SCOTS SWIMMING AND DIVING FALLS TO OLIVET
Back to dual meet competition after a month of intense practices, Alma College Swimming and Diving hosted Olivet College on January 17th. The Scots fell short to the Comets by a score of 148-113 while the Women's Team lost by a margin of 159-93. Despite the overall losses, the Alma swimmers and divers had a huge day – producing many personal bests and season bests.
In the third event, the 200-yard freestyle, senior captains Sara Swanton (Saginaw,MI/Heritage) and Geri Gaskell (Greenbush, MI/Oscoda) got things rolling in the right direction for their team. Swanton posted her season best time of 2:08.53 and Gaskell posted her season best time of 2:23.12. Taking a cue from the outstanding performance by the ladies, Junior Captain Spencer Johnson (Grand Ledge, MI/Grand Ledge) went on to swim to a 2nd place finish and a personal best time of 1:51.29 in the 200-yard freestyle. In the women’s 100-yard backstroke event, sophomore Jordan Bryde (Mason, MI/Mason) finished 2nd with a time of 1:05.94, and freshman Max Marsh (Ypsilanti, MI) won the men’s 100-yard backstroke in a time of 59.09. Next, two freshmen tore through the 100-breaststroke events. Madison Behmnlander (Auburn, MI/Bay City Western) took 1st place with her season best time of 1:14.37 and Max Regan (Lansing, MI/Lansing Eastern) took 1st place with his season best time of 1:08.31. Freshman Caige Lauring (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Lahser) also shined in this event – his time of 1:12.67 was good enough for 3rd place. Behmlander then pushed herself in the 100-yard freestyle and earned a personal best time of 59.07. In the 200-yard butterfly, sophomore Andrew Brunner (Traverse City, MI/T.C. St. Francis) swam a personal best time of 2:05.09 and earned 2nd place, and also swam to a first place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (50.08). Johnson added valuable points for the men’s team by taking 2nd place in the 50-yard freestyle (22.73) and 2nd place in the 200-yard backstroke (2:00.93). Freshman Jordan Newhouse (Traverse City, MI/Traverse City West), a brand new transfer student, stole the show by taking first place in the women’s100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:05.67. To finish out the meet, freshman Adam Whitfield (Farmington Hills, MI/Farmington) conquered the grueling 400-yard IM event with a time of 5:39.97.
In women’s diving, junior Hanna Leestma (Royal Oak, MI/Kimball), having recently returned to the team after a semester internship program in Philadelphia, showed that her talent has not wavered despite her time off. Leestma took 2nd place in the 1-meter diving with a score of 227.95 and she won the 3-meter competition with a personal best and NCAA qualifying score of 260.25. Sophomore Brianna Harfmann (Midland, MI/H.H. Dow) demonstrated her strength and consistency by taking 3rd place on the 1-meter (222.45) and 2nd place on the 3-meter (242.60). Freshman Kayleigh Murphy (Huntington Woods) showed off her hard work by posting a season best score of 165.65 on the 1-meter.
In men’s diving, senior Steve Rose (Essexville/Garber) gave a performance that came to fruition due to his hard work. In the 1-meter competition, Rose edged out conference rival Shaun Bergman and took 1st place with his season best score of 236.10. And in the 3-meter competition, Rose debuted two new optional dives and came away with the 2nd place finish and a personal best score of 245.60.
Up next for the Alma Scots is a dual meet against the Kalamazoo College Hornets. The meet will be held in Kalamazoo on January 24th and will start at 1:00pm.
Posted: Sat, January 17th, 2009 at 5:00PM
