Oakland heads to Michigan State before hosting Senior Day Saturday

ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will compete in two events this week, as the Golden Grizzlies will travel to Michigan State Thursday, Jan. 23 for a 6 p.m. ET meet before returning home for the team’s final home meet of the 2013-14 campaign Saturday, Jan. 25 at 1 p.m.when the teams host Cleveland State and Xavier.

Last weekend, the Golden Grizzlies participated in its first intercollegiate competition of the 2014 calendar year at the Kenyon College Winter Invitiational Jan. 17-18. The Oakland men finished second in the five-team event while the women took third out of five teams.

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 Spotlight – A Look Back at Oakland Swimming Success
Friday-Sunday, Jan. 24-26, marks Winter Homecoming for Oakland University, with many events planned throughout the weekend. Included in the festivities is the 2014 Hollie L. Lepley Hall of Honor Ceremony on Friday, Jan. 24. Included in this year’s five-person induction class are men’s swimming standouts Raffi Karapetian and Yoav Ritter and women’s swimming alumna Danielle Ward.

For more information and a complete 2014 homecoming schedule, visit www.oakland.edu/comehome

Oakland at Michigan State • Thurs., Jan. 23 • 6 p.m. Xavier/Cleveland State at Oakland • Sat., Jan. 25 • 1 p.m.
Host	Michigan State	Oakland
Location	East Lansing, Mich.	Rochester, Mich.
Venue	McCaffree Pool	OU Aquatic Center
Directions	Via Google Maps	Via Google Maps
Tickets/Admission	• Free admission	• $5 for adults, $3 12 and under
Television/Video Stream	N/A	N/A
Live Stats	Live Stats	Live Stats
Event Order	200 Medley Relay 1000 Free 200 Free 100 Back 100 Breast 200 Fly 50 Free 1 Meter (6 dives) 100 Free 200 Back 200 Breast 500 Free 100 Fly 3 Meter (6 dives) 200 IM 400 Free Relay	200 Medley Relay 1000 Free 200 Free 100 Back 100 Breast 200 Fly 50 Free 1 Meter (6 dives) 100 Free 200 Back 200 Breast 500 Free 100 Fly 3 Meter (6 dives) 200 IM 400 Free Relay
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Scouting the Oakland men:
• With just over one month left in the regular season before the 2014 Horizon League Championships, Oakland boasts the top times for the 400 free relay (2:59.43), 800 free relay (6:37.62) and 400 medley relay (3:19.28) in relation to its six league opponents.
• Amr el Sayed boasts the best times in the league this season in the 200 free (1:38.77), 500 free (4:26.34), 1000 free (9:29.90) and 1650 free (15:38.38).
• Also holding top times among Horizon League peers are Aleksander Danielewski (100 back, 49.27) and Jorden Merrilees (200 back, 1:46.14). In the 200 back, Merrilees leads an Oakland charge with Danielewski (1:47.37) and John Ferrara (1:48.20) atop the league’s top times standings.
• In freestyle sprints, Grant Harding’s top times for the 50 free (20.99) and 100 free (44.92) are fifth and second, respectively, in the Horizon League. Harding is also second in the 100 back (49.40) among league competitors.

Scouting the Oakland women:
• Karin Tomeckova swam three NCAA “B” times at the EMU Invite in December, with her time in the 100 backstroke (53.66) setting a new Oakland University record. Tomeckova also swam the 200 back and 200 IM in times good for NCAA “B” marks, with her time in the IM ranking 25th nationally at the time of her swim.
• The 1-2 punch of Patricia Aschan and Emily Ludema in the distance freestyle races has the duo in the top four in both the 500 and 1000 free in the league. Aschan is fourth in the 500 free (4:58:65) and second in the 1000 free (10:17.10), while Ludema is third in the 500 free (4:57.95) and fourth in the 1000 (10:33.17). Aschan also leads the league with a time of 4:24.33 in the 400 IM.
• Freestyle sprinter Nikki Flynn is second in the Horizon League in both the 100 and 200 free events and has been an anchor on both of Oakland’s IM and free relay squads.
• Kyra Rietveld boasts an NCAA “B” time in the 100 back and is second to Tomeckova in both the 100 and 200 back at the top of the Horizon League best times listing.
• Four Oakland swimmers are among the top six in the Horizon League in the 200 fly: Ludema, Julia Vela, Stella Pasalidou and Hannah Oswald. Oakland is also strong in the 200 breast, with four of the league’s top nine marks belonging to the Golden Grizzlies.
• Diver Tricia Grant has been named Horizon League Women’s Diver of the Week five times this year. This season, Grant has finished first in all but three events and set a new Oakland record in the 3-meter (344.47).

#FightOakland

Press release courtesy of Oakland University.