Dec. 5, 2013
ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Oakland men's and women's swimming and diving teams head to regional rival Eastern Michigan for the two-day EMU Invitational at Jones Natatorium. Joining the host Eagles and Oakland are Wayne State and Ball State. Friday's action gets underway at 3:30 p.m. with a 10 a.m. start slated for Saturday. Live stats will be available through emueagles.com.
In his 35th season on the OU campus, head coach Pete Hovland is in his 33rd year as the head coach of the Oakland men's squad and 15th season as the mentor of the women's team, including 13th consecutively. During his tenure, Hovland has been named conference coach of the year 21 times; he has also led the Oakland men's team to 29 conference meet titles and the women's side to 14 conference meet championships. Of note, Hovland's 35 years as a head coach for Oakland swimming and diving is tied for second longest among current Division I head coaches.
Golden Anniversary for the Golden Grizzlies: The 2013-14 campaign marks the golden anniversary for the Golden Grizzlies' men's swimming and diving program, which became the first intercollegiate sport at Oakland during the 1964-65 academic year. Along the way, both the Oakland men's and women's programs have accumulated numerous championships and accolades including 10 National Championships (men: 1980, 1994-97; women: 1990-94), over 160 individual national championships and nearly 500 All-American awards.
Golden Spotlight - A Look Back at Oakland Swimming Success
Both the Oakland men's and women's teams are holders of the NCAA Division II Swimming Championship record of most individual winners in one championship meet. During the 1994 season, the Oakland women's team claimed their fifth consecutive NCAA title with a championship record of 12 individual titles. Not to be outdone, in the following year the Oakland men's team captured 14 individual victories to claim the men's record that has stood since the 1995 campaign.
| Oakland at EMU Invitational • Fri.-Sat., Dec. 6-7 • 3:30 p.m./10 a.m./6 p.m. |
| Host | Eastern Michigan |
|
Location
| Ypsilanti, Mich. |
| Venue | Jones Natatorium |
| Directions | Via Google Maps |
| Tickets/Admission | • Free admission |
| Television/Video Stream | N/A |
| Live Stats | Hy-Tek stats |
| Event Order | FRIDAY PM - 3:30 p.m. start
• 1650 Free
• 200 Back
• 100 Free
• 200 Breast
• 200 Fly
• Men's 1 meter/women's 3 meter dive
• 400 Free Relay
SATURDAY AM - 10 a.m. start
• 200 Medley Relay
• 400 IM
• 100 Fly
• 200 Free
• 100 Breast
• 100 Back
• 800 Free Relay
SATURDAY PM - 6 p.m. start
• 200 Free Relay
• 500 Free
• 200 IM
• 50 Free
• Women's 1 meter/men's 3 meter dive
• 400 Medley Relay |
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Scouting the Oakland men's team:
• Oakland improved to 3-1 on the year with its 171-122 win over Wayne State Nov. 15. The Golden Grizzlies got two individual wins apiece from Grant Harding (50 free, 21.39; 100 back, 49.77), Mario Rusnak (50 fly, 22.82; 100 fly, 50.50) and Amr el Sayed (100 free, 46.63; 200 free, 1:40.66).
• After being away from competition for two weeks, Oakland's dominance of top times in the Horizon League now stands at five of the 14 individual events. Amr el Sayed has league-best marks in both the 1000 free (9:29.90) and 1650 free (15:56.29) as the lone two-race leader for Oakland. Jorden Merrilees (500 free, 4:32.03), Grant Harding (100 back, 49.77) and Aleksander Danielewski (200 back, 1:52.48) also pace the Horizon League at the midway point.
Scouting the Oakland women's team:
• The Golden Grizzlies used a balanced attack with wins by eight individuals in nine swimming events to defeat Wayne State Nov. 15, 172-123. Leading the way wasKyra Rietveld, who was victorious in the 100 back and 50 free.
• For the third time this season, diver Tricia Grant was named Horizon League Diver of the Week after shattering Oakland's 3-meter diving record against Wayne State Nov. 11. Grant boasts a 32-2 record in diving this season.
• Backstroke specialist Karin Tomeckova has both of the best times in the Horizon League, pacing the conference with times of 56.62 in the 100 and 2:02.26 in the 200. Tomeckova has two of the three Oakland top times in the Horizon League as of Dec. 2; Nikki Flynn's mark of 51.66 in the 100 free is tied for the best mark in the conference.
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