Swim takes down Tiffin and Olivet

Home Sports Swim takes down Tiffin and Olivet
Swim takes down Tiffin and Olivet

Swimming vs. Albion

The Hillsdale College swim team left Tiffin, Ohio, with another victory under its belt in the 2015 season. The Chargers beat Tiffin University 66-38 and Olivet College 84-10 on Saturday afternoon.
With an impressive accumulation of points by both teams, the Chargers are proving to have a significant amount of depth across a number of both short and long distance events.
“We have been working hard at having our mindset linked to our depth,” head coach Kurt Kirner said. “We don’t have individuals that are going to set the pace at the meet. Instead it is about collective effort and how we can make each other better by setting the right examples.”
The teams competed in a five-lane pool, which is unheard of for dual meets. For relays, only the first-place team received points. For individual events, only first, second, and third place swimmers earned points, which emphasized the importance of having a well-rounded team.
The focus on collective effort paid off, especially in the 200 free, as Hillsdale swept first through third place. Junior Emily Shallman led with a winning time of 2:01.04. Senior Jennifer Wheeler and freshman Grace Houghton took second and third.
Wheeler and Houghton later scored more points for Hillsdale with their second and third-place finishes in the 200 butterfly.
“It was extremely important to score one, two, and three ­— which we did — because it would take a lot of point opportunities away from Tiffin. We have a strong freestyle group, so we took advantage of that in the 200 freestyle,” Wheeler said. “It was also important to swim 200-yard events at this meet, because we have only been doing 100’s and we have the Chicago Invite coming up in two weeks, which is a big indicator of where we are at.”
Freshman Suzanna DeTar won the 50 free with a time of 25.03 seconds in addition to her victory in the 200 backstroke.
“Suzanne is really coming through in the sprints and back,” Kirner said. “Grace Houghton swam a great time in the 200 fly and turned right around and swam a great 500 free.  Sarah Rinaldi has been solid all season in both the IM and breaststroke with two wins on Saturday.”
Rinaldi won the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:28.92, and was followed by sophomore Theresa Smith. Junior Mae Bass was the third-place finisher.
Freshman Grace Houghton came back to lead yet another 1-2-3 sweep in the 500 freestyle, with a time of 5:20.63, with Shallman and senior Mikalah Smith taking second and third.
The Chargers were also victorious in the 400 freestyle relay, clinching first place and seven points. Seniors Nafoa Noll, Smith, Wheeler, and freshman Tiffany Farris all participated in the dominant relay, as the group lapped the second-place finisher.
“It was really satisfying to lap Tiffin and Olivet, and it was a good indication for how the relay will do in Chicago,” Noll said.
The Chargers will swim in their home pool this Saturday on Senior Day against Lewis and Findlay at 1 p.m.