Men's swimming and diving team beats Hope, 133-110

The Olivet College men's swimming and diving team opened its 2005-06 season today with a 133-110 win over defending Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) champion Hope College at the Upton Center Pool in Olivet.

It is the first time in school history that Olivet has beaten the Flying Dutchmen. The last time Hope lost a MIAA dual meet was Jan. 25, 2003.

The Comets got off to a great start with a first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Junior Ananta Fetters (Fennville/Holland) along with sophomores Dustin Meisner (Temperance/Erie Mason), Mitch Powers (Kalamazoo/Central) and Koji Takahashi (Etobicoke, Ontario/Silver Thorn CI) broke the pool record with a time of 1:40.13.

In the 1,000-yard freestyle, freshman Steven Davis (Davidsonville, Md./DeMatha) was second in 10:14.42. In the third event, the 200 freestyle, Olivet swept the top three places. Takahashi was first in 1:50.14, followed by junior Juan Aguirre (Queretaro, Mexico) was second in 1:50.47 and freshman Igor Rasula (Belgrade, Serbia) was third at 1:50.90.

The Comets grabbed second- and third-place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle. Powers had a time 22.31 seconds, followed by freshman Brad Voss (Lansing/Holt) at 22.93 seconds. In the one-meter diving competition, Olivet took the top two spots. Freshman Garrett Draper (Battle Creek/Harper Creek) was first with 227.50 points, followed closely by freshman Dustin Hulsebos (Wayland) with 225.65.

Takahashi and Fetters led a 1-2 finish in the 100-yard butterfly with times of 53.66 and 54.97 seconds, respectively. Powers swam to a second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (49.21 seconds), while Fetters clocked in at third-place in the 100-yard backstroke (57.60 seconds).

In the 500-yard freestyle, Davis had another second-place finish at 4:56.26. The Comets also claimed the top two spots in the three-meter dive. Freshman Shawn Bergman (Chelsea) was first with 264.75 points, followed by Hulsebos with 234.65.

The 100-yard breaststroke featured another 1-2-3 finish for Olivet. Meisner garnered first-place in 1:01.65, freshman Ryan Key (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Prep) was runner-up in 1:02.37 and junior Ben Guins (Lansing/Eastern) was third at 1:03.77.

The Comets were second in the final event, 200-yard freestyle relay, as Aguirre, Rasula, Voss and junior Paul Riha (East Grand Rapids) had a time of 1:30.90.

Olivet continues its MIAA schedule Friday, Nov. 4, when it competes at Calvin College. Action gets underway at 6 p.m.