Grand Valley State University’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams took care of business this past weekend, as both teams stood atop the leader board at the conclusion of the Calvin Invitational on Sunday evening.

“This was our best showing for both teams this year by far,” said head coach Andy Boyce. “Both teams accomplished what they set out to do.”

The men’s team never trailed throughout the weekend, and the Lakers’ women’s team was able to make up a 13-point deficit to also capture the invitational crown.

“We had a lot of standout times on both teams this weekend,” Boyce said. “All the training the kids put in has really paid off.”

“Our endurance is up in large part to the continuous training they have gone through,” Boyce added.

A number of record-setting performances were brought in by a number of Lakers on both the men’s and women’s teams. For the women’s team, Olivia Schultz set a meet and pool record in with a first place time of 2 minutes, 4.66 seconds in the 200-yard backstroke.

“It was great to see her perform well,” Boyce said. “Her hard work she has put in paid off for her as she came up big this weekend.”

Junior Aaron Marken had a pair of record-breaking times this past weekend as well. Marken finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 54.70. Probably the most eye-popping record that was knocked off this past weekend came during the 200-yard breaststroke as Marken shattered the record by nearly three seconds with a time of 2:01.89.

“Aaron is a great leader,” said junior Katie Volpetti. “He steps up whenever we need him to. It’s especially great because it gives the younger athletes on the team someone to look up to.”

A continuing standout for the Lakers had another great weekend as Milan Medo won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.84. Medo also took top honors in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 49.30, and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 45.08.

“(Medo is) really our workhorse,” said junior Erik Aakesson. “He does a number of great things for us, this was a standout weekend for him.”

The Lakers will now have a month off, before they head down to Miami for a week-long training trip that will conclude with a meet against a local Division II foe.

“It’s nice for us to get away, but at the same time we will be putting in a lot of work,” Volpetti said.

The Lakers will next face Nova Southeastern University on Dec. 2 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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