Hope College men's and women's swimmers started the 2019-20 season by competing against two NCAA Division I and Division II teams at the Oakland University Relays in Rochester, Michigan.
The Flying Dutch took fifth in two events for a fourth-place score of 476.
The Flying Dutchmen finished fourth in two different events en route to a third-place total of 520 points.
The meet included swimmers from Vanderbilt University, Wayne State University and Oakland.
In the women's meet, Hope's top performances came in the 800 freestyle relay and the 400 individual medley relay.
The 800 freestyle relay of freshman Tarah Lang of Marshall, Michigan (Marshall), junior Emma Schaefer of DeWitt, Michigan (St. Johns), sophomore Emma Engle of Kalamazoo, Michigan (Home School) and senior Erin Emmert of Grand Blanc, Michigan (Flint Powers Catholic) posted a time of 8:10.86.
The 400 IM relay of sophomore Aubrey East of Farmington Hills, Michigan (North Farmington), junior Paula Nolte of Elmhurst, Illinois (York Community), freshman Macey Mayer of San Antonio, Texas (Johnson) and junior Hope Reynolds of Exon, Pennsylvania (Villa Maria) finished in 4:26.64.
At Saginaw Valley State University, freshman diver Allie Graver of Grosse Ile, Michigan (Grosse Ile) finished fifth on the 3-meter board with a score of 160.05 points.
On the 3-meter board, freshman Olivia Robertson of Sturgis, Michigan (Sturgis) led the Flying Dutch with a sixth-place total of 165.00.
Graver came in seventh with 144.40 points. Freshman Natalie Rowe of Otsego, Michigan (Otsego) was ninth with 122.60 points.
At Oakland, in the men's meet, Hope's 200-yard freestyle relay of junior Daniel Keith of Saline, Michigan (Saline), freshman Gabe Boonstra of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville), freshman JT Nissen of Spring, Texas (Klein Collins) and senior Daniel Clyde of Ann Arbor, MIchigan (Huron) clocked a fourth-place time of 1 minute, 27.12 seconds.
The Flying Dutchmen's 800 freestyle relay of Keith, freshman Bailey Smith of Battle Creek, Michigan (Lakeview), freshman Brant Assink of Holland, Michigan (Holland Christian) and junior Will Benner of State College, Pennsylvania (State College Area) recorded a fourth-place effort of 7:17.85.
Hope's next meet is the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Relays on Friday, October 25 at Calvin University.
