UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – For the first time this season, the Saginaw Valley State University swimming and diving teams competed at home, hosting a meet Saturday at the Gerstacker Regional Aquatic Center in University Center, Mich.

The Cardinals welcomed Davenport University for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference dual meet. The teams battled throughout, as the Panthers escaped with narrow wins, 127-110 on the men's side and 126-115 for the women.

"I was very proud of the way we competed today," SVSU Head Swim Coach Jason Lintjer said. "We were a little short-handed, so we had to improvise with our lineup, but I was excited to see several individuals step up to the challenge. We didn't end up with the result we wanted, but we had many individuals who performed very well."

Men's highlights:

• The team of Mason Hooker, Christian Rottier, Ryan Langdon and Joshua Hamilton opened the meet with an exciting win in the 200-yard medley relay in a 1:33.94.
• Hamilton touched the wall just ahead of teammate Sanders Modglin in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 21.67 seconds.
• Langdon took first in the 200-yard butterfly for the Cardinals in a time of 1:59.74.
• Juan-Luke Hamilton was first in the 100-yard freestyle in 46.83 seconds.
• Justin Ott led the SVSU diving team with a score of 407.70, taking first in the 1-meter diving event. Sam Hudgens was third in the 3-meter diving event with a score of 192.45 points.

Women's Highlights:

• Divers Libby Caird and Megan LaFollette both hit the NCAA DII qualifying mark in the 1-meter event. Caird, who qualified for nationals one week ago at Hope College, took first place with a score of 409.70. Lafollette was second with a score of 390.15.
• Caird added a first-place finish in the 3-meter diving event with a score of 249.30.
• The women opened the meet with the team of Erin McDowell, Lissette Fenneuff, Kimble Darbee and Emma Cornell taking first in the 200-yard medley with a time of 1:48.57.
• Zoe Vance was first in the 50-yard freestyle in 25.27 seconds.
• Darbee touched the wall first in the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 2:16.51.
• McDowell finished the 200-yard backstroke in 2:08.01 for a first-place finish.

The Cardinals host Northern Michigan University and Wayne State University for a GLIAC tri-meet at 1 pm Saturday at the Gerstacker Regional Aquatic Center.