The student athletes belonging to the Grand Valley State University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams seem more concerned with the end result of their season rather than the results of the dual meets leading up to it.

Both GVSU squads came up short at the nationally-ranked University of Indianapolis on Saturday, as the Laker men lost 181-119 while the women were downed 169-129.

U-Indy was able to record some of its best times of the season and took advantage of a pair of GVSU teams that came off a tough week of practice after falling to archrival Wayne State University on Jan. 11.

Head coach Andy Boyce said he was pleased with the way his teams performed considering how intense practice was all week.

“Our times were pretty good,” Boyce said. “It’s just that at this point in our training, our times weren’t quite as good as if we were fully rested.”

The Laker men came into the meet ranked No. 2 in the most recent NCAA Division II poll, while the women stood at No. 9. Indianapolis also boasted two ranked squads, with its men at No. 12 and the women at No. 23.

Despite the pair of losses, the Lakers were pleased with their efforts against a very talented U-Indy program.

“It’s never easy to take the loss, but when you’re performing well, that makes it a little easier,” Boyce said. “We had good times, which really count once we get to conference and nationals.”

GVSU senior William Gombos had a good day in the water, which included some of his best results as a Laker.

Gombos placed third in both of his individual events, the 200-yard backstroke and the 400-yard individual medley.

“I had really good races,” he said. “I almost had life-time bests in all of them.”

He also said the rest of the team performed at a high level against a quality U-Indy team.

“We still had some great times coming off an extremely hard week of training,” he said. “I’m really proud with the way everyone performed today.”

Junior Sven Kardol won the 400-yard individual medley and placed second in the 200-yard backstroke, sophomore Gianni Ferrero snagged the win in the 200-yard freestyle, and junior Milan Medo won the 100-meter freestyle for the Laker men.

Junior Olivia Schultz stood out for the Laker women, as she finished second in both the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke. She also swam a leg on the 200-yard and 400-yard relay teams, which both placed second.

“They were pretty close races,” Schultz said. “I was pretty happy with my times today.”

She said she is satisfied with her team’s performance, despite the back-to-back losses, because the races provided GVSU some solid competition heading into the GLIAC and national meets at the end of the season.

“I really enjoy competing against tough teams,” she said. “It only makes us better.

“I’m very proud of where we’re at, and I can’t wait to go to conference and see how well everyone does.”

GVSU sophomore Taylor Wiercinski won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, senior Caitlyn Madsen notched a victory in the 200-yard butterfly, and senior Danielle Vallier won both the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke events.

The Lakers’ final regular season meet of the year is on Jan. 25 against the University of Findlay for Senior Day.

Boyce said the best is yet to come for his program in 2014.

“Focusing on getting our rest will be key, as this is the time of year you have to take care of yourself,” he said. “We’re excited for our upcoming meets, with Senior Day, conference and nationals right around the corner.”