Feb. 23, 2015 ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Oakland swimming and diving team aim to defend their conference titles this week when the Golden Grizzlies head to Wisconsin to participate in the 2015 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The four-day event begins Wednesday, Feb. 25 and will wrap up Saturday, Feb. 28.
At the helm:In his 36th season on the Oakland campus, head coach Pete Hovland is in his 34th year as the head coach of the Oakland men's squad and 16th season as the mentor of the women's team, including 14th consecutively. During his tenure, Hovland has been named conference coach of the year 22 times; he has also led the Oakland men's team to 30 conference meet titles and the women's side to 13 conference meet championships. Of note, Hovland's 36 years as a head coach for Oakland swimming and diving is tied for second longest among current Division I head coaches.
Quoting Hovland:
"I think everyone's feeling pretty good. A lot of it is about confidence. And if you believe that you're going to put in the work, put in the time, you're going to swim fast. There's a lot at stake, but the swimmers step up and put their best efforts forward."
Hear more from coach Hovland on#GrizzVision (video also available below)
Championship Notes
• The Golden Grizzlies continued their storied success of championship swimming when Oakland captured the first-ever Horizon League Championship titles for both the men's and women's teams in 2014.
• How impressive is Oakland's swimming tradition of excellence? The Golden Grizzlies have a combined 43 consecutive conference championships under the tutelage ofPete Hovland. As a program, Oakland has been victorious in 23 of 24 women's championships and 36 of 36 on the men's side for a 0.983 championship winning percentage.
• Interestingly, the year the women's team failed to win a conference championship, the Golden Grizzlies were NCAA Division II national champions.
• Eight women's teams and seven men's squads will compete for the Horizon League title.
• Each team is allotted 18 competing student-athletes as well as one exhibition competitor. The maximum number of events for each swimmer is three individual events and four relays.
Schedule
Wednesday, February 25, 2015 -Swimming Trials: Noon | Swimming Finals: 7:30 p.m.
Women's 1 Meter Diving (6:45 p.m. start)
200 Freestyle Relay
1000 Freestyle
200 Medley Relay
Thursday, February 26, 2015 -Swimming Trails: 10:30 a.m. | Swimming Finals: 7 p.m.
Men's 3 Meter Diving (6:15 p.m. start)
500 Freestyle
200 IM
50 Freestyle
400 Medley Relay
Friday, February 27, 2015 -Swimming Trials: 10:30 a.m. | Swimming Finals: 7 p.m.
Women's 3 Meter Diving (6:15 p.m. start)
400 IM
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
800 Freestyle Relay
Saturday, February 28, 2015 -Swimming Trials: 10:30 a.m. | Swimming Finals: 7 p.m.
Men's 1 Meter Diving (6:15 p.m. start)
1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
400 Freestyle Relay
**All Times Are Central
Scouting the Oakland men: The Golden Grizzlies went 7-2 in team competition this season, with wins against Horizon League foes Green Bay, Milwaukee, Cleveland State and UIC.
According to the Feb. 20 Psych Sheet, Oakland has at least one swimmer in the top five in every individual event compared to their Horizon League competitors. No other school has at least one swimmer in the top 10 in each category.
The Golden Grizzlies boast the top times in seven individual events:
• Tuomas Kiviluoma, 100 free, 44.77
• Jorden Merrilees, 200 free, 1:37.96 - NCAA "B"
• Jorden Merrilees, 500 free, 4:19.68 - NCAA "B"
• Seth Timmons, 1000 free, 9:29.81
• Jorden Merrilees, 200 back, 1:44.08 - NCAA "B"
• Mitch Alters, 200 fly, 1:49.06
• Jorden Merrilees, 400 IM, 3:48.81 - NCAA "B"
Of note, Aleksander Danielewski ranks second in the league in both the 100 back (48.43) and 200 back (1:45.17) with times that are below the NCAA "B" standard. Of the 11 NCAA "B" standard swims turned in thus far by Horizon League men's swimmers, six belong to Oakland swimmers.
In the five relays for the championships, Oakland has the best time this season in the 400 free relay (3:01.99) and 800 free relay (6:43.45).
Scouting the Oakland women: The Golden Grizzlies went 8-3-1 in duals in 2014-15, with victories against five Horizon League opponents: Green Bay, Milwaukee, Youngstown State, Cleveland State and UIC.
In the Feb. 20 psych sheet, the Golden Grizzlies are the lone team on the women's team to have a top 10 swimmer time-wise in all 14 individual events. In fact, Oakland has a top five swimmer in every event, with seven Horizon League best times:
• Nikki Flynn, 100 free, 50.60
• Kyra Rietveld, 100 back, 55.27
• Kyra Rietveld, 200 back, 2:01.22
• Takara Martin, 100 breast, 1:02.46 - NCAA "B"
• Patricia Aschan, 200 fly, 2:03.12
• Patricia Aschan, 200 IM, 2:04.51
• Patricia Aschan, 400 IM, 4:22.57
Martin's top time in the 100 breast is the lone NCAA "B" standard swim by a Horizon League women's swimmer thus far this season.
For the women's 100 free, Holly Morren trails her teammate by a slim 0.01 seconds to rank second in the Horizon League. Rietveld and Aschan (2:01.84) are 1-2, respectively, in the league in the 200 back. In the 200 breast, Martin (2:18.80), Rachel Waite (2:19.12) and Melissa VanderMeulen (2:19.25) are second, third, and fourth, respectively in the league.
The Golden Grizzlies have proven depth in the 200 fly, where six of the Horizon League's top 12 times are by Oakland swimmers this season.
Diver Tricia Grant ranks first this season in both the 1-meter (315.98) and 3-meter (333.95) events.
Entering the championship, Oakland's season times in the 200 free relay (1:33.75), 400 free relay (3:25.23), 200 medley relay (1:43.58) and 400 medley relay (3:46.08) are the fastest among Horizon League squads.
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