The 2024-25 season ended for the Hope College men's swimming and diving team on Saturday, as the Flying Dutchmen completed competition at the NCAA Division III Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

The Flying Dutchmen finished 27th overall at the four-day meet with 30 points.

All of the swims for the Dutchmen on Saturday took place in the morning preliminaries at Greensboro Aquatic Center. 

Senior Colin Kalkman (Zeeland, Michigan / Holland Christian HS) closed out his career in school-record fashion during his final individual race. Kalkman clocked a 1:48.41 in the 200 backstroke to top his school record by .46 seconds. He finished 23rd overall.

It was a satisfying finish to see, head coach Jake Taber said.

"One of the great things about Colin is how intentional he is with his approach to the sport. He puts a lot of thought into it. He takes care of his body. He trains with a purpose," Taber said. "This is the type of meet he deserved to wrap his Hope career."

In the 100 freestyle, sophomore Graham Eisenmann (Ozark, Missouri / Ozark) posted a time of 45.60 to place 44th overall. Freshman Luke Newcomb (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) also competed individually on Saturday, placing 24th in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:03.89.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Kalkman, sophomore Josh Bordovsky (Herndon, Virginia / South Lakes), Eisenmann, and sophomore Christian Hoeksema (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian) closed out the meet for Hope, combining for a time of 3:01.16 to finish 19th overall.

Denison University (Ohio) won the meet with 463.5 points, 140 points better than second-place Emory University (Georgia). The University of Chicago took third with 272 points.

Taber was proud of his team's performance competing against the nation's best.

"It was a really healthy balance of veterans who have been there and faced adversity and first-timers. The veterans knew it was a marathon, not a sprint," Taber said. "The seniors were able to help our underclassmen. The experience the newcomers gained from this week is big. Their swimming ID is higher; their motivation is greater."

With the season concluded, Hope will graduate seven seniors from the program: Alex Boersema (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa), Joel Cummins (Osceola, Indiana / Penn), Christian Dunaitis (Commerce Township, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central), Dallas Fisher (Highland, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central), Conner Halberg (Novi, Michigan / Northville), Kalkman and Cooper Osgood (Saline, Michigan / Saline).