Permanent link for GVSU Swim Club Makes Their Mark at the Spooky Spartan Invitational on October 9, 2024

EAST LANSING, MI - It was a successful day for 30 students on the GVSU Swim Club team who traveled to Michigan State University on October 5th, 2024 to attend the Spooky Spartan Invitational where they placed 5th overall against 9 different teams from Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. 

The women's had ended up placing 6th overall. Their top swims include the Women's A 200 free relay (Julia Dennof, Emma Buckler, and Tilly Oppett) and the Women's A 200 medley relay (Tilly Oppett, Molly Smith, Kaley Vansuch, and Emily Almas) which placed 7th. Molly Smith placed 7th in the 50 breast and 8th in the 100 IM (individual medley). Placing 4th in the 100 fly would be Kaley Vansuch. Victoria Weeden placed 7th in the 500 free and 5th in the 100 free.

The men placed 4th overall. The top swims for the men include the Men's A 200 free relay (Caden Sauve, Riley Greene, Nicholas Carlson, and Nick Klug) and the Men's A 200 medley relay (Mason Harding, Brandon Gardner, Nick Klug, and Caden Sauve) where they placed 2nd. Hunter Converse placed 5th in the 100 back, Matt Robinson placed 5th in the 500 free, Caden Suave placed 3rd in the 400 IM, and Chalmer Young placed 3rd in the 500 free. Not only did Brandon Gardner get nationals cut in the 50 breast (placed 3rd) and 200 IM (placed 3rd), but also got 5th in the 100 IM, and 4th in the 100 breast. Mason Harding, who got the national cut in the 50 back (placed 2nd), also placed 3rd in the 200 back and 4th in the 100 IM. The last nationals cut would be Nick Klug for the 50 free (placed 2nd) and ended up placing 2nd in the 100 IM.

During each event GVSU students were cheering each other on at the end of the lanes, helping to bring up the motivation for each participant! The Spooky Spartan Invitational was also a great opportunity for swimmers to reconnect with previous teammates and friends.

We look forward to seeing those in the GVSU Swim Club excel at the next meet! 

Categories: Swim
Posted on Permanent link for GVSU Swim Club Makes Their Mark at the Spooky Spartan Invitational on October 9, 2024.

Permanent link for GVSU Swim Club Competes at the CCS National Championship on April 5, 2023

Four members of the GVSU Swim Club represented GV at the 2023 College Club Swimming National Championship meet this past weekend (3/31-4/1) held at Ohio State University. Jay Patterson broke the team record in the 50 Freestyle (22.23) and in the 50 Butterfly (24.21). Dom Ferracciolo also broke team records in all 3 of his events, 50 Breaststroke (28.39), 100 Breaststroke (1:01.30), and 200 Breaststroke (2:12.65). Rachel Patterson broke the Women’s 50 backstroke team record with 30.27. Freshman Molly Smith swam the 50 Breaststroke in 35.63. The four also competed in the Mixed 200 freestyle relay, placing 55th with a time of 1:38.99, an improvement from their 61st overall seed time. This meet concludes our 2022-2023 competition season and we can’t wait to return to the pool next semester!

Categories: Swim
Posted on Permanent link for GVSU Swim Club Competes at the CCS National Championship on April 5, 2023.

Permanent link for GVSU Swim Club Competes One More Time Before CCS Nationals on February 27, 2023

Seven Swim Club members represented GVSU at the 2023 Spartan Invitational on Saturday, February 25th. They faced competition from the Michigan State Swim Club and the University of Michigan Swim Club. The meet served as a last chance for swimmers to qualify for the 2023 College Club Swimming National Championship Meet.

