No. 14 Men's Swim/Dive Places Sixth at D3Shootout, a Two-Spot Rise from Last Season

The No. 14 Hope College men's swimming and diving team finished in sixth place at the D3 Shootout, which concluded on Saturday (Nov. 8) at the University of Chicago.

The Flying Dutchmen tallied 485 points over the weekend, finishing four points behind fifth-place and #25 SUNY-Geneseo. #4 Chicago won the event for the fifth consecutive year with 679 points. The finish for Hope marked a two-place improvement from the Dutchmen's eighth-place showing a year ago.

Despite having to shuffle the lineup for the weekend at the last minute due to illness, Assistant Coach David Jolly noted the weekend was a positive one.

"The shifting of swims was tough, but we still put together great swims overall," Jolly said. "I'm proud of the team's ability to be resilient in a tough situation. Now, with the rest of the season in front of us, we all must do our very best to continue to be successful."

The format of the D3 Shootout allowed each of the 10 competing teams to bring eight swimmers plus a diver. Teams entered two swimmers in each event – one in an A flight and the other in a B flight.

The meet featured 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.

Junior Josh Bordovsky (Herndon, Virginia / South Lakes) registered Hope's top finish of the day, placing third in the A final of the 200 individual medley with a season-best time of 1:51.77.

Bordovsky also anchored the 200 freestyle relay in the following event, teaming with junior Christian Hoeksema (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian), sophomore Blake Hetherington (Jackson, Michigan / Lumen Christi) and sophomore Everett Cox (Sugar Land, Texas / Logos Prep)to finish fifth.

In the 100 freestyle, Hetherington swam a 46.09 to place second in the B final, while Cox sprinted a nearly identical time of 46.05 in the A final to finish fifth. Both times were season-bests.
Cox added a fourth-place showing in the B final of the 500 freestyle with a season-best mark of 4:38.84.

Hope also added important points in the mixed 400 freestyle relay. The team of freshman Evan Harris (Rochester Hills, Michigan / Oakland Christian) and Hoeksema from the men's team, combined with Bella Turner and Claudia Busse from the women's team, placed second with a time of 3:16.19.

In diving, freshman Finn Sanders (Wyoming, Michigan / Grandville) was fifth on the three-meter board. Jolly noted that his performance this weekend was an important stepping stone for later in the season.

"You can't win championships without divers," Jolly said. "I believe that Grace (Dawson) from the women's team, and Finn are going to have a big effect come February."

Hope will take a week off before traveling to Gambier, Ohio, for the Total Performance Invitational, hosted by No. 5 Kenyon College. The meet will take place from Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 20-22, with prelims and finals each day.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Josh Bordovsky: Junior; Mathematics

Everett Cox: Sophomore

Blake Hetherington: Sophomore

Christian Hoeksema: Junior

Evan Harris: Freshman

Finn Sanders: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Josh Bordovsky
: Junior; Mathematics

Everett Cox
: Sophomore

Blake Hetherington
: Sophomore

Christian Hoeksema
: Junior

Evan Harris
: Freshman

Finn Sanders
: Freshman