Answer

Ronald Reagan was a lifeguard but played football in college, George Bush was captain of the Yale baseball team, Gerald Ford was an All-America center for U of M and a Yale boxing coach. I am not aware of any sports played at the varsity level by Obama, Nixon or Roosevelt. Even though Roosevelt was an active and athletic man despite his serious asthma.

Kennedy swam for Harvard. He was decorated in WWII for his actions following the ramming of his PT boat by a Japanese destroyer. With his back permanently injured from the crash, he put a seriously wounded sailor in a life vest, gripped the strap in his teeth and swam the man 3 miles through the ocean to safety on a nearby island. A few days later he again swam several miles through the ocean to contact a Austrailian coast watcher and rescue his crew. The coconut on which he carved his message for help is on display at the Smithsonian.

Laker swimmers continue to garner honors!

Two Laker swimmers have been honored this week by the GLIAC and Collegeswimming.com. Jordan Schrotenboer was named GLIAC Swimmer of the Week for his FOUR NCAA "A" cut performances at the Calvin Invitational. Jordan qualified in the 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, and the 200 Individual Medley. Jordan also broke the school record in the 200 freestyle on the lead-off leg of the 800 freestyle relay.

Aaron Beebe was named the Counsilman-Hunziker Division II National Swimmer of the Week, also for his performances at the Calvin meet. Aaron swam A cut qualifying times in the 100 and 200 butterfly events. He set a new school record in the 200 fly.

Congratulations to both of these outstanding athletes for these prestigious honors!

Calvin Winter Invitational

The Laker men and women's swimming a diving teams had an outstanding meet at the Calvin Winter Invitational. The women defeated second place Bowling Green State by a score of 1118-1018 and the men scored 1392.5 to outdistance Kalamazoo College with a score of 948.5.

Swimmers and divers qualified 9 relays for NCAA Nationals along with 24 "A" cut performances and FIFTY "B" cuts. What a great job by the Lakers!! That gives Grand Valley 25 qualified athletes to Division II Nationals.

On the women's side Lauren Dorsey had 2 A cuts, Erin Kinney had an A cut and 2 B cuts, Carly Bush had an A cut and 3 B cuts, Toni Musto had an A cut and 2 B cuts, Marissa Doepker qualified on a relay and picked up 4 individual B cuts, Kelsey Vermeer added to B cuts to her relay swims and a previous A cut, Samantha Stump has 4 B cuts to go along with her relay swim, Kim Baughman added 2 B cuts to her relay efforts as did Katelyn Childers and Jenna Faletti. Allison Scholz added a B cut to go with an A cut from a previous relay. Karen Verbrugge and Rachel Strom qualified for Nationals in diving.

On the men's side of things, Jordan Schrotenboer snagged 4 A cuts and a B cut, Justin Patermann 3 A cuts and 2 B cuts, Raphael Santos 3 A cuts, Aaron Beebe 2 A cuts and 2 B cuts, Hans Hill 2 A cuts and Matt Witkowski had 3 B cuts to go along with his relay swims. Jon Bardsley picked up 3 B cuts to accompany his relay swim, and Derek Mead had a B cut to go along with his relay. Joe Sayre qualified on a relay Evan Betts and Reece Bierhalter made the National cut in diving.

Congratulations and great job Lakers!

National Rankings - Men First, Women Second in the Nation!

Updated and revised National rankings have been released. The top five spots on the Women's side of things are 1. Wayne State, 2. Grand Valley State, 3. St. Cloud State, 4. Truman State, 5. Ashland

On the Men's side the top five spots belong to 1. Grand Valley State, 2. University of California, San Diego, 3. University of the Incarnate Word, 4. Ashland, 5. Wayne State.

Congratulations to Laker swimmers and divers!

Men Win Doug Coers Invitational at Ball State, Women finish second

The Grand Valley State Men's Swimming and Diving team captured the victory at the sixth annual Doug Coers Invitational at Ball State University. The Lakers tallied 910 points to Ball State's 675 and the University of Findlay's 128 points. Last year, the Laker men needed at come from behind finish on the last relay to eke out a 4 point victory. This year, Grand Valley dominated every session.