The GVSU men took second place overall with 143 points. Jay Patterson, Dom Ferracciolo, Adam Affer, and Daniel Andreev took fifth place in the 200-yard Medley Relay with a time of 1:52.96. Ferracciolo took second in the 100-yard Breaststroke with a National Qualifying time of 1:04.25. He also placed first in the 50-yard Breaststroke with a time of 29.73. Patterson took fifth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.26 and fifth in the 50-yard Butterfly with a National Qualifying time of 25.44. Sam Rensberger, Matthew Bey, Dom Ferracciolo, and Jay Patterson out-touched MSU in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay in 1:36.48 for a first-place finish.

In total, Rachel Patterson scored 23 points for the women with her ninth-place finish in the 50-yard Freestyle (27.28), a fifth-place finish in the 50-yard Backstroke (31.59), and a sixth-place finish in the 100-yard Freestyle (1:00.56).

GVSU took third place overall with 166 points. They look forward to competing against both MSU and U of M at the National Championships in April

Categories: Swim
Posted on Permanent link for GVSU Swim Club Competes One More Time Before CCS Nationals on February 27, 2023.

Permanent link for GVSU Swim Takes on the The Irish Invitational at The University of Notre Dame on December 7, 2022

The University of Notre Dame hosted the Irish Invitational on December 3rd, 2022. Six members of the GVSU Swim Club traveled to compete in the last meet of the fall semester. Exceptional swims were seen from Junior Dom Ferracciolo who swam national cut times in the 100 Breast (1:05.30) and 200 Breast (2:24.04). Ferracciolo’s 100 Breast time will also serve as the newest GVSU Swim Club record. Points were scored by Ferracciolo who placed 3rd in the 200 Breast, 11th in the 200 IM, 12th in the 100 Breast, and 13th in the IM, totaling 31 points. Sophomore Megan Budai scored 10 points for her 9th-place finish in the 200 IM. She commented “It was so much fun to compete at the holiday-themed meet and absorb the excitement from the pool deck. I can’t wait for our first meet of next semester.” The GVSU swim club will resume competition on January 14th, 2023 when they travel to the University of Michigan.

Categories: Swim
Posted on Permanent link for GVSU Swim Takes on the The Irish Invitational at The University of Notre Dame on December 7, 2022.

Permanent link for GVSU Swim and Dive headed to Regionals this past weekend at the University of Wisconsin! on November 17, 2022

Eleven members of the Grand Valley Swim Club traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to compete against 26 teams at the College Club Swimming Central Regional Championship Meet. The event was held at the University of Wisconsin on November 11-12, 2022. Notable swims came from junior Anna Cornell, who broke the team record in the 50-yard butterfly with a time of 29.56. The high point scorer for the meet was freshman Sandra Rabidouix-Martinez who was awarded 13 points for her 6th place finish in the women’s 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 14:17.40. Rabidouix-Martinez remarked “It was my first time traveling that far for a meet and my first time swimming the 1000. I am so happy to have spent it with the GVSU swim club, it was really fun!” The Swim Club looks forward to their next invitational at The University of Notre Dame on December 3rd, 2022.

Categories: Swim
Posted on Permanent link for GVSU Swim and Dive headed to Regionals this past weekend at the University of Wisconsin! on November 17, 2022.

Permanent link for GVSU Swim Club traveled to Michigan State University this past weekend for their first meet of the season! on October 3, 2022

The GVSU Swim Club traveled to Michigan State University on October 1st, 2022 for their first meet of the season. Of the eight teams in attendance, GVSU took 6th place overall with 98 points, 65 of which belong to the men, putting them in 5th place. The remaining 33 points belong to the women, putting them in 6th place. Several swimmers began the season strong, already swimming cut times for the 2023 College Club Swimming National Meet. Qualifiers include Dom Ferracciolo in the 50 Breaststroke (29.75), Lauren Murphy in the 50 Breaststroke (33.42), and Molly Smith in the 50 Breastroke  (33.79). Several team records were broken as well including Ferracciolo in the 200 Breaststroke (2:25.38) and Jay Patterson in the 50 Freestyle (22.76) and the 50 Butterfly (24.96). Other notable finishes come from the Men’s 200 Medley Relay A team composed of Shaun Walkowiak, Dom Ferracciolo, Jay Patterson, and Ethan Thomas who took a 6th place finish with a time of 1:45.37. President Erin Marshall remarked “It was the best way to start out the season! Everyone did amazing and we had so much fun, our team is looking very good for this upcoming season!” 

