Florida information

Florida info for those of you who forgot to pick up a hand out. Newport Beachside Resort, North Miami, FL The pool is at Florida International University, Biscayne Bay Campus. We leave Dec 28th and return Jan 5th. For the full handout, email Andi or Roger.

Calvin Winter Invite Success

Laker swimmers and divers posted 317 season best performances at the Calvin Winter Invite. That is 98.4% of our entries. What an outstanding job by the Lakers! Now we take that momentum into the second half of the season and keep things rolling!

Aaron Beebe National Swimmer of the Week

Aaron Beebe has been named National Swimmer of the Week by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America for his performances at the Calvin Winter Invitational. Aaron was also named GLIAC Swimmer of the Week. Congratulations to Aaron for an outstanding meet!

Calvin Invitational

The Lakers had an outstanding meet at the Calvin Winter Invitational. Six individual and 2 relay school records were set as well as 2 individual freshman records. So far this season, GVSU swimmers and divers have earned 84 National "B" cuts, 7 National "A" cuts and broke 6 individual and 2 relay school records at the Calvin meet. Congratulations to all of the swimmers and divers!

Jordan Schrotenboer Named GLIAC Swimmer of the Week

Grand Valley State University senior Jordan Schrotenboer led the Lakers to the team title at the 2010 Doug Coers Invitational hosted by Ball State University over the weekend. Schrotenboer claimed first-place finishes in the 100-yard Backstroke (52.80) and the 200-yard Backstroke (1:52.64), while helping GVSU to wins in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:10.93) and the 800-yard freestyle relay(7:01.95). Additionally, he helped the Lakers to second-place finishes in the 200-yard Medlay relay (1:36.54) and the 400-yard Medlay relay (3:31.36), while placing third in the 200-yard Individual Medley (1:58.36).

National Swimmer of the Week

Congratulations to Carly Bush who has been named National Swimmer of the Week by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. Carly earned three Division II National "B" cuts at the MSU meet. She earned those cuts in the 500 free, 1000 free and 200 butterfly.

Great Job Carly!!

CF Fundraiser a Huge Success

Grand Valley State Swimming and Diving chose the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for its fundraising efforts this year. Parents coordinated a bake sale, silent auction, and tennis ball toss to raise the money. The exact total will be announced at a later date.

In swim meet action, Toni Musto and Raphael Santos won their events in the loss to Michigan State. Once again, a huge crowd was in attendence which helped in the fundraising.

The Lakers will travel to Ball State for the Doug Coers Invitational this weekend.

Lakers defeat Ashland

The Laker men and women scored a double victory over Ashland University Saturday winning the women's meet 159-84 and the men's 141-100. Katie Vulpetti earned a National "A" cut in diving. Erin Kinney and Karen Verbrugge were double winners for the women and Jordan Schrotenboer and Aaron Beebe won two events a piece for the men.

On Friday night, both Laker teams defeated Calvin College.

Toni Musto named National Swimmer of the Week

Antonia Musto has been named the Counsilman-Hunzaker National Swimmer of the Week by Collegeswimming.com. Toni was a double winner in the Lewis-Hillsdale double dual and improved her "B" cut in the 200 breaststroke. Our congratulations to Toni!

Swimmers defeat Lewis and Hilldale

The women won a double dual meet against Hillsdale College and Lewis University and the men defeated Lewis on Saturday. Hillsdale does not field a men's team. Final scores on the Women's side were Grand Valley 205 - Lewis 32, Grand Valley 193 - Hillsdale 46. Hillsdale defeated Lewis 138-66. On the men's side the Lakers defeated the Flyers of Lewis 177-46.

Rachel Strom broke the school record for 3 meter diving with a score of 286.90. Congratulations to both teams!

Fundraising for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

My grandson Ethan. Ethan was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis shortly after birth. This is a genetic disease for which there is no cure, however, great strides have been made in treatment. Some very exciting medications are in the pipeline that show great promise. Because it is an "orphan disease", research for it gets no government funding and is all privately finanaced.

The team's fundraising project this year for the East-West Showdown is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

"B" Cuts and Pool Records in Loss to Milwaukee

GVSU lost its opener to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Oct 15th. The men fell 196.5-106.5 and the women 177.5-122.5. Despite the score, the Lakers notched 13 national "B" cuts and Rachel Strom and Karen Verbrugge both qualified for Nationals in diving. Kim Baughman tied the pool record in the 50 free and Rachel Strom broke both the school and pool record in the 1 meter diving.