Grand Valley men won 13 individual events and 3 relays. Aaron Beebe won the 100 and 200 butterfly events, as well as the 500 free. Justin Patterman was first in the 200 and 400 Individual Medleys and was second to Beebe in the 200 Fly. Matt Witkowski won the 100 and 200 Freestyles, Hans Hill won both Breaststroke races, Raphael Santos was first in both Backstrokes, Jeff Pauza won the 1650 freestyle and Evan Betts was first in one meter diving.

Laker women were represented on the victor's podium by Kelsey Vermeer in the 50 Freestyle, Carly Bush in the 1650 Freestyle and Toni Musto in the 200 Breaststroke. Great job to all the Lakers and an outstanding performance at the Doug Coers Invitational.

Santos GLIAC Swimmer of the Week

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference has named Laker swimmer Raphael Santos as the Swimmer of the Week. Raphael broke the school record in the 200 backstroke and earned his "A" qualifying time for that event. Congratulations to Raphael!

Toni Musto named Counsilman Hunsaker National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week

Congratulations to Toni Musto as she has been named the Counsilman Hunsaker National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week for Division II. Toni won the 200 Breaststroke at the Michigan State meet with an NCAA "A" cut time of 2:19.53. She also placed 2nd int the 200 IM at the same meet. Kudos to Toni for this tremendous honor!

Grand Valley State vs. MSU

The Lakers attempted to play the role of giant killer on Friday night and gave the Spartans a very spirited meet. A huge crowd, mostly wearing Laker Blue came to watch the potential upset. In last year's meet, GV won only one race; this year Laker swimmers and divers captured 11 of 26 first place finishes. A remarkable accomplishment against a Big Ten opponent. In the end, the Spartans depth proved to be a little too much for Coach Boyce's determined squad. Both the men and women finished with identical scores of 140-103.

Grand Valley did earn "A" cuts in the women's 200 Breaststroke (Toni Musto), women's 50 Freestyle (Kelsey Vermeer's lead off leg of the sprint relay) and the women's 200 freestyle relay. On the men's side, Aaron Beebe bettered the A mark in the 200 butterfly while Raphael Santos shattered the school record in the 200 backstroke to earn his A cut. Divers Evan Betts and Karen Verbrugge repeated A cuts they had previously achieved. Laker swimmers also earned 7 "B" cuts in the meet.

What an exciting way to head into the Holiday invitationals! GO LAKERS!!

Grand Valley State v. Michigan State

The Michigan State meet is tonight. We expect a large crowd so be there early. The meet starts at 6 pm. This meet is also the team's funraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness. T-shirts will be on sale, a silent auction will be held and a game or two to help the cause. Bring a friend and lets pack the house, support our Lakers and raise some money!!

ASHLAND MEET CANCELLED!!

Due to illness at Ashland University, the meet scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled and will not be re-scheduled. We are working to get the silent auction breast cancer fundraiser moved to the MSU meet.

There will be practice on Saturday morning 7-9 for Men and 9-11 for Women.

Karen Verbrugge named GLIAC Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has named GVSU diver Karen Verbrugge as the Swimming and Diving Athlete of the week. Last weekend, Karen scored firsts on both the one meter and three meter boards on Friday at the Calvin meet and again on Saturday at the Lewis-Hillsdale meet. She earned her NCAA Div II "A" cuts as well. Our congratulations to Karen!

Opening weekend

Grand Valley opened it season Friday night at Calvin College in their new facility. The Lakers notched two victories with the men's score Grand Valley 185-43 and the women prevailing 158-83. On Saturday, the Lakers traveled to Romeoville, IL to take on the Men's and Women's teams of Lewis university and the Women's team from Hillsdale College. Again, Lakers swimmers and divers came out on top with the Lewis men's score GVSU 169 Lewis 90. On the women's side of things it was Grand Valley 175 Hillsdale 87, GV 161 Lewis 101.

A nice start to the season, Divers Karen Verbrugge and Evan Betts secured NCAA Division II "A" cuts in the Calvin meet and a number of swimmers tallied "B" cuts.

Diving at Intra-squad

Evan Betts and Karen Verbrugge diving at the intrasquad meet

Grand Valley athletes demonstrating the intensity of the Blue-White (or East vs. West) meet. Very good performances were recorded, and the meet was exciting.

Blue White meet Saturday

It is officially the Blue-White meet on Saturday but really it is Eastside versus Westside. Serious bragging rights ride on the outcome. Out of staters aren't free agents, Ohio goes to the Eastside, Illinois goes to the Westside, etc. Best of all, there is a parent relay at the end of the meet. Medical personel will be standing by!!

