division. As of Oct. 18, both teams were within the top five rankings by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The CSCAA ranked the women’s team number two and the men’s team number four. From their broken records to their ranking, the team has set themselves apart from others this season. As a new addition to the team, freshman swimmer Chloe Burkill recognized this.
“We’ve done really well, and we’re definitely a really strong team,” said Burkill. “It’s not even that the team is so strong, but I just love how everyone is so supportive of each other and everyone’s always cheering each other on. I feel like the environment of the team as a whole is just so nice.”
