Strong performances were turned in by both the men and women, as multiple swimmers not only qualified for the NCAA Division III national meet but also broke several MIAC records.

The success of the Ole women, whose last MIAC triumph came in 2003, was due to several outstanding individual performances as well as an amazing team effort filled with depth and consistency.

One highlight of the meet included the women’s 200 yard butterfly. In what was the most commanding performance of the entire meet, the Oles dominated the event, finishing first through fifth. Lannie Cassel ‘08 won the event, breaking the MIAC meet record she set during Saturday morning's preliminaries with a time of 2:10.08. Following Cassel were teammates Katie Detwiler ’05, Hannah Berg ’06, Jenna Kubat ’05 and Sara Champlin ’05.

Also shining for the women was Katy Brentz ‘05, who made the National ‘A’ cut with a time of 23.89 in the 50 yard freestyle, and ‘B’ cuts for Nationals in the 100 yard freestyle, the 400 freestyle relay, the 200 yard freestyle relay and the 800 yard freestyle relay.

Detwiler qualified for Nationals in the 400 yard IM, in which she took first place, and Kelly Dolan ’07 qualified in the 1650 yard freestyle.

Despite finishing second place behind the Gusties, the men also saw several outstanding performances from their team.

Christian Lorentzen ’07 captured the men’s diving title and qualified for Nationals, while teammate Brad Wourms ‘05 finished second.

Eric Tvedt ‘08 finished second in the 1650 yard freestyle with an NCAA ‘B’ cut time. Tvedt's time also bettered the previous MIAC Championship meet record. Joe Anderson ’07 also made the NCAA ‘B’ cut with a third place finish. Tom Kukla ’07 won the 200 yard backstroke with an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 1:52.90.

Friday, Ben Wareham ’07 turned in yet another stellar performance in the 100 yard breaststroke with an NCAA ‘A’ cut time of 56.97. Wareham’s time in the preliminaries (56.49) set a meet record and also gavehim the second-fastest 100 yard breaststroke time in the nation. Wareham also made ‘B’ cuts in the 200 yard breaststroke and the 200 yard medley relay.

Overall, the Oles had an outstanding meet. The team will be sending eight swimmers to the NCAA Championship Meet, which will be held at Hope College in Holland, Mich. March 10-12.

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