CLEVELAND -- The Oakland men's and women's swimming and diving teams defeated Cleveland State in its last regular season meet of the season 217-78 on the women's side and 158.5-141.5 on the men's side from Busbey Natatorium.
"There are so many positives to take away from today's meet vs Cleveland State! The kids' preparation all week was fantastic," Head Coach
Pete Hovland said. "We didn't have to talk about what it would take to come away with a victory. The men knew it was going to be a real challenge, especially on the road and they handled everything with a quiet calm. As always, in meets like today, you need a few people to step up and we had a few. The energy and enthusiasm they brought with them today was also a good sign, as we put the finishing touches to the dual meet portion of our season. It was a very satisfying ending as we now look forward to fully engage our taper in preparation for the HL championships."
The Golden Grizzlies started off the meet in dominating fashion, earning a first place finish in both the men's and women's 200 medley relay. The women's team of
Susan LaGrand,
Taylor Bailey,
Mia Keranen and
Jordyn Shipps touched the wall first in 1:44.13. On the men's side,
Marko Khotynetskyi,
Christian Bart,
Mack Flowers and Rudy Agular took the top spot in 1:29.40.
Oakland swept the 100 backstroke,
Jewel Huang (58.89) and Khotynetski (48.41), 100 breaststroke,
Taylor Bailey (1:04.35) and
Christian Bart (54.45) 100 free, Shipps (51.72) and Bart (44.92) and 100 fly,
Sophia Davis (56.85) and
Mack Flowers (48.49) led the way as first place finishers.
In diving,
Ellie Chalifoux finished first in both the one and three meter recording a 278.70 and 271.80 respectively.
Oakland will compete in the Horizon League Championships Feb. 16-19 in Indianapolis.
