No. 12 Women's Swim/Dive Wins Five Events at MIAA Championships, Including Four-Time 100 Backstroke Feat

Hope owns a commanding lead heading into the final day

Behind a historic performance, the 12th-ranked Hope College women's swimming and diving team maintained firm control of the MIAA Championships on Friday at Calvin University.

The Flying Dutch crowned a four-time event champion, won five events, set an MIAA record, and broke three school records during Day 3. Hope extended its lead over the rest of the field with a three-day total of 829 points and tops the field by a margin of 162 points.

The MIAA Championships conclude on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 10 a.m. with preliminaries and 5 p.m. with finals. Hope is seeking its fifth consecutive league title for the third time in program history.

Senior Sara Kraus (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford HS) highlighted the night with a pair of MIAA titles – winning the 400 individual medley and 100 backstroke – in addition to a relay gold. She now owns nine career individual MIAA championships.

Kraus first cruised to victory in the 400-yard individual medley, clocking a 4:25.66 to improve upon her own school record from earlier this season.

In the 100 backstroke, Kraus won her fourth straight MIAA gold with a time of 55.25. Kraus is now the second MIAA swimmer – and the first since Hope's Lori Gano in 1988-91 – to win four consecutive 100 backstroke events.

"She's seen really good competition throughout her four years here," head coach Jake Taber said of Kraus. "When you look at some of the people's she's four-peated against, that shows the style of competitor she is. Add in the 400 IM, another grueling event, and leading off the medley relay today, we both felt she should be able to handle that, and she certainly did."

Senior Lauren Ryle (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central) successfully defended her MIAA title in the 100 breaststroke for the third consecutive year, winning the event with a time of 1:02.98 – the second-fastest swim in Hope history.

"That was the best swim of her life," Taber said. "She's consistently shined in the biggest moments. She's pretty amazing. We couldn't be happier for her."

Junior Laurel Wasiniak (Northville, Michigan / Northville) claimed Hope's first title in the 200 freestyle since 2020, touching the wall in 1:49.70 to top her school record from 2022. Wasiniak was just a half-second shy of the MIAA record set in 2006.

The Flying Dutch opened the evening with a meet record swim in the 200 medley relay, as the team of Kraus, Ryle, senior Greta Gidley (Franklin, Michigan / Mercy) and Wasiniak combined for a time of 1:41.02 and delivered the fourth-fastest time in NCAA Division III this season.

The time was also a school record, eclipsing the standard set by Kraus, Ryle, Alyssa Kerkman, Gidley, and Delaney Wesolek in 2024.

The team depth of the Flying Dutch was on display as the 15 finals qualifiers all competed in the A finals of their respective events.

In the 400 IM, Hope took third through fifth, with sophomore Anna Stolle (Fishers, Indiana / Hamilton Southeastern) earning bronze after touching the wall in 4:35.50. Senior Grace Wesley (Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan / Grosse Pointe North) placed fourth with a time of 4:41.24, while sophomore Paige Potter (Lake Orion, Michigan / Lake Orion) was fifth in 4:43.88.

Gidley led the Flying Dutch with a silver-medal finish in the 100 butterfly, posting a time of 55.39. Freshman Emme D'Errico (Farmington Hills, Michigan / Farmington) and freshman Emmy Sower (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) finished fourth and fifth, while freshman Megan Wedeking (Lexington, Kentucky / Lafayette) touched seventh as the three swimmers finished within seven-tenths of a second of each other.

Junior Bella Turner (Chelsea, Michigan / Chelsea) placed third in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:52.13 to earn bronze, while junior Ashlea Swingewood (Carmel, Indiana / Carmel) and senior Norah Martin (Middleton, Wisconsin / Middleton) finished fifth (1:56.87) and sixth (1:57.64).

In the 100 breaststroke, junior Madi Remenschneider (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) earned a bronze medal after clocking a 1:05.17. Sophomore Dillon Horsley (Indianapolis, Indiana / North Central) finished sixth after touching the wall in 1:05.69.

Junior Katie Hermann (Canton, Michigan / Mercy), Wedeking and Potter placed third through fifth in the 100 backstroke, as all four Hope swimmers in the event finished under a minute. Hermann took the bronze in 57.60, followed by Wedeking (57.80) and Potter (59.37).

The 200 medley relay B team of Hermann, Remenschneider, D'Errico and Sower also picked up points with a victory in the B final, out-touching the Calvin squad by 16 one-hundredths of a second.

In diving, sophomore Laura Zupancic (Fort Collins, Colorado Liberty Common) earned the bronze medal on the three-meter board with a score of 391.90. Senior Molly Leonard (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central) finished fifth, tallying a total score of 362.85.

Calvin is in second place with 667 points. Albion College is third with 314 points and followed by Kalamazoo College (306), Alma College (256) and The University of Olivet (140).

Gallery: (2-21-2025) 2025 MIAA Women's SwimDive Championships

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