Indianapolis, Ind. – Saginaw Valley State University just got done with the NCAA Division II Championships on Saturday at IU Natatorium. The Cardinals had a great week in the pool setting a school record, having multiple All-American honorable mentions, and Alejandro Robles Ruiz earning the first SVSU swim and dive All-American honors.
Tuesday started the competitions with Adelaide Spencer placing 33rd in the 1-meter dive and 34th in the 3-meter dive. Later that day, the four-man combination of Almos Szedlak, Alejandro Robles Ruiz, Eric Slabbert, and Logan Fox finished the 800-yard freestyle relay in six minutes and 33.15 seconds, setting the new school record and getting All-American honorable mention.
On Wednesday, Robles Ruiz, Christian Rottier, Fox, and Slabbert teamed up to finish the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:27.57, but were disqualified for an early take-off. Wednesday was the shortest day for SVSU swim and dive.
Robles Ruiz made Cardinal history on Thursday. Competing in the 200-yard freestyle, Robles Ruiz finished the race in 1:36.56 in the preliminary round and 1:36.87 in the finals, earning him first team All-American honors. He is the first SVSU swimmer to earn those honors.
Moving into day four, the Cardinals had a jam-packed day. Robles Ruiz swam in the 100-yard backstroke and took 22nd place with a time of 48.74 seconds. Robles Ruiz along with Slabbert, Szedlak, and Fox earned All-American honorable mention in the 200-yard freestyle relay later that day. A 13th place finish for them with a time of 1:20.52. Flora Mia Szklenar also competed Friday placing 17th in the 200-yard butterfly. She finished with a time of 2:03.05.
On the final day, Robles Ruiz had his final solo race as he placed 20th in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:46.96. The last event of the championship meet for the Cardinals was the men's 400-yard freestyle relay. Robles Ruiz, Slabbert, Szedlak, and Fox had another All-American honorable mention time finishing in 2:57.30 putting them in 13th in the event
At the end of the meet, Saginaw Valley scored 39 points for the men and were in 18th of 32.