Blue White meet

The Lakers started their season Saturday with the Annual Blue-White meet. A large number of alumni were present and Dewey Newsome who had been inducted into the Grand Valley Athletic Hall of Fame the night before was also in attendence.

A glitch in the scoring set up originally had the blue team winning but with the corrected and PROPER score calculated; White won the meet 273-269. Once again, a nail biter.

The Laters begin action this Friday night at 6 pm versus the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

More on Diving Cuts for Nationals

I posted the minimum scores needed to qualify for Nationals some time ago. The degree of difficulty required is as follows: Women 1 meter 12.5, 3 meter 13.0 Men 1 meter 14.0, 3 meter 15.0 for 6 optional dives.

Laker Butterflier Aaron Beebe Qualifies for Olympic Trials.

GVSU Junior Aaron Beebe has qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in Omaha, NE. Aaron swam the 200 meter butterfly in 2:01.94 to qualify 20th at USA Swimming National Championships this summer. Aaron also posted :55.22 in the 100 meter butterfly to qualify in his second event. Congratulations Aaron!

Diving Cuts for Nationals

As promised, here are the diving cuts. Just some clarifications, no real changes.

The overall points must be achieved with the following minimum degree of difficulty. For women, the minimum degree of difficulty on the 1-Meter six optional dives shall be a 12.5, and the minimum degree of difficulty on the 3-Meter six optional dives shall be a 13.0. For the men, the minimum degree of difficulty on the 1-Meter six optional dives shall be a 14.0, and the minimum degree of difficulty on the 3-Meter six optional dives shall be a 15.0.

Men
1M 6 optional dives 285, 11 dives 440
3M 6 optional dives 295, 11 dives 460

Women
1M 6 dives 255, 11 dives 390
3M 6 dives 265, 11 dives 420

Aaron Beebe qualifies 20th at Summer Nationals

Aaron Beebe qualified 20th at Summer Nationals in Irvine, CA in the 200 Butterfly with a 2:01.94. Congratulations Aaron.

2010-2011 Schedule

Here is the schedule for the 2010-2011 season.

10/09/10 Sat. Blue-White meet (M/W) Home 1pm

10/15/10 Fri. U of Wisc, Milwaukee (M/W) Home 6pm
10/23/10 Sat Lewis/Hillsdale (M/W) Hillsdale 1pm
10/29/10 Fri Calvin (M/W) Grand Rapids 5 pm
10/30/10 Sat Ashland (M/W) Home 2 pm
11/12/10 Fri MSU (M/W) Jenison, MI 6 pm
11/19/10 Fri Doug Coers @ Ball State (M/W) Muncie, IN 6pm
11/20/10 Sat Doug Coers @ Ball State (M/W) Muncie, IN 9 am
12/02/10 Thurs Calvin College Invite (M/W) Grand Rapids 6pm
12/03/10 Fri Calvin College Invite (M/W) Grand Rapids 10am & 6pm
12/04/10 Sat Calvin College Invite (M/W) Grand Rapids 10am & 6pm

Holiday Training in Florida (Meet to be announced)

1/08/11 Sat Wayne State (M/W) Home 1 pm
1/15/11 Fri Univ. of Findlay Findlay, OH (M/W) 1 pm
1/21/11 Hope College (M/W) Home 5 pm
1/22/11 Univ of Indianapolis (M/W) Home 1 pm

2/09/11 Wed GLIAC (M/W) Jenison, MI 5:30 pm
2/10/11 Thurs GLIAC(M/W) Jenison, MI 10:30am & 6pm
2/11/11 Fri GLIAC (M/W) Jenison, MI 10:30am & 6pm
2/12/11 Sat GLIAC (M/W) Jenison, MI 10:30am $ 6pm

3/08/11 Tue NCAA II Diving Qualifications (M/W)San Antonio, TX 9am
3/09/11 Wed NCAA II Nat'l Championships (M/W) San Antonio, TX 10:30am &6pm
3/10/11 Thurs NCAA II Nat't Championships (M/W) San Antonio, TX 10:30am & 6pm
3/11/11 Fri NCAA II Nat'l Championships (M/W) San Antonio, TX 10:30am & 6pm
3/12/11 Sat NCAA II Nat'l Championships (M/W) San Antonio, TX 10:30am & 6pm
@ Palo Alto Community College

2010-2011 NCAA National Time Standards.

The time standards for the upcoming season have been released. Remember, this is a completely different qualification system and a swimmer with only "B" cuts may still be invited to Nationals. I will post the diving standards as soon as they are released.

