UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University swimming and diving program played host to the Hillsdale women's program on senior day Sunday afternoon. SVSU honored seven seniors including Sam Hudgens, Arthur Marques, Elliot Mateyak, Matt Richmond, Christian Rottier, Alejandro Robles Ruiz, and Connor Spanos. The original meet was scheduled for Saturday and included Ashland, but due to inclement weather throughout the state, the meet was moved and Ashland could not attend. The women came out on top with a score of 154-77 while the men competed amongst themselves.
Samantha Fowler, Alex Heiber, and Flora Mia Szklenar were some of the top competitors for the women taking first, second, and fifth in scoring on the day.
Fowler took home first in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:33.46, the 400-yard individual medley with a personal best of 4:33.37, and the 500-yard freestyle finishing with a mark of 5:15.96.
Hieber placed first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.21 and helped the team of four including Ella Yantz, Emily Solarski, Veronica Markwood, and herself to a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:41.31. Hieber also took second behind Fowler in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:39.93.
Szklenar went home with a first, second, and third place finish. She placed first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.90, placed second in the 200-yard freestyle finishing in a season best 1:59.04, and teamed up with Ella Banning, Jenna Schmitt, and Yantz for a third-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay with a final mark of 4:08.00.
Kaylee Smith and Cailey Mills both had personal bests on the day. In the 1-meter dive, Smith scored 253.95 over her six dives. Mills had a personal best in the 3-meter dive scoring 247.65 over her six dives.
Head coach Jason Lintjer had this to say about senior day and the women's competition,
"It was a great day for the Cards. We were able to honor our seniors and come home with a victory. Hillsdale has a good squad, but our women competed really well today and we were able to come out on top."
There were three personal bests for the men's side. Arthur Marques placed second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.51. Joao Pedro Noguera took fourth in the 200-yard freestyle finishing in 1:49.28. Isaac deVries finished fifth with a personal best of 4:34.50 in the 400-yard individual medley.
Other top performers included Benjamin Wainman and Robles Ruiz both had three first-place finishes. Wainman took first in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:31.68, the 500-yard freestyle finishing in 4:39.66, and the 400-yard individual medley with a mark of 4:08.88. Robles Ruiz was the fasted in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.74 and the 100-yard backstroke with a finish of 49.23. He also took first in the 200-yard freestyle relay along with Zack Dollman, Reid Gilbert, and Rodrigo Vargas as they completed the event in 1:28.18.
Saginaw Valley swimming and diving will be back in the pool this week as they head to Oakland to compete against Oakland and Hope on Friday, January 19. The meet is scheduled for 5:00 PM at the Oakland Aquatic Center.
