2023 MIAA champion Hope College women's swim and dive team poses for a portrait.

Women's Swimming and Diving 2/19/2023 7:35:00 AM Alan Babbitt

Three-peat! Women's Swim/Dive Continues MIAA Title Reign

Four event victories. Three school records. One meet record. One fastest swim in all of NCAA Division III this season. And, most important, one MIAA team championship.

Add it all up, and it was an impressive final day for the 13th-ranked Hope College women's swimming and diving team at the MIAA Championships.

The Flying Dutch closed the four-day league meet with 1,131 points on Saturday at Calvin University, convincingly earning a title three-peat by posting one of their largest margin of victories in the history of the MIAA Championships.

Hope finished 276.5 points ahead of runner-up Calvin (834.5). Kalamazoo College took third with 500.5 points and was followed by Albion College (494), Alma College (325), and Olivet College (286).

The Flying Dutch recorded their first three-peat since a run of nine consecutive titles ended in 2000. The MIAA title is Hope's 24th overall.

"It's exciting. I don't know if I had thought about it yet," head coach Jake Taber said of the Flying Dutch continuing their title reign. "In some ways, this graduating class is the one who took a chance on me coming back here. I'm grateful they did. The culture here, the environment that we have, and some of the things we have been blessed to accomplish they helped drive. That's pretty special."

Saturday was another orange-and-blue day for Hope.

In the 200 backstroke, sophomore Sara Kraus (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford HS) ripped off the fastest time in the nation, going a school-record 1 minute, 57.94 seconds to repeat as MIAA champion. Kraus eclipsed Meg Peel's 2019 record of 1:58.50.

Kraus was named the MIAA's Most Valuable Women's Swimmer after the meet by the league's coaches. Kraus also claimed the honor as a freshman.

Hope swept the top honors as sophomore Abby Koops (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Northern) repeated as the MIAA Women's Most Valuable Diver.

Also, in the 200 back, junior Delaney Wesolek (Bay City, Michigan / John Glenn) took fourth with a time of 2:07.42.

In the 1,650 freestyle, Hope opened the evening session with a 1-2-3 sweep.

Sophomore Grace Wesley (Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan / Grosse Pointe North) clocked a season-best swim of 17:55.18 to win the event for the first time.

Sophomore Norah Martin (Middleton, Wisconsin / Middleton) finished runner-up with a time of 17:56.92. Junior Jess Estabrook (Carmel, Indiana / Carmel) took third at 18:13.80.

In the 100 freestyle, sophomore Greta Gidley (Franklin, Michigan / Mercy) recorded a school-record and MIAA championship-earning swim of 50.94 points. Gidley surpassed Libby Westrate's 2013 time of 51.16.

Freshman Laurel Wasiniak (Northville, Michigan / Northville) posted a fourth-place swim of 51.86. Freshman Bella Turner (Chelsea, Michigan / Chelsea) took fifth at 52.02.

In the 200 butterfly, freshman Ashlea Swingewood (Carmel, Indiana / Carmel) recorded a first-place time of 2:07.67.

Senior Alyssa Kerkman (South Bend, Indiana / Saint Joseph) finished third with a swim of 2:10.44. Wesley took eighth at 2:16.22. Sophomore Katie Weedon (Whitinsville, Massachusetts / Whitinsville Christian) was 11th at 2:21.49.

Hope posted a school-record and runner-up effort in the 400 freestyle relay. Wesolek, Turner, Wasiniak, and Gidley recorded a time of 3:26.32.

In the 'B' final, the Flying Dutch clocked the fastest time and placed ninth overall. Wesley, Swingewood, Hermann, and sophomore Lauren Ryle (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central) went 3:33.96.

Four Hope swimmers qualified for the 'A' final in the 200 breaststroke.

Ryle led the Flying Dutch by recording a third-time swim of 2:22.83. Senior Aubrey East (Farmington Hills, Michigan / North Farmington) finished fifth at 2:29.19. Freshman Madi Remenschneider (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) took sixth at 2:29.75. Junior Maddy O'Donnell (Lincolnshire, Illinois / Stevenson) was seventh at 2:30.58.

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