by Alan Babbitt
The Hope College women's swimming and diving team's 200-yard medley relay qualified for the B Final at the NCAA Division III Championships and placed 11th in the nation on Wednesday.
The finish moved the Flying Dutch into 16th place with 14 points after the first day of the four-day meet at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis.
In the relay, freshman Sara Kraus, senior Emma Schaefer, junior Alyssa Kerkman, and sophomore Madeline Tessin clocked a time of 1 minute, 43.75 seconds.
Kraus (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford HS) opened the relay with a 26.56 split in the 50-yard backstroke.
Schaefer (DeWitt, Michigan / St. Johns) followed with a 28.99 time in the 50-yard breaststroke.
Kerkman (South Bend, Indiana / St. Joseph) clocked a 50-yard butterfly split of 25.24.
Tessin (Waxhaw, N.C. / Marvin Ridge) finished with a 50-yard freestyle time of 23.51.
Kraus also advanced to the 200 individual medley B final. She placed 15th with a swim of 2:04.66.
The four-day NCAA Championships continue on Thursday, March 17, with preliminaries at 10 a.m.