Categories: Swim
Posted on Permanent link for GVSU Swim Club traveled to Michigan State University this past weekend for their first meet of the season! on October 3, 2022.

Permanent link for Swim Nationals on April 25, 2022

It was a bittersweet moment for the GVSU Swim club as they ended their season with the biggest meet of the year. Eight swimmers flew down to Atlanta, Georgia for Nationals where they competed against 115 teams and a total of 2,001 swimmers. They scored a total of 4 points and it came from Veronica Lidy in her 400 IM (5:14.13). We had some career best swims from some of our swimmers. Shaun Walkowiak (freshman) swam at his first nationals meet and had some killer times. Walkowiak competed in four different relays and swam one individual event.

His individual event was the 50 backstroke (27.55) where he dropped 0.39 milliseconds. Walkowiak said, “I had a great time with all of my teammates, cheering them on and swimming with them. It definitely encourages me to make the cut again next year to experience it again!” We had six other swimmers who competed for their first time at nationals as well ( Jonah Cox, Dom Ferracciolo, Erin Marshall, Jay Patterson, and Rachel Patterson). Cox swam the 50 backstroke (28.29) as well along with four relays. Ferracciolo competed in four relays and the 50 breaststroke (29.16) where he dropped 1.34 seconds. Marshall swam three relays and one tough individual event of the 200 butterfly (2:32.66). Jay Patterson swam four relays and competed in two individual events of the 50 butterfly (24.76) and the 50 freestyle (22.92). Jay also broke the 50 butterfly record. Last but not least, Rachel Patterson competed in three relays and four individual events of 50 freestyle (26.91), 100 backstroke (1:06.68), 50 backstroke (30.72) and 100 freestyle (58.44). Rachel also had time drops in all her individual events. Our last two swimmers, Skylar Gottschalk and Veronica Lidy, both seniors, had competed in one other nationals their freshman year. Unfortunately, due to Covid, they lost two chances to swim at Nationals their sophomore and junior years. For these two swimmers it was sadly their last swim meet of their careers. Both Gottschalk and Lidy dropped time in every event they swam over the weekend. Gottschalk competed in three relays and four individual events of 100 breaststroke (1:16.55), 50 backstroke (31.79), 50 breaststroke (34.68) and the 100 IM (1:08.28). Lidy swam

in three relays and three individual events of 400 IM (5:14.13), 200 IM (2:26.99), and the 200 Freestyle (2:11.63). It was a bit of a stressful meet for the team and a happy but sad ending for the seniors. But this meet will be one these eight swimmers never forget.

Categories: Swim
Posted on Permanent link for Swim Nationals on April 25, 2022.

Permanent link for Swim Meet - MSU on March 30, 2022

On February 26th the GVSU swim club traveled to Michigan State University for the MSUSC Spring Invitational. It was their last meet of the season before the Nationals meet. Out of the eight teams that attended Grand Valley placed fifth with 189 points. The women's team scored 142 placing 3rd overall and the men's team scored 47 finishing in eighth place. Freshman, Rachel Patterson, had some great swims at her first swim meet of the season. She made a National cut in her 100 backstroke (1:09.40), 50 freestyle (27.20), 100 freestyle (1:00.30), and her 50 backstroke split for the woman’s 200 medley relay (31.33). Patterson earned us a total of 22 points in all of her individual events combined. Another freshman, Jay Patterson (No Jay and Rachel are not related) had some stellar swims that also landed him two Nationals cuts. One in his 50 freestyle (22.85) and another one in his 50 butterfly (25.30). Jay earned us a total of 23 points. The freshman of this meet pulled through. Another freshman Brianna Potter attended the MSU meet and it was the first meet they swam in of the season. Potter went into this meet with no times but left with some killer times. Needless to say, everyone did a phenomenal job and it was a great meet to end the season. The next stop is nationals April 8th-April 10th. We wish our nationals team of Jonah Cox, Dom Ferracciolo, Skylar Gottschalk, Veronica Lidy, Erin Marshall, Jay Patterson, Rachel Patterson, and Shaun Walkowiak the best of luck as they finish out their season. 

Categories: Swim
Posted on Permanent link for Swim Meet - MSU on March 30, 2022.

Permanent link for GVSU Swim Club Home Meet on March 21, 2022

The GVSU swim club made the two-hour drive to Sturgis, MI for the Laker Invitational. It was the GVSU swim club's first and only home meet of the 2021-2022 season. The theme was Hawaiian and our swimmers pulled through on that theme. Leis, bucket hats, and flower shirts were worn by our swimmers as we prepared for a great meet. The Lakers crushed it and won the meet with a whopping 1,253 points against Western Michigan’s swim club and Central’s swim club. The women’s 200 medley relay of Erin Marshall, Skylar Gottschalk, Anna Cornell, and Rosie Champion started strong with a first-place finish. Allison Shenefield had an amazing swim with a first-place finish in her 100 freestyle (59.36) that landed her a National time. Shenefield also swam a National’s cut in her 100 IM (1:09.05) with yet again another first-place finish. Veronica Lidy also made two nationals cuts in her 400 IM (5:36.90) and 200 IM (2:31.39). Ethan Thomas had a personal best in his 100 butterfly (1:01.15). Freshman, Katie LaFave, had some good swims at her first-ever laker invitational. She said, “ A fun memory I had at the meet was the Hawaiian theme. I remember that I was already wearing a pink lei but Lilly camp was like Katie put on this purple one too so we can match. Then we took a quick video with our leis on.” For Katie swimming isn’t all about times it’s also about the memories and friendships you make. The swimmers enjoyed themselves and also enjoyed getting to go down the slide at the end of the meet.

Categories: Swim
Posted on Permanent link for GVSU Swim Club Home Meet on March 21, 2022.

Permanent link for Rubber Ducky Invitational on February 14, 2022

The GVSU swim club traveled to Northwestern University on February 5th, 2022 for the Rubber Ducky Invitational. There were a total of 11 teams there and GVSU placed 10th with 6 points, also tying with DePaul University. Of those points, the women scored 4 points, putting them in 11th. The men of the team scored 2 points, putting them in 11th as well. We had some outstanding swims and even gained a few more national cuts from Skylar Gottschalk and Madison Fisher. Our men's 200-yard freestyle relay of Jonah Cox, Jacob Joanis, Adam Affer, and Shaun Walkowiak had a great swim and each leg did a superb job with an all-together time of 1:42.13 putting them in 14th place. Veronica Lidy scored us 2 points with her strong swim in the 200 yard IM (2:36.55) where she dropped some time from her original seed time. The remainder of the women’s 4 points also came from Veronica Lidy in her 200-yard freestyles that scored one point and Skylar Gottschalk in her 50-yard breaststroke scoring one point as well. Shaun Walkowiak had another outstanding swim in his 50-yard backstroke that gained the team another 2 points with a 7th place finish out of 14 swimmers in the event. Another good swim came from Megan Budai at her first meet of the year in her 100 yard IM (1:17.58) where she dropped three seconds from her seed time. Our swimmers did an amazing job despite waking up early, driving three and a half hours there, swimming their hearts out, eating Chicago deep dish pizza in the car, and finally driving back home. It was a long day but well worth it in the end.

Categories: Swim
Posted by Seth Williams on Permanent link for Rubber Ducky Invitational on February 14, 2022.