2010-2011 Division II Men's Qualifying Times

Event 25-YARD COURSE
A Standard B Standard
50 Freestyle :20.29 21.31
100 Freestyle :44.59 46.95
200 Freestyle 1:39.19 1:43.60
500 Freestyle 4:29.69 :42.51
1,000 Freestyle 9:22.09 9:46.59
1,650 Freestyle 15:35.79 16:26.83
100 Butterfly : 48.79 51.49
200 Butterfly 1:49.39 1:55.76
100 Backstroke : 49.09 52.52
200 Backstroke 1:48.49 :54.83
100 Breaststroke :55.79 58.90
200 Breaststroke 2:02.19 2:09.77
200 Individual Medley 1:50.49 1:56.79
400 Individual Medley 3:58.49 4:11.31
200 Freestyle Relay 1:22.09 1:23.49
400 Freestyle Relay 3:01.09 3:04.99
800 Freestyle Relay 6:44.59 6:49.99
200 Medley Relay 1:31.09 1:32.99
400 Medley Relay 3:19.89 3:24.49


2010-2011 DIvision II Women's Qualifying Times

Event 25-YARD COURSE
A Standard B Standard
50 Freestyle :23.39 : 24.50
100 Freestyle :50.89 : 53.55
200 Freestyle 1:50.99 1:56.48
500 Freestyle 4:58.79 5:12.08
1,000 Freestyle 10:14.79 10:48.09
1,650 Freestyle 17:11.69 18:03.85
100 Butterfly :56.19 : 58.90
200 Butterfly 2:03.19 2:10.80
100 Backstroke :56.49 : 59.52
200 Backstroke 2:02.59 2:08.94
100 Breaststroke 1:03.79 1:07.35
200 Breaststroke 2:18.29 2:26.45
200 Individual Medley 2:03.29 2:11.93
400 Individual Medley 4:23.39 4:41.18
200 Freestyle Relay 1:34.49 1:36.19
400 Freestyle Relay 3:28.39 3:31.09
800 Freestyle Relay 7:34.69 7:42.59
200 Medley Relay 1:44.79 1:47.49
400 Medley Relay 3:48.99 3:54.99

GVSU Women's Swimming and Diving Named All-Academic Team

The Grand Valley State University Women's Swimming and Diving team has been named by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America as an All-Academic Team. To qualify for this honor, the grade point average for the team as a whole must exceed 3.0. GVSU's GPA was 3.23 for the winter semester. GVSU's women's team has earned this honor every semester since its inception. Again, Laker swimmers demonstrate the true meaning of "Student-Athlete". We are exceptionally proud of the women's team!

Eighteen Lakers Named Scholar All-America

Eighteen Laker swimmers and divers have been named Scholar All-America by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. To qualify for this award, the athlete must have achieved a 3.5 GPA and earned an "A" cut for NCAA Nationals. Honorable Mention is awarded to those athletes with a 3.5 GPA and an NCAA "B" cut.

Scholar All-Americans:
Kim Baughman
Katelyn Childers
Erin Kinney
Marissa Orr
Allison Scholz
Kelsey Vermeer
Melissa Faletti
Antonia Musto
Joe Sayre
Patrick VanDommelen
Aaron Beebe
Justin Pattermann

Honorable Mention:
Amy Akers
Erin Lynch
Kaci Swieter
David Hayhow
Jon Bardsley
Jeff Pauza

Congratulations to this outstanding group of Student-Athletes!

GLIAC Championship rings are in for those who ordered one. See Andy to pick up yours.

Lakers sign six men for 2010-2011

Head Coach Andy Boyce announces the signing of six men for the 2010-2011 season. Erik Aakesson of Loddekopinge, Sweden will join the team as a breaststroker. Erik has competed in Swedish Nationals. Jason Bergsma of Grandville, Mich will come in as a backstroker, butterflyer and sprint freestyler. Jason was All-State and All-America at Grandville High School. Collin DeHaan is also a graduate of Grandville High School. DeHaan teamed with Bergsma to lead Grandville High School to a State Championship in the 400 Freestyle Relay.

Leo Dumbovic from Zagreb, Croatia was a Croatian National Champion in the 50 meter Breaststroke and also competed in the 100 meter Breaststroke. He was the MVP of the meet between Croatia and Slovenia. Dumbovic will concentrate on breaststroke and IM events for the Lakers. Matt Lederer of Farmington Hills, Mich earned All-State honors while competing in butterfly and sprint freestyle events for Farmington. Ben Scheurich is an All-Conference sprinter from Rensselaer Central High School in Rensselaer, Ind.

Coach Boyce describes the incoming classes of both men and women as one of the strongest ever at Grand Valley State.

Coach Andy Boyce Signs 5 women for the 2010-2011 season

Head Coach Andy Boyce announced the signing of five women to next year's Laker swimming and diving team. Sarah Kozmak (Grandville, MI) a transfer from the University of West Virginia will compete in the sprint freestyle events. Sarah was an All-Conference, All-State and All-America high school performer. Caitlyn Madsen (West Chicago, IL) swims the butterfly, freestyle and backstroke events. Caitlyn was All-Conference and All-America at Community High School in West Chicago.

Jenny Root of Lakeview High School (Battle Creek, MI) was a three time All-State diver. Katie Vulpetti (East Grand Rapids, MI) is also a diver and earned All-State honors her junior and senior years. Ellen Wiese (Downer's Grove, IL) earned All-State honors at Downer's Grove South High School and will swim the breaststroke and IM events for Grand Valley.

Coach Boyce and his staff look forward to the contributions these five athletes will make to the Laker Swimming and Diving team.

Invictus

I enjoyed the Clint Eastwood film with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, Invictus. The title comes from a poem by William Ernest Henley. A great thought on overcoming adversity and taking ownership of our futures. Below is the text.

INVICTUS
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

When I watched the film, I was reminded of how much I like the passage when I first read it many years ago.

Interesting dryland tip

A few years ago, Dr. David Costill at the Human Performance Lab at Ball State univeristy conducted a test on weight training for swimmers. Dr. Costill and the BSU Human Performance Lab have done much of the cutting edge original research now considered standard practice in excersise science.

He divided the group of swimmers into two groups, one did a traditional weight training program for swimmers. The other group did just dips and pull ups on a weight assisted machine. The Gravitron 2000 in the fitness center is an example of this type of machine. They did 3 sets of dips and 3 of pullups with as many reps as it took to reach complete fatigue on each set.

The study had the participants swim and lift for six weeks followed by six weeks of just swimming. Those doing the traditional lifting exercises showed no time improvement over 25 yards while those who did dips and pullups averaged an improvement of .3 seconds.

I find this to be a very interesting result. So hits those dips and pullups!

Twenty-five Lakers named members of the GLIAC All-Academic Team

Twelve women and eleven men have been named to the GLIAC All-Academic Team for swimming and diving. To be eligible, a student athlete must have: a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or greater (on a 4.0 scale); must be a starter or key reserve; and must not be a freshman or first-year transfer.

Honorees are: Amy Akers (So.), Kim Baughman (Jr), Katie Czirr (Jr), Melissa Faletti (Jr), Jenna Fredrickson (So), Erin Kinney (Jr), Katie Lawrie (Sr), Erin Lynch (Jr), Antonia Musto (So), Alexandria Nagel (Sr), Anna Polkowski (Jr), Nina Reynolds (Sr), Allison Scholz (Sr), Rachel Strom (So), Aaron Beebe (So), Ryan Gerber (So), David Hayhow (So), Justin Pattermann (Jr), Jeff Pauza (Jr), Collin Perry (Sr), Aaron Renton (Sr), Joe Sayre (So), Paul Tansey (Sr), Patrick VanDommelen (Jr), Matt Witkowski (Sr).

Congratulations to these fine Student-Athletes who demonstrate how Laker swimmers get it done in the classroom as well as the pool.

Food for thought

Following the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858, Lincoln discovered on election night that despite a majority of pro-Lincon votes cast in Illinois, he was not going to win a seat in the US Senate. Walking home well after midnight he tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and nearly fell.

Reflecting later on both the election and the his stumble he said, "I realized then, that it was a stumble and not a fall and I could go on." Two years later he became the greatest president in US history.

We are not defined by our "stumbles" but by how we react to them.

Coach Boyce interviewed on WGVU

Follow the link below to see Coach Andy Boyce's interview on WGVU after NCAA's.
Click the link in the sidebar on the right labeled WGVU to watch'

Men 4th, Women 8th at NCAA Div II Nationals

I put together some pictures to make a slide show of the outstanding success the Lakers had at NCAA Nationals. Both teams had their highest finish ever and Karen Verbrugge in 1 meter diving, Aaron Beebe in the 200 butterfly and the Men's 400 Medley Relay of Raphael Santos, Hans Hill, Beebe and Matt Witkowski were all National runners-up. All 25 athletes that competed for the Lakers earned All-America honors in a total of 69 events. What an outstanding achievement for both teams!

Laker Men are GLIAC Champs, Women Second!

The GVSU Laker Men dominated the field at the GLIAC Conference meet finishing with 866 points ahead of Wayne State's second place effort of 710.5 points. Ashland finished third with 701 points. Raphael Santos won both backstroke distances and Evan Betts was one meter diving champ. The 200 Medley Relay of Santos, Hans Hill, Aaron Beebe, and Matt Witkowski won with a wild finish. This was the perfect example of great depth and a total team effort.

The women swam a strong meet, Karen Verbrugge was one meter champ in diving. A basketful of new "A" and "B" cuts were recorded and the Lakers once again demonstrated the quality of athlete and person that makes GVSU Swimming and Diving the respected program that it is.

Congratulations to Head Coach Andy Boyce on building another excellent team.

Women's Team Academic All-American

The College Swim Coaches' Association has named Grand Valley State's Women's Swimming and Diving team to the Academic All-America list. Grand Valley State's women's team has earned this distinction every semester the award has been made. Our Lady Lakers do a great job of getting the job done in the classroom as well as the pool. Congratulations gals!

GLIAC Psych sheets available

Psych sheets are available online at

http://wsuathletics.com/custompages/2009-10%20Swim%20Results/GLIAC2010psych.htm

GLIAC Championships

The Lakers travel to Detroit next week for the GLIAC Swimming and Diving Championships to be held at Wayne State. The women's team are defending champions while the men hope to regain the title they won in 2008. A very fast exciting meet is expected. Seating may well be at a premium so arrive early. Results will be posted on the GVSU webpage following each session.

Karen Verbrugge had an outstanding meet Saturday against Northern Michigan. Karen broke both the pool records and school records in 1 and 3 meter diving. Her total of 284.05 on the 3-meter board broke the previous pool and varsity mark of 283.42 held by Rachel Terpstra. Verbrugge then tallied a six-dive total of 278.05 on the 1-meter board, bettering the pool record held by Erin Maloney of Albion and the varsity record of 275.78 by Verbrugge.

Great job Karen!! Your coaches and team are proud of you!

First Stroke

The first stroke to be swum competitively was the breaststroke. It was contested in the Ancient Greek Olympics and there are artifacts with artistic depictions of swimmers doing the breaststroke. Front crawl or freestyle, was developed around 100 years ago as Australian and British swimmers used the overarm stroke they saw Polynesians using. John Trudgen introduced the overarm stroke with a scissors kick, the Australian crawl had the swimmer flutter kick between scissor kicks. It became known as the American crawl when only the flutter kick was used. Butterfly developed from the breaststroke and was identified as a separate stroke in 1952. Well into the 1960's YMCA swimming still allowed a breaststroke kick with the butterfly stroke.

GVSU Sports features Swimming and Diving

Here is a link to the interviews with Coach Andy Boyce, Senior Allison Scholz and Sophomore Aaron Beebe on GVSU Sports. Next week, they are planning on interviewing team members whose names start with "B".

http://www.wgvu.org/gvsports/

Patrick VanDommelen and Kelsey Vermeer were named the male and female GLIAC Swimmer an Diver of the week for their efforts in the Findlay meet. Patrick earned his NCAA National cuts at the meet, and Kelsey won the 50 freestyle and was part of both winning relays. Congratulations to these outstanding athletes!

GLIAC Athletes of the Week

Karen Verbrugge and Justin Pattermann have been named GLIAC Swimming and Diving Athletes of the Week by the GLIAC office. Karen was a double winner against Wayne State and Justin won the 100 Butterfly and 200 IM to help lead the Lakers over WSU.

Westside-Eastside Showdown

GVSU and Wayne State started a new tradition this year by creating a trophy for the annual Westside-Eastside showdown. Points were awarded for winning each of the men's or women's meets and also for the school that was the top charity fundraiser. GVSU men won, Wayne State women won and even though I was quite touched by the fact that Wayne State chose to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in my grandson's name, Grand Valley out-fundraised Wayne State to win the first annual trophy.

The meet was very good, the times were fast and the crowd was loud and proud for both schools. What an exciting college swimming meet!!

Winter Break Training in Florida

The Lakers are in the middle of their training trip to Ft. Pierce, FL. Compared to Allendle, the tempatures are quite warm. However, they are much colder than the team hoped for. This morning's practice with air temps in the upper 30's was an adventure. This afternoon will feature a meet with Alma College.

The Lakers are getting in some GREAT training and building a terrific base for the final part of the season. New rankings are out and the Laker men remain first with the University of Incarnate Word in second. The lady Lakers are still second to Wayne State.

Most common college mascot name

When I posted the trivia question, I was sure that Tigers was the most popular name. After some research, the actual answer is the Eagles with Tigers second. Warriors comes in a distant 11th. The Banana Slugs are the mascot of UC Davis.