No. 14 Men's Swim/Dive Opens D3Shootout with Strong Performances

Fueled by season-best times, the 14th-ranked Hope College men's swimming and diving team secured a fifth-place showing after the opening day of the D3 Shootout at the University of Chicago.

The Flying Dutchmen collected 243.5 points Friday evening (Nov. 7) and sit 10 points behind Trinity (Texas). No. 4 University of Chicago leads the field with 343 points.

Chicago is hosting the fifth edition of the D3 Shootout, where each of the 10 teams competing entered eight swimmers plus a diver to compete. The format of the meet allows each team to enter two swimmers in each event – one in an A flight and the other in a B flight.

Sophomore Everett Cox (Sugar Land, Texas / Logos Prep) led Hope with a pair of season-best swims in his two individual events. Cox won the B final of the 200 freestyle with a mark of 1:40.45, while his time of 1:54.41 in the 200 butterfly placed fourth in the B final.

Cox also anchored the 800 freestyle relay team to close out the opening session. The squad of junior Josh Bordovsky (Herndon, Virginia / South Lakes), freshman Evan Harris (Rochester Hills, Michigan / Oakland Christian), sophomore Blake Hetherington (Jackson, Michigan / Lumen Christi), and Cox placed seventh, combining for a time of 6:57.65.

"Everett continues to put up beautiful performances," said Assistant Coach David Jolly. "He put in a lot of work in the off-season; his overall strength is dramatically improved from last year, and he's reaping the rewards of that."

Hetherington (Jackson, Michigan / Lumen Christi) also placed third in the B final of the 50 freestyle, touching the wall with a season-best time of 21.26. He also posted a personal best time of 53.84 in the 100 backstroke, finishing eighth in the B final.

In the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Luke Newcomb (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) finished fourth in the A final with a season-best 56.43.

Freshman Finn Sanders (Wyoming, Michigan / Grandville) was a highlight for Hope on the diving board, according to Jolly. Sanders placed fifth on the one-meter board in his first major collegiate competition after suffering an injury in warmups.

The D3 Shootout concludes on Saturday, Nov. 8. Ten events will take place during the final session, which begins at 11:30 a.m. Central.

The meet features some of the best teams in NCAA Division III from across the country, including #4 Chicago, #10 WashU, #19 Pomona-Pitzer, #20 Swarthmore, #25 SUNY-Geneseo, Washington & Lee, Trinity (Texas), Rochester Institute of Technology, and UW-Eau Claire.

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Players Mentioned

Josh Bordovsky: Junior; Mathematics

Everett Cox: Sophomore

Blake Hetherington: Sophomore

Luke Newcomb: Sophomore

Evan Harris: Freshman

Finn Sanders: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Josh Bordovsky
: Junior; Mathematics

Everett Cox
: Sophomore

Blake Hetherington
: Sophomore

Luke Newcomb
: Sophomore

Evan Harris
: Freshman

Finn Sanders
: Freshman