No. 13-Ranked Women's Swim/Dive Soars to West Michigan Invite Title

The 13th-ranked Hope College women's swimming and diving team cruised to victory in its first multi-day meet of the season, topping four teams to win the West Michigan Invite.

Friday's opening session was held at the Holland Aquatic Center. On Saturday, the teams moved to the Kalamazoo College Natatorium for a pair of sessions.

The Flying Dutch scored 1,130 points after adding seven event victories on the second day of competition. Davenport University, a member of NCAA Division II, finished second with 794 points, while fellow MIAA members Kalamazoo College (483 points) and the University of Olivet (203 points) finished third and fourth, respectively.

Junior Bella Turner (Chelsea, Michigan / Chelsea HS) was a part of four wins on Saturday, capturing two individual events and swimming on two winning relay teams. Turner posted a season-best 52.34 in the 100 freestyle to top the field and set a pool record, and also won the 200 freestyle in 1:56.98.

Turner also anchored Hope's winning 200 medley relay team, joining junior Katie Hermann (Canton, Michigan / Mercy), sophomore Dillon Horsley (Indianapolis, Indiana / North Central), and junior Laurel Wasiniak (Northville, Michigan / Northville).

Turner closed out the afternoon as the lead-off swimmer for Hope's A 400 freestyle relay team with Hermann, senior Greta Gidley (Franklin, Michigan / Mercy) and Wasiniak, which posted the sixth-fastest time in NCAA Division III.

Wasiniak won the 100 butterfly in 58.50 as part of a Hope sweep of the podium, while Gidley led a 1-2 finish in the 400 individual medley, posting the fourth-best time in NCAA Division III this season with a 4:39.21 finish.

The duo also finished second and third in the 100 freestyle, as Wasiniak swam a season-best 53.22 to place second, while Gidley completed the podium with a 53.86 finish.

Hermann added a victory for the Flying Dutch on Saturday, winning the 100 backstroke in 58.58 as Hope took the top five positions in the event. She also placed second in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:07.07.

Hope placed five finishers among the top six positions in the 200 backstroke, with freshman Megan Wedeking (Lexington, Kentucky / Lexington Senior) finishing third in 2:14.00, edging out sophomore Avery Bills (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West), who touched the wall fourth in 2:14.19.

Senior Sara Kraus (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford) won the 200 individual medley, touching the wall in 2:08.17 for the fourth-best time in Division III. She also placed second in the 400 IM with a time of 4:42.24, good for ninth in Division III, and was second in the 200 breaststroke with a mark of 2:28.58.

In the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Dillon Horsley (Indianapolis, Indiana / North Central) and senior Lauren Ryle (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central) gave Hope a 2-3 finish. Horsley also added a podium finish with a third-place showing in the 200 breaststroke, finishing the race in 2:31.39.

Senior Norah Martin (Middleton, Wisconsin / Middleton) posted a third-place finish in the 1650 freestyle, completing the mile-long swim in 18:47.58. Her time is the second fastest in NCAA Division III this season and came after Davenport's Angie Lorena Gomez Garcia set the pool record in 17:24.10.

In the 200 butterfly, freshman Emmy Sower (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) and junior Ashlea Swingewood (Carmel, Indiana / Carmel) finished second (2:19.46) and third (2:20.41), respectively, to lead the Flying Dutch.

On the three-meter diving board, Hope took three of the top four positions, led by sophomore Laura Zupancic (Fort Collins, Colorado / Liberty Common), who scored 211.85 points. Senior Molly Leonard (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central) was second with a score of 210.6, while senior Hope Weeda (Grandville, Michigan / Calvin Christian) placed fourth with a mark of 189.65. All three divers posted season-high marks.

Hope's next meet is the D3 Shootout, held on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 8-9, at the University of Chicago.

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