The No. 11 Hope College women's swimming and diving team began its league title defense on Wednesday at the Holland Aquatic Center, winning the 800 freestyle relay during the opening night of the MIAA Championships.

The team of sophomore Emme D'Errico (Farmington Hills, Michigan / Farmington), senior Bella Turner (Chelsea, Michigan / Chelsea), freshman Makenzie Baldwin (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) and senior Laurel Wasiniak (Northville, Michigan / Northville) posted a season-best time of 7 minutes, 30.54 seconds in the event, giving the Flying Dutch the win for the second straight season. 

Hope, which has placed first in the 800 free relay in four of the last five years, finished nearly eight seconds ahead of runner-up Calvin University.

The Flying Dutch also lowered their B qualifying time and came in under last season's invited time to the NCAA Division III Championships.

Hope, seeking its sixth consecutive MIAA title, leads the field with 62 points after one event, 10 points ahead of 13th-ranked Calvin University. Alma College is third with 48 points, followed by Kalamazoo College (44) and Albion College (28). The University of Olivet is also competing but did not field a team for the opening night relay. 

D'Errico opened the relay with a 1:51.81 opening 200, marking a personal-best and NCAA B qualifying time. Her mark was also the third-fastest in Hope history.

"Watching that A relay and Emme take it out almost a full second faster than she did a year ago … you see the expressions on her face when she sees her time, that's what this is all about and tells everything that you need to know," head coach Jake Taber said.

In the consolation final, the team of freshman Brianna Elliott (El Paso, Texas / Maxine L Silva Magnet), freshman Ella Cabbage (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City Central), freshman Allyson O'Brien (Beverly Hills, Michigan / Wylie E Groves) and junior Paige Potter (Lake Orion, Michigan / Lake Orion) placed first, touching the wall in 7:49.10.

The MIAA Championships, sponsored by Collegiate Credit Union, will continue Thursday-Saturday at the Holland Aquatic Center, with preliminaries starting at 10 a.m. and finals beginning at 5 p.m. each day.  Tickets can be purchased online at the door beginning 1 hour before each session.