Saturday, Oct. 24 marked the first home meet for the Saginaw Valley men’s and women’s swim and dive teams.
Both teams were victorious as they took on Urbana University, with the women winning 165-51 and the men’s winning 154-41.
These victories brought the team to an overall 2-0 record.
According to freshman Dalton Pokley, preparation was key to the team’s success.
“We had a really great meet tonight for it only being our second meet of the season,” he said. “Our coach told us to pretend like every one of them was an NCAA champion. We did just that, and brought everything we had.”
The women’s team came out strong.
The relay team of Amanda Thielen, Lydia Mattar, Chelsea Harmon and Melanie Soenkse started the meet off in winning fashion as they posted a time of 1:50.03 in the 200-yard medley relay to win the first event for Saginaw Valley.
Thielen wasn’t finished yet. She broke the SVSU program record for the 200-yard freestyle with an impressive time of 1:57.57.
She was also victorious in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:01.44.
SVSU took first and second in the 1,000-yard freestyle with Carley Buechner finishing first with a remarkable time of 11:29.22 and Katie Franczak marking a 12:12.36 time.
Kara Popps took home first for the Cardinals in the 100-yard backstroke, an event which she won during their first meet against Tiffin University.
She posted a time of 1:01.16 while her teammates, Sarah Luciani and MacKenzie Dafforn-Koebler, took second and third, respectively.
The men’s team was just as impressive as the women’s team.
The men’s relay team of Tyler Miller, Shaun Yap, Michael Spears and Grayson Arnold followed after the women and took home a victory in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:36.93.
Yap also emerged victorious in the 100-yard breaststroke with an astounding time of 56.21.
Frederich Shultz and Tanner Peltier both swam in the 500-yard freestyle.
Both swimmers trailed the first place Urbana swimmer until the final lap.
Shultz and Peltier both out-placed the Urbana swimmers with a come-from-behind placing of first and second, respectively.
Shultz finished with a time of 5:02.17, and Peltier marked a 5:02.38 time.
Pokley won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.73.
Pokley had some positive words for his team and their bright future.
“It was a great showing for the first (home) meet, and we can only get better from here,” he said.
The Cardinals will host the Northern Michigan Wildcats at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, as the team tries to extend its record to 3-0.
