Women's Swimmers Race To Winning Team Score At Michigan-Illinois Quad

Eight first-place swimming performances propelled the Hope College Flying Dutch to victory at the Michigan-Illinois Quad hosted by Wheaton College (Illinois) on Saturday.

The Flying Dutch totaled 605 points to finish ahead of runner-up Wheaton and its 490.5 points. Kalamazoo College took third with 359.5 points, while Lake Forest College (Illinois) placed fourth with 255.

Sophomore Emma Schaefer of DeWitt, Michigan (St. Johns HS) led Hope with two first-place swims.

Schaefer led a top-three sweep of the 200-yard backstroke by clocking a time of 2 minutes, 19.37 seconds. She was followed by teammates Paula Nolte of Elmhurst, Illinois (York Community) in second at 2:14.78 and junior Erin Emmert of Grand Blanc, Michigan (Flint Powers Catholic) in third at 2:16.40.

Schaefer won the 200 breaststroke in 2:31.65. Hope posted three of the top four performances in the race. Freshman Alyssa Potyraj of Grandville, Michigan (Grandville) recorded a third-place swim of 2:38.10, while freshman Aubrey East of Farmington Hills, Michigan (North Farmington) was fourth at 2:38.25.

Sophomore Hope Reynolds of Exon, Pennsylvania (Villa Maria) led a 1-2-3 sweep of the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:18.55. She was followed by Nolte in second at 2:19.38 and East in third at 2:21.34.

Junior Allison Eppinga of Saline, Michigan (Saline HS) and Reynolds took first and second, respectively, in the 100 freestyle. Eppinga posted a swim of 54.17 seconds, while Reynolds went 57.84.

Senior Abigail Brinks of Commerce Township, Michigan (Walled Lake Northern) won the 1,000 freestyle in 11:07.02. Freshman Abigail LaDuke of Holland, Michigan (West Ottawa) finished third in 11:09.75.

Sophomore Meg Peel of Spring Lake, Michigan (Spring Lake) clocked a winning 500 freestyle effort of 5:15.95.

Hope also won two relays.

Eppinga, Schaefer, Peel, and senior Sydney Asselin of Holland, Michigan (Holland Christian) opened the meet with a first-place swim of 4:01.10.

Peel, Emmert, Asselin, and Brinks closed the meet by posting a winning effort of 3:42.91.

Asselin came in second in the 200 freestyle in 2:00.83.

Eppinga was runner-up in the 50 freestyle in 25.22.

Hope's next meet is Saturday, January 19 at Kalamazoo College. The MIAA dual meet begins at 1 p.m.

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