Women's Swim/Dive Takes Charge at Day 2 of the MIAA Championships

Sophomore Abby Koops, pictured

From the diving board to the swimming lanes, the 13th-ranked Hope College women's swimming and diving team racked up points.

The Flying Dutch bolstered their bid for an MIAA title repeat on Thursday by dominating the field in both 1-meter diving and the 200-yard individual medley. Five divers reached the 'A' final, while Hope swimmers swept the top four spots in the 200 IM.

With 435 points after Day 2 of the MIAA Championships, Hope leads the six-team field by 117 points. The four-day meet at Calvin University continues on Friday, Feb. 17, at 10 a.m. with preliminaries and 5 p.m. finals.

In 1-meter diving, sophomore Abby Koops (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Northern) led a high-scoring pack of Flying Dutch by repeating as MIAA champion with an 11-dive total of 441.15 points.

Junior Sophia Farbarzhevich (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Northern) finished runner-up with an NCAA regional-qualifying 415.75 points.

Koops and Farbarzhevich were followed in the 'A' Final by teammates Miranda Smith (Ada, Michigan / Forest Hills Eastern) in sixth with 354.90 points, sophomore Michaela Sander (Muskegon, Michigan / Mona Shores) in seventh with 339.30 points, and senior Allie Graver (Grosse, Ile, Michigan / Grosse Ile) in eighth with 306.15 points.

Sophomore Molly Leonard (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central) topped the 'B' final with a ninth-place total of 339.35 points. There were 18 divers in the field.

"I haven't seen much of that since I've been around the MIAA," head coach Jake Taber said of his divers' prolific performance. "It's a credit to (diving coach) Becca Garza and the work she's put in. She's got total buy-in from the crew. We expected some pretty nice things from them, but they still gave that extra boost. It was a total team effort."

Hope leads second-place Calvin University, which has scored 318 points. Third-place Kalamazoo College (199) is followed by Albion College (190), Olivet College (131), and Alma College (121).

In the 200 IM, sophomore Greta Gidley (Franklin, Michigan / Mercy) clocked the third-fastest time in NCAA Division III this season, a meet-record and school-record swim of 2 minutes, 1.25 seconds.

Hope swept the top four spots. Sophomore Sara Kraus (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford) finished runner-up at 2:03.18. Freshman Katie Hermann (Canton, Michigan / Mercy) placed third at 2:04.99. Senior Alyssa Kerkman (South Bend, Indiana / Saint Joseph) was fourth at 2:08.07.

Freshman Madi Remenschneider (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) won the 'B' final by recording a swim of 2:13.42.

All the IMers excel in their own ways in a challenging, four-stroke event, Taber said.

"Each of them is unique and learning what they need to be great in the IM," Taber said. "Sara, Katie, and Alyssa were lifetime bests there. Greta swam the fastest she's done in a couple of years. It was really fun to watch them come together."

Hope's depth in the individual medley also paid off in the 400 medley relay. Hermann, Kraus, Kerkman, and freshman Laurel Wasiniak (Northville, Michigan / Northville) posted a winning time of 3:47.00 which is the 10th fastest in the country this season.

The Flying Dutch 'B' relay ran its race as well. Sophomore Norah Martin (Middleton, Wisconsin / Middleton), sophomore Lauren Ryle (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central), freshman Ashlea Swingewood (Carmel, Indiana / Carmel) and junior Delaney Wesolek (Bay City, Michigan / John Glenn) went 3:54.56.

In the 200 freestyle relay, Hope finished runner-up with freshman Bella Turner (Chelsea, Michigan / Chelsea), Kraus, Wasinik and Gidley recorded a swim of 1:34.06.

The Flying Dutch's 'B' relay won its race as Swingewood, junior Jess Estabrook (Carmel, Indiana / Carmel), Martin and sophomore Katie Weedon (Whitinsville, Massachusetts / Whitinsville Christian) touched the wall at 1:36.40.

In the 50 freestyle, Hope qualified four in the 'A' final: Wasiniak in fourth at 23.80, Turner in fifth at 23.89, Ryle in sixth at 23.90 and Wesolek in seventh at 24.03.

In the 500 freestyle, Hope placed three swimmers in the 'A' final): Swingewood in third at 5:05.75, Estabrook in fourth at 5:15.16, and Martin in fifth at 5:15.71.

Weedon won the 'B' final by clocking a swim of 5:20.65.

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