The NMU swimming and diving team was at home last weekend and hosted the UW-Oshkosh Titans on Saturday, Nov. 6. It was the last home meet of the year and Senior Day for the ’Cats who came away with a 145-97 win over the Titans. Head coach Heidi Voigt was proud of the team’s performance.
“It feels great, these guys have put in the work and the time and the effort,” Voigt said. “They’ve been training their butts off. It has been really fun, they deserve it.”
For the second week in a row the 200-yard medley relay team earned the ’Cats the early lead. Lauren Cockels, Olga Budiansky, Jenny Gallagher and Kelsey Sipple won the race with a time of 1:54.68, which was nearly nine seconds faster than their opponents. The Wildcats stayed aggressive in the 1000-yard freestyle, with sophomore Lindsay Stedman taking first place with a time of 11:23.69 and sophomore Jessica Linnen coming in third at 11:43.28.
Sophomore Gaby Alzaga took first place in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:01.47, knocking four seconds off her previous time. Sophomore Kelsey Sipple got first place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.87. The ’Cats took first in the first four events to build a 46-28 lead over the Titans. UW-Oshkosh finished first and second in the 200-yard, but Northern quickly shifted the momentum back to their side with senior Kelli Vander Baan winning the 3-meter dive with a score of 268.85. Vander Baan, the team’s lone senior, said she was sad that she won’t dive at home again.
“It’s sad, I’m really sad,” Vander Baan said. “It’s kind of overwhelming a little bit because I know this is my last home meet.”
Vander Baan has been part of the NMU swimming and diving team for four years and has been voted the MVP by the team her first three seasons. Diving coach Andy Ward has enjoyed working with Vander Baan and is looking forward to