No. 25 Men's Swim/Dive Closes MIAA Championships with Two More Event Titles, Finishes Runner-Up

Hope makes history as one of two teams to score more than 1,000 points

The 25th-ranked Hope College men's swimming and diving team finished in second place at the MIAA Championships, which concluded on Saturday at Calvin University.

The Flying Dutchmen captured the highest point total of any team during the final day of the meet, nearly halving its gap behind Calvin, which won the meet with 1,103 points.

Hope entered the day trailing by 82 points and finished with a four-day total of 1,060, cutting the margin to 43 points. It marks the first time in MIAA history that the top two teams scored over 1,000 points.

The Flying Dutchmen also won two MIAA event titles and set two school records during the final session.

Head coach Jake Taber was thrilled to see his team's training and teamwork pay off.

"We had some underclassmen understand the moment and do a fantastic job swimming within themselves and at the highest level," Taber said. "I've got to credit our upperclassmen and leadership for creating that opportunity immediately. It happened all meet long. From the moment we got here, we had a senior on the 800 free relay and a couple of freshmen with him. It was awesome."

Freshman Joe Engle (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa HS) opened the evening with a victory in the 1,650 freestyle, adding to his 500 freestyle title from earlier in the weekend.

Senior Christian Dunaitis (Commerce Township, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) also took home a gold medal in the 200 breaststroke for his third career MIAA championship.

Engle – who finished the mile in 16:07.72 – held off a charge from Alma's Eli Mull to solidify Hope's dominance in the event. The Flying Dutchmen have won the 1650 free in each of the last six years. In addition, Engle is the fourth straight Hope swimmer to win the 500 and 1650 freestyle events.

In the 200 breaststroke, Dunaitis led a 1-2 finish for Hope, finishing in 2:01.22 to flip the script from Friday's 100 breaststroke.

Freshman Luke Newcomb (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) – who won the 100 breaststroke on Friday – earned silver with a time of 2:02.32. Sophomore Christian Hoeksema (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian) touched fifth, while freshman Luke Wyrick (Glen Ellyn, Illinois / Glenbard West) placed seventh.

In the 200 backstroke, senior Colin Kalkman (Zeeland, Michigan / Holland Christian) swam to a silver medal with a school-record time of 1:48.87, improving upon his record of 1:48.98 from a year ago. Wyrick, senior Dallas Fisher (Highland, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) and sophomore John McHugh (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) also scored for Hope in the event.

Kalkman also contributed to a school record in the 400 freestyle relay to close out the meet. Teaming with sophomore Josh Bordovsky (Herndon, Virginia / South Lakes), sophomore Graham Eisenmann (Ozark, Missouri / Ozark) and Hoeksema, the quartet placed second with a time of 2:59.71 to become the first Hope squad to break the three-minute barrier. The previous record was 3:01.48, set by Ryan Vogelzang, Aaron Welsch, Ryan Nelis and Matt Rose in 2009.

Freshman Tyler Houpt (Mason, Ohio / William Mason) battled to a podium finish in the 1650 with a time of 16:19.45, while senior Conner Halberg (Novi, Michigan / Northville) outdueled his brother – Calvin's Ryan Halberg – to place fourth. Sophomore Alex Pierce (Oswego, Illinois / Oswego) finished sixth.

In the 200 butterfly, Hope put two on the podium as sophomore Nick Suranyi (Novi, Michigan / Novi) and freshman Everett Cox (Sugar Land, Texas / Logos Prep) placed second and third. Pierce and Houpt added points for Hope, touching sixth and seventh to cap a busy night.

Eisenmann also earned a podium finish in the 100 freestyle with a time of 44.99, while Bordovsky placed fourth. Junior Henry Booker (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville) and freshman George Marsh (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan / Seaholm) added points for the Flying Dutchmen with a 1-2 finish in the B final.

In diving, sophomore Max Reed (Fairfield, Ohio / Fairfield) was the top finisher for Hope, placing fourth with a score of 343.65. Freshman Sam York (Plymouth, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) and freshman Thomas Voisinet (St. Johns, Michigan / St. Johns) finished sixth and seventh.

Kalamazoo College finished third with 468 points, just 35 points ahead of Albion College. Alma College (290) and The University of Olivet (35) placed fifth and sixth.

Hope will now await invitations to the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, which are scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday, March 19-22, at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Gallery: (2-22-2025) 2025 MIAA Men's Swim/Dive Championships

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