Biathlon winners

The top three men were Joey Wingett and Jeff Pauza in a tie for first. And last year's winner Jon Bardsley at third

The top three women were Erin Kinney, Erin Lynch, and Anna Polkowski

A photo finish at the GVSU Biathlon! Andy called it a tie. Who do you think was the winner?

We set new "school records" for both Men and Women, had some Subway and then team building activities. What a great Friday.

Biathlon tonight!

Biathlon and team building tonight. We will see if anyone can break school records for the Biathlon. 25.35 Men (Jon Bardsley) and 30.04 Women (Erin Kinney). Good luck, don't forget karaoke tonight during team building, warm up your voices!!

Morning practice

Morning practice starts on Monday at 5:45. Men come in on Mon and Wed and Women on Tues, Thurs. Distance and IM on Friday. In the water at 5:45!!!!

Time Trials are over, final team selection is being made. The season is officially off to a start. Some very impressive swims during time trials. And it gives us a good starting point to know where to concentrate our work. From now on, it is a matter of doing the job to be better prepared than any of our opponents. Win each day's workout! Don't forget you are training today, not against your teammates, or even the clock but Wayne State, Ashland, Indy, Drury, Missouri S & T, etc.

Time Trials

Time trials are underway. Many swimmers are posting some very nice times for the first week of training.

The Women's team as they prepare to break into groups to start their scavenger hunt. A traditional team building event.

2009-2010 Season begins

The men's team took a Labor Day camping trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes and the women's team had fun at Michigan Adventure. A team cookout followed Tuesday's team meeting. Hot dogs and hamburgers taste like gourmet food when cooked on the grill.

First official day in the water was very encouraging. Time trials begin Monday. We still have a lot of work to do but lets make this season the standard for future Laker teams.

Mandatory Meeting

There is a required team meeting this afternoon at 4pm. You MUST attend. We will cover NCAA guidelines and sign several required forms. Be on time! The good news is the team picnic follows at 5.

Official practice begins

The first official practice of the 2009-2010 season begins Wed. Don't forget there is dryland 30 minutes before we get in the water so we will start at 12:45, 2:45. 4:45. See you there!

Meeting reminder

The meeting for returning swimmers and divers is at 4:05 Monday (tonight!). Incoming swimmers and divers will meet at 4:35. Be on time!!

Season getting ready to start

With the season just around the corner, it is time (almost past time) to make sure that we show up for the first day of swimming or diving, in shape and ready to go. The time to be in the water is NOW!! I can't wait to see you all, but let's be ready.

A new use for the banned tech suit

Don't try this at home!! But it is pretty darned cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwh4ZaxHIA

The importance of team unity

Team support is crucial for victory. These proud Lakers give all they can for their teammates in the water at the GLIAC Championships. Amazing team unity has been a hallmark for Grand Valley Swimming for the last 25 years. Swimming and Diving are sports of individual efforts that create team success. Laker swimmers and divers are rightfully proud of their pool family.

Grand Valley State Men's team signees.

Head Coach Andy Boyce announces the signing of three outstanding swimmers as members of the 2009-10 Laker Men's team. Kurt Von Ehr comes to the Lakers from Forest Hills Central where he was a state champion in the 100 yard butterfly and third in the 100 Breaststroke. He has also been named All-State in the 200 yd Indvidual Medley. Derek Mead is a Forest Hills Eastern graduate and was a state runner-up in the 200 yd Individual Medley and third in the 500 yd freestyle. Raphael Santos will come to GVSU from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Raphael swims both backstroke distances and middle distance freestyle. Raphael most recently competed at the Brazilian World Championship Trials.

While this is a small recruiting class for the Laker men, it makes up in quality for what it lacks in quantity. The three strong incoming swimmers are expected to make an immediate impact for a Grand Valley State Men's team that finished 9th at NCAA Division II Nationals last season.

Grand Valley women's team signees

Head Coach Andy Boyce has announced the signing of 7 incoming freshmen for the GVSU Women's Swimming and Diving Team. Adina Bohr is from Walled Lake Western High School in Novi MI. She was team MVP 3 years in a row. Adina is expected to help in both butterfly events and the 400 IM. Marissa Doepker was also team MVP 3 times at Harrison High School in Farmington Hills, MI. Marissa is expected to swim middle distance and distance freestyle events as well as butterfly. She was a 3 time All-State selection. Jenna Faletti graduated from South Lyons High School whrere she was team captain and MVP her senior year. Jenna swims both distances of breaststroke and sprint free and was named to the All-State team 3 times.

Amy Myers comes to Grand Valley State from Eastwood High School in Pemberville, OH. Amy was a two time All-State selection in Ohio. She is expected to give the Lakers some punch in the backstroke events. Kelsey Reid, from Davison, MI will swim the distance free events. Kelsey was also selected as All-State. Marissa Orr graduated from Grandville High School in Grandville, MI where she was selected team MVP and All-State. Marissa contributions to the Lakers will be in the backstroke and Individual Medley events. Kelsey Vermeer, from Rockford High School, Rockford, MI is a 4 - time High School All-American and Michigan State Runner-up in the 50 freestyle. Kelsey will swim sprint free and butterfly.

This group of seven constitutes one of the Lakers' best ever recruiting classes. Following up on last year's GLIAC team championship will be a GVSU goal and these new members of the women's team will help to make that possible.

Junior Swim Team is Underway

Grand Valley's Junior swim team program is underway and we have the largest group ever. It is a great way to introduce kids to the sport of swimming in a community without a youth team. They are very enthusiastic and learning quickly. Meets are on Thursdays at 6. Stop by if you get a chance.

Requests for photos

If you have good photographs from last season, please email them to Roger so that we can include them on the web site. We can even upload video.

Also, feel free to comment. This is your web-site and we want to reflect that.

Jenna Thayer named to Commissioner's Award

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced Grand Valley State's Jenna Thayer as a recipient of the Winter 2009 GLIAC Commissioner's Awards for Academic and Athletic Excellence.

Thayer (Okemos, Mich.) was a six-time All-American at the 2009 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships, pushing her career total to 21 All-America citations. Thayer was a member of the GVSU 200-yard freestyle relay team that placed sixth, the 200-yard medley team that finished ninth, and the 11th-place 400-yard freestyle relay team. She took home a 10th place finish in the 200-yard Individual Medley, finished 13th in the 200-yard breaststroke and 14th in the 100-yard breaststroke. Thayer graduated with a 3.888 cumulative GPA studying Health Admininistration.

Academic Honors

Twelve Grand Valley Swimmers and Divers have been named by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America as Scholar All-Americans. We are very proud of the achievement of our student-athletes! To qualify for this award, a swimmer or diver must post a GPA of 3.5 or higher and achieve an NCAA Division II "A" cut. Honorable Mention goes to those athletes that meet the GPA requirement and have achieved a "B" cut. Our list is as follows:

Scholar All-Americans
Kim Baughman
Danielle Buglio
Jenna Fredrickson
Erin Kinney
Erin Lynch
Toni Musto
Allison Scholz
Jenna Thayer
Alison VanKampen
Aaron Beebe
Evan Kobes
Matt Witkowski

Honorable Mention:
Katie Lawrie
Jeff Pauza
Phil Watkins

Congratulations to these excellent student-athletes!

GLIAC Championships

Coaches hold a strategy session at the GLIAC Championships. The women won for the first time ever. The men scored a school record number of points but fell just short of Champions Wayne State.

2008-2009 The Best Season Ever

Evan Betts and Diving Coach Josh DeVries at NCAA Division II Nationals at the University of Houston.

Evan finished 3rd on 3 meters and 4th on 1 meter. Overall, the Laker men and women placed 15 individuals and all 10 relays in scoring positions. Both teams finished a school best 9th place.

Twenty-eight Lakers qualified for Division II championships, which is also a school best. The goals get more challenging for next year as the team continues to shine on the National scene.

The competition even wears out Coach Boyce.

Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub

Not really using an off campus facility! In fact, I am not sure what they are doing at all!!

Florida training trip

Laker swimmers and divers traveled to Ft. Pierce, Florida for the Holiday training trip. Some dryland training techniques were a little "unorthodox"

GLIAC Champions

The Lakers Women won Grand Valley's first ever GLIAC Championship at Jenison High School's pool. It was a see-saw battle all week with Wayne State but the Lakers edged the Warriors for the win. Coach Andy Boyce was named Women's GLIAC Coach of the Year for 2009

Swimming and Diving at Grand Valley

A team blog for Grand Valley State Lakers Swimming and Diving. Team members will be allowed to comment on posts and you are invited to send photos to Roger to post.