Sophomore Emme D'Errico capped off a weekend of personal-bests on Saturday, setting the school record in the 200 butterfly twice as the No. 8 Hope College women's swimming and diving team wrapped up its mid-season meet at Kenyon College.
D'Errico (Farmington Hills, Michigan / Farmington) became the first Hope swimmer to go under 2:04 in the event during the evening finals, placing second with a record time of 2:03.90. In the morning preliminaries, she grabbed the 32-year old school record with a 2:04.83 swim.
"We knew Emme was talented when she decided to come to Hope," Head Coach Jake Taber '04 said. "Last year, she scratched the surface of how good she could be, and this is the accumulation of the work she's been putting in and understanding the right way to swim that race for her."
Entering the meet, the 200 fly record was the second-oldest for the women's team. Dawn Hoving '94 set the mark during the 1992-93 campaign when she went 2:04.88. D'Errico also notched an NCAA B qualifying time with her record-setting swim, coming in under the invited time from last year's NCAA Championships.
"Dawn Hoving is one of the all-time greats in Hope swimming," Taber said. "To see her record stand for that long is a testament to why she is legendary within our program."
D'Errico's swim wrapped up a successful evening for the Flying Dutch, which saw NCAA-qualifying times in several events along with two event winners.
In the 100 freestyle, senior Laurel Wasiniak (Northville, Michigan / Northville) won the A final with a season-best time of 50.19, improving upon her qualifying time of 51.25 from the morning session. Senior Bella Turner (Chelsea, Michigan / Chelsea) also grabbed a qualifying time in the evening finals, placing 5th overall with a season-best 50.96. Both swimmers have marks under the invited time from a year ago (51.04).
Freshman Makenzie Baldwin (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) won the 200 backstroke after posting the top time in the morning preliminaries. Baldwin clocked a season-best 2:00.53 in the evening final, which ranks as the second-fastest time in NCAA Division 3 entering the weekend. Her time also ranks third in Hope history and lowered her NCAA qualifying time that was established earlier in the season.
Baldwin's performance was one of many by Hope newcomers that caught the attention of the coaching staff.
"I think we learned an awful lot about our newcomers this week," Taber said. "We have a talented group, but we were not sure how they would respond with rest, suiting up and having some of the best swimmers in the country surrounding them. Overall, I'm excited about how that came together."
The 400 freestyle relay team of fifth-year Greta Gidley (Franklin, Michigan / Mercy), Wasiniak, Turner and freshman Claudia Busse (Grand Haven, Michigan / Grand Haven) also posted the second-fastest time in NCAA Division 3 during the final session. The team combined for a season-best time of 3:23.82, dropping three seconds from its previous best time to place second.
In the 200 breaststroke, Hope put two swimmers in the A final. Senior Katie Hermann (Canton, Michigan / Mercy) placed sixth with a season-best time of 2:23.25, which is the 10th fastest time in school history. Senior
Madi Remenschneider (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) placed eighth with a personal-best 2:23.74.
Junior Anna Stolle (Fishers, Indiana / Hamilton Southeastern) won the B final of the 200 breast, touching the wall in 2:24.51, a season-best.
In the 1650 freestyle, junior Natalia Pitera (Livonia, Michigan / Stevenson) was Hope's top finisher, placing 15th with a time of 18:22.60.
In the final team standings, Hope placed third with a score of 1192. No. 3 Kenyon took first at the Total Performance Invitational, while No. 11 Carnegie Mellon placed second.
"It was a very healthy weekend in how we are growing as a team," Taber said. "This is a coachable group and they are talented, deep and versatile. I am excited about what is to come down the road this season after a weekend like this."
The Flying Dutch swimmers will take a break from competition until January 17, when they travel to Kalamazoo College for the Michigan-Illinois Quad meet.
