UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University swimming and diving program had a big day in the pool Friday afternoon in a tri-meet against Northern Michigan University and the University of Findlay. Both teams defeated the Oilers and dropped against the Wildcats.
Both Benjamin Wainman and Alexa Hieber set the program record in the 1000-yard freestyle. Wainman finished in 9:22.69 and Hieber in 10:18.93 etching their names into the record book. Wainman and Alejandro Robles Ruiz were the top two scorers for the men's meet and Hannah Martin Cook was the top performer for the women finishing in fifth for scoring. Robles Ruiz finished the 100-yard freestyle in 44.16 seconds which was good for second place and fourth in Division II.
Cailey Mills and Kaylee Smith took second and third in the 1-meter dive for the women along with Rory Kauffman and Sam Hudgens taking second and third in the same event for the men. Kauffman also took first in the 3-meter dive with a score of 256.45.
After setting a record, Wainman took first in the 500-yard freestyle as well. He finished with a personal best time of 9:22.69, good for a NCAA Division II B time and seventh in D2. Hieber actually took second in the 1000-yard freestyle with her record, and also took second in the 500-yard freestyle with her season best time of 5:05.20.
The men took third in the 200-yard medley relay as Robles Ruiz, Christian Rottier, Logan Fox, and Josh Rottier finished in 1:29.31. That time is the fifth best time in the country. The team of Robles Ruiz, Eric Slabbert, Almos Szedlak, and Isaac deVries finished the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:01.64 which is also fifth in D2.
Head Coach Jason Lintjer had this to say,
"We competed very well today against two really good teams. I was proud of how our team fought for every point. It was a tough battle in every event. I'm really excited for what's in store for the rest of the season."
In the men's, Findlay is ranked seventh, Northern Michigan is ranked 14th and Saginaw Valley is 15th. For the women, Northern Michigan is ranked seventh, Findlay is outside the top 25 but received votes, and Saginaw Valley is unranked.
Saginaw Valley swimming and diving looks to roll the two big upsets into the next day. Findlay stays in town as the Cardinals and Oilers hop back into the pool at 11:00 AM on Saturday.
