Two Hope women's swimmers look at the camera.

Women's Swimming and Diving 9/29/2023 1:10:00 PM Alan Babbitt

2023-24 Women's Swimming and Diving Preview

A Top 10 finish in the nation has the Hope College women's swimming and diving team hungry to leap back in the pool again.

The Flying Dutch are eager to begin the 2023-24 season this afternoon at the University of Michigan after their most successful season in 19 years. Hope placed 10th at the NCAA Division III Championships and claimed a third consecutive MIAA title during the 2022-23 season.

With many of the top swimmers and divers returning to the roster, head coach Jake Taber is excited about what is ahead for his team.

"I think we, in a lot of ways, benefited tremendously from the season that we had last year," Taber said. "We gained an awful lot of experience. I think that has us excited and looking forward because, as we bring in another talented group of freshmen, we've got the experience from our upperclassmen. They have a little bit more of an understanding of what the process is and the importance of trusting the process."

2023-24 Roster

On a roster of 37, there are 10 seniors, nine juniors, nine sophomores and nine freshmen. Four All-Americans and 10 All-MIAA honorees from the 2022-23 season bolster Hope's strong foundation.

Eight of the returning all-league selections are swimmers, including three All-Americans:

Junior Greta Gidley (Franklin, Michigan / Mercy HS) finished as national runner-up in the 200 individual season last season in her debut with the Flying Dutch. The elementary education major also earned Second Team All-America honors in the 100 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. Gidley claimed MIAA titles in two individual events and two relays, including league records in the 200 individual medley and 200 medley relay;
Junior Sara Kraus (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford) repeated as a First Team All-American in both the 100 and 100 backstroke and as the MIAA's Most Valuable Swimmer last season. The exercise science major won five events at league championships as a sophomore: 100 and 200 backstroke (both MIAA records), 200 medley relay (MIAA record) 400 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay;
Sophomore Katie Hermann (Canton, Michigan / Mercy) was a First Team All-American last season in the 100 backstroke. The exercise science major also received All-MIAA honors after swimming the lead leg on the league-record-setting 200-medley relay.

Five more Hope swimmers return after making the All-MIAA Team last season:

Alyssa Kerkman — fifth-year senior from South Bend, Indiana (St. Joseph), two-time All-MIAA honoree and nursing major who swam on the MIAA champion 200 and 400 medley relays;
Grace Wesley — junior from Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan (Grosse Pointe North), two-time All-MIAA selection and exercise science major who was MIAA champion in the 1,650 freestyle last season;
Lauren Ryle - junior from Grand Rapids, Michigan (Catholic Central), All-MIAA honoree and psychology major who swam to the MIAA title in the 100 breaststroke last season;
Ashlea Swingewood - sophomore from Carmel, Indiana (Carmel), All-MIAA selection and returning MIAA champion in the 200 butterfly and the 800 freestyle relay;
Laurel Wasiniak - sophomore from Northville, Michigan (Northville), All-MIAA honoree and swam on MIAA champion 400 medley and 800 freestyle relays.

Junior Abby Koops and senior Sophia Farbarzhevich anchor Hope's diving corps.

Koops (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Northern) claimed Second Team All-America honors on the 3-meter board as a sophomore and is a two-time qualifier for nationals on both boards. The nursing major is a two-time MIAA Most Valuable Women's Diver who has swept both boards twice at the conference championships.

Farbarzhevich (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Northern) was an All-MIAA selection for the first time last season. She is a Spanish major.

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Jake Taber '04, sixth season
Diving Coach: Rebecca Garza
Assistant Coaches: Dave Jolly, Madison Whitman

2023 Schedule

The Flying Dutch's first meet is on Friday, Sept. 29, at 5 p.m. at the "Be Better; Invite" hosted by the University of Michigan. The event, which includes Calvin University, is in its second year honoring the memory of Holland native and former U of M swimmer Ian Miskelley and promoting mental health awareness.

Hope will compete in 12 regular-season meets, including the MIAA Relays on Saturday, Oct. 20, at Calvin University, the D3 Shootout on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 3-4, at the University of Chicago and the Kenyon College (Ohio) Total Performance Invitational on Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 16-18.

The Flying Dutch are hosting three meets:

Saturday, Jan. 20, against Albion College and Alma College at Hudsonville High School;
Saturday, Jan. 27, vs. the University of Chicago at Holland Aquatic Center;
Saturday, Feb. 3, against Calvin University at Holland Aquatic Center.

Hope also will host the MIAA Championships on Wednesday-Saturday, Feb. 21-24, at Holland Aquatic Center.

The NCAA Division III Championships are Wednesday-Saturday, March 20-23, at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.

Coach's Outlook

"We have never competed this early. I think on one hand it is very exciting to go over to Canham and swim at the University of Michigan. We're going to embrace that opportunity and kick things off. From there, we want to build on that. We want to strive for competitive excellence and make sure our schedule is creating the right opportunities for every student-athlete within the program. With where we are right now in a lot of instances we need to swim up and we're getting the races we need throughout the entirety of the season. We're looking forward to the way that comes together. We're grateful to be invited back to D3 Shootout in Chicago. The uniqueness of that meet … It's just fun and different. It features several nationally ranked teams all in the same place on the same weekend. That doesn't happen a lot at the Division III level. From there, we have the Top Performance Invite down at Kenyon that we think simulates our conference championship, gets us as prepared as we can be, and answers a lot of questions at that point. We want to come back from our training trip to Siesta Key and hit the ground running in the spring semester. Hopefully, that carries us into the conference meet and the NCAA Championships." — Jake Taber

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