Sophomore Greta Gidley of the Hope College women's swimming and diving team qualified for the B final in the 100-yard butterfly at the NCAA Division III Championships and placed 11th in the nation on Thursday.
The second-team All-American finish helped the Flying Dutch secure 11th place with a team score of 57.50 points after day two of the four-day meet in Greensboro, North Carolina.
"Greta went out and got the job done in the morning and created an opportunity for herself at night," said head coach Jake Taber. "That's a little bit of a newer event for her, I'm not sure either of us expected her to be swimming that event at this meet when she decided to come to Hope, but she embraced the opportunity and delivered!"
Gidley (Franklin, Michigan / Mercy HS) also participated in the 400-yard medley relay that earned a 14th-in-the-nation finish.
In the relay, sophomores Sara Kraus (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford), Lauren Ryle (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central), and Gidley, and freshman Laurel Wasiniak (Northville, Michigan / Northville) posted a time of 3 minutes, 48.19 seconds, earning a second-team All-American honor.
Taber was happy to see the medley relay score at this meet, after missing out a year ago.
"Three of the four legs of that relay are different from the 200-yard medley that scored last night, and the ladies were just excited to get up and go."
The four-day NCAA Championships at Greensboro Aquatic Center continue on Friday, March 17, at 10 a.m. with preliminaries and 6 p.m. with finals. Both sessions will be streamed on ncaa.com.
Hope is competing in four events on day three, including Kraus and freshman Katie Hermann in the 100-yard backstroke, Ryle in the 100-yard breaststroke, sophomore Abby Koops in the 1-meter dive, and the 800 freestyle relay
The 200-yard freestyle relay of freshman Bella Turner, junior Delaney Wesolek, Wasiniak and Gidley clocked a time of 1:35.92 in the preliminaries.
Wasiniak also swam in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:54.54 in the preliminary round.
