Press release courtesy of Oakland University.
ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams conclude the regular season for the 2013-14 campaign Saturday when the Golden Grizzlies challenge IUPUI at 11 a.m. at the IU Natatorium. Live stats will be available at the start of the meet here.
In the last outing for both teams, Oakland cruised to wins against Cleveland State and Xavier Jan. 25. The men’s team outscored Cleveland State 184-109 and Xavier 213-69 while the women defeated CSU 166-127 and the Musketeers 192-83.
About Coach Hovland: 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
With the induction of Oakland University swimming and diving alums Raffi Karapetian, Yoav Ritter and Danielle (Ward) Grey to the Hollie L. Lepley Hall of Honor Jan. 24, the Oakland swimming and diving team have an impressive 46 members in the athletic department’s hall of fame, which began back in 1984; a total that breaks down to 28 men’s honorees and 18 women’s inductees. Four swimming and diving teams have also been inducted into the Hall of Honor, giving tribute to the program’s long-standing tradition of success in competition.
| Oakland at IUPUI • Sat., Feb. 1 • 11 a.m. | |
| Host | IUPUI |
| Location |
Indianapolis |
| Venue | IU Natatorium |
| Directions | Via Google Maps |
| Tickets/Admission | • Free admission |
| Television/Video Stream | N/A |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Event Order | TBD |
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Scouting the Oakland men:
• After a strong weekend against defending Horizon League champions Cleveland State, Oakland’s Jorden Merrilees was named the Horizon League swimmer of the week. On the year, Merrilees is among the league leaders in the 200 free (1:39.11), 500 free, 1000 free, both backstrokes and IM.
•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).
• Oakland boasts depth in multiple events, notably the 200 free where el Sayed, Merrilees, Tuomas Kiviluoma (1:39.49) and Jacob Pearson (1:40.77) are in the top six in the Horizon League. The same goes for the backstrokes, where Aleksander Danielewski(49.27) leads a group of four Golden Grizzlies in the league’s top six in the 100: Grant Harding, Merrilees and John Ferrara. Merrilees, Danielewski and Ferrara pace the league in the 200 back.
• In the relays, 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.
Scouting the Oakland women:
•For the first time this season both an Oakland swimmer and diver earned weekly Horizon League accolades when Kyra Rietveld and Tricia Grant were selected, respectively. The honor was the first this season for Rietveld, while Tuesday marked the sixth weekly award for Grant.
•Emily Ludema and Patricia Aschan are among the top distance swimmers in the league this season, ranking in the top four in both the 500 and 1000 free races. Ludema also provides top times in the fly and IM, while adds strength in the back, fly and IM.
•Karin Tomeckova has three NCAA ‘B’ qualifying times after her stellar performances earlier this season. Tomeckova re-set both of Oakland’s 100 (53.66) and 200 (1:55.35) backstroke records Dec. 6.
•Oakland’s breaststroke specialist Takara Martin moved up the Oakland Top 10 ladders with a time of 1:03.90 in the 100 breast Jan. 25. Martin, Melissa VanderMeulen and Rachel Waite are among the league’s top 10 this season in both the 100 and 200 breast.