The Grand Valley State University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed near and far this weekend and brought home victories on both counts.

On Friday, the Lakers traveled for a non-conference meet at Calvin College. Both teams recorded wins as the men took 11 out of 13 events with a combined score of 162 to Calvin’s 78. The women followed in similar fashion, taking 12 out of 13 events and winning 175-63.

Helping lead the women to a win, senior Sarah Kosmak took home the No. 1 spot in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53.89 seconds, followed by an impressive finishing split during the 200-yard freestyle relay, where the women took the top spot as well.

On the men’s side, senior Raphael Santos won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.07 seconds and the 100-yard butterfly in 51.41 seconds. Santos continued his streak with the 200 medley relay, where his team with Erik Aakesson, Aaron Beebe and Milan Medo took first place with a time of 1 minute, 34.30 seconds.

In diving, sophomore Jennifer Root and seniors Karen Verbrugge and Rachel Strom qualified for the end-of-season NCAA nationals in one-meter diving.

The Lakers then travelled five hours to Ashland, Ohio, to compete in a GLIAC dual-meet with Ashland University.

“It’s a lot, but we know going into it its what we have to do,” said senior captain Carly Bush. “We prepare for long travels. At the end of the five-hour bus ride we put everything behind us and just focus on the meet ahead.”

Both teams emerged with victories against Ashland, finishing with almost an exactly the same combined score. The men won 154 to 88, while the women were just behind, winning in a 152 to 88 score.

“This weekend there were some really close races,” said GVSU head coach Andy Boyce. “We competed great and put up extremely fast times for where we are in the season. With us heading into the middle of our season and coming to the end of the semester we have to focus on the meets in the horizon.”

Even with the impressive times on both sides, the Lakers know they need to continue working hard to be successful.

“This weekend was great for the team but we are by no means satisfied,” said Sam Soukop, men’s senior captain. “ We realize we have a lot of work ahead of us if we (can) be as successful as we want to be.”

The Lakers will look to continue their success in hosting Division I opponent Michigan State University on Nov. 11 at Jenison High School.

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