ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland University swimming and diving program will continue its season with two dual meets inside the Oakland Aquatic Center. The Golden Grizzlies will host in-state opponent Grand Valley State on Friday, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m., followed by conference foe UIC on Saturday, Nov. 6 at noon.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GVSU

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Friday will mark the second-consecutive season the Golden Grizzlies and Lakers are facing off in dual-meet action. Last season, the men's team defeated the Lakers 162.5-135.5, while the women topped GVSU, 202-98. Oakland tallied a combined 20 first-place finishes in the meet, with 13 coming from the women's side, as they finished first in all but one race. Before last year's matchup, the programs had not competed since Oakland was a member of the Great Lakes Athletic Conference (GLIAC) from 1976-1997. 

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

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GVSU is one of the top NCAA Division II programs in the nation. A year ago, at the NCAA DII Swimming & Diving Championships, the Laker women equaled a program-best fifth-place finish with 250 points. The GVSU men finished eighth with 210 points, which marked its sixth top-10 finish since 2009. Grand Valley State has had a busy fall slate with five meets. Last weekend, the men's team took down Northern Michigan, 165-135, while the women fell, 171-129. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. UIC

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Oakland has gone a combined 14-0 against UIC since joining the Horizon League in 2013. The Golden Grizzlies last hosted UIC in March 2021, where they defeated the Flames by a combined team score of 382-200. OU tallied 22 first-place finishes between the men and the women, including a sweep in diving to add four wins.

SCOUTING THE FLAMES

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A season ago, the Flame women placed second at the Horizon League Championships with 544.5 points. UIC's men's team garnered 481 points, which was good for third out of seven teams. The Flames have dropped dual meets to Northwestern, Illinois, and Milwaukee on the women's side. The men opened the 2021-22 campaign with a dual-meet loss at Northwestern but rebounded at Milwaukee last weekend, winning 160-140. 

LAST TIME OUT

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Oakland bested a total of five teams at the A-10 Classic last weekend. The women's team defeated St. Bonaventure, 261-89, then won against George Mason, 242-108, and Duquesne, 193-159. Meanwhile, the Golden Grizzly men took down St. Bonaventure, 244-109, and George Mason, 251-102. As a team, OU won 23 out of 38 events over the two-day event. Susan LaGrand, Rudy Aguilar, Andrew Bernsdorf, Christian Bart, and Marko Khotynetskyi tallied wins in two or more individual events.

CONFERENCE HONORS

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Oakland has racked up six weekly conference honors through three weeks of competition. Jordyn Shipps and Christian Bart were named Horizon League Swimmers of the Week, while Ellie Chalifoux tabbed HL Diver of the Week after OU's season-opening meet at Michigan. Two swimmers in Marko Khotynetskyi and Susan LaGrand collected weekly conference honors due to their performances against Xavier and Toledo. LaGrand earned HL Swimmer of the Week for a second time after leading the Golden Grizzlies to six event wins at the A-10 Classic.

10/13/21 — Jordyn Shipps — HL Swimmer of the Week (1st of career)
10/13/21 — Christian Bart — HL Swimmer of the Week (3rd of career)
10/13/21 — Ellie Chalifoux — HL Diver of the Week (1st of career)
10/27/21— Marko Khotynetskyi  — HL Swimmer of the Week (5th of career)
10/27/21 — Susan LaGrand  — HL Swimmer of the Week (8th of career)
11/3/21 — Susan LaGrand  — HL Swimmer of the Week (9th of career)

LEADING THE HORIZON

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*Golden Grizzly men leading the HL (results via SwimCloud.com)
Rudy Aguilar
• 200-free (1:38.72)
Marko Khotynetskyi
• 100-back (49.28)
Christian Bart 
• 50-back (26.07)
• 100-breast (55.17)
Khotynetskyi, Gehab, Flowers, Bart
• 200-medley relay (1:30.02)
Aguilar, Khotynetskyi, Bart, Flowers
• 400-free relay (3:01.92)

*Golden Grizzly women leading the HL (results via SwimCloud.com)
Susan LaGrand
• 50-back (25.88)
• 100-back (55.20)
• 100-IM (57.44)
• 200-back (2:01.28)
• 200-IM (2:03.58)
Jordyn Shipps 
• 100-free (51.49)
• 100-fly (55.79)
Emily Aycock 
• 200-free (1:52.15)
• 1000-free (10:24.35)
Taylor Bailey
• 100-breast (1:03.38)
• 200-breast (2:18.57)
Ellie Chalifoux
• 1-meter dive (269.32)
• 3-meter dive (270.98)
Sohvi Nenonen
• 400-IM (4:34.48)
Ajete Eggers 
• 200-fly (2:06.84)
Sydney McDowell 
• 50-breast (29.41)
Sophia Davis 
• 50-fly (25.56)
Shipps, Nenonen, McDowell, Keranen
• 200-free relay (1:35.75)
Shipps, Nenonen, Riihinen, LaGrand
• 400-free relay (3:28.56)
LaGrand, McDowell, Davis, Shipps
• 200-medley relay (1:43.39)
LaGrand, Bailey, Shipps, Keranen
• 400-medley relay (3:48.24)

RETURNING TALENT

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The Golden Grizzlies claimed their 43rd men's and 27th women's consecutive league titles a season ago at the Horizon League Championships. Head coach Pete Hovland returns both a men's and women's squad full of depth. On the men's side, reigning Horizon League Athlete of the Year and Swimmer of the Meet Christian Bart will be back in the pool. The women will look for another impressive year from returning All-American and Horizon League Athlete of the Year Susan LaGrand and Horizon League Freshman of the Year, Ronja Riihinen.

PRESEASON POLL

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Oakland men's and women's teams were projected to win the Horizon League in the annual Horizon League preseason poll. The Golden Grizzlies combined for 13 out of 14 first-place votes in the poll voted on by the league's head coaches. The women's team totaled 49 points, with all seven coaches picking OU to win the conference, while the men finished with 48 points and six first-place votes.

UP NEXT

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After UIC, the Golden Grizzlies will host Eastern Michigan on Friday, Nov. 12 in a women's-only meet, and Miami (OH) on Saturday, Nov. 13.