KENTWOOD, Mich. — The Saginaw Valley State University swim and dive teams put together a strong all-around effort Saturday afternoon at the Kentwood Aquatic Center but came up just short in a tightly contested dual meet against Davenport University.
The Panther women edged SVSU by a score of 123-116, while the Davenport men claimed a 124-119 victory in a meet that featured close races, event wins on both sides, and multiple standout individual performances from the Cardinals.
SVSU opened the meet with solid relay swims, highlighted by second- and third-place finishes in the women's 200-yard medley relay. The Cardinals quickly found momentum in the distance events, where Lexi Hieber delivered a dominant performance in the women's 1,000-yard freestyle, touching first in 10:38.76. Hieber later returned to win the women's 500-yard freestyle in 5:08.23, anchoring the Cardinals' scoring effort on the day.
The men's distance group was equally strong, led by William Hsiao's victory in the men's 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:30.92. Rodrigo Vargas added a third-place finish in the event, while SVSU placed multiple swimmers in the top five across both distance races.
Sprint success followed for the Cardinals, as Carolina Bononi Heinz captured first place in the women's 200-yard freestyle (1:52.62), and Florian Quappill finished runner-up in the men's 50-yard freestyle. The women also saw strong contributions from Anastasiia Krasilnikova and Ella Yantz taking second and third in the 50-yard free.
In the individual medley events, SVSU earned a key win from Hadyn Gould in the men's 200-yard IM, posting a time of 1:52.05. Samantha Fowler placed second in a tightly contested women's 200 IM, finishing just behind Davenport's top swimmer.
Butterfly events proved to be a bright spot for the Cardinals, as Alvaro Rodriguez claimed first in the men's 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:50.24. Nina Pavlovic Cano and Andrea Bustos both recorded top-three finishes for SVSU in the women's 200 butterfly.
On the boards, Layla Winklepleck earned a victory in the women's 1-meter diving event with a score of 226.85. Rory Kauffman led the men's diving efforts with a third-place finish on 1-meter and a fourth-place showing on the 3-meter board.
SVSU closed the meet on a high note in the relays. The women's 400-yard freestyle relay team of Fowler, Krasilnikova, Hieber, and Bononi Heinz captured first place in 3:30.49, while the men's "A" relay placed second in the final event of the meet.
Up Next: The meet was the final for SVSU before the GLIAC Championships. The Cardinals compete in the four-day meet at the Holland Aquatic Center starting Friday, February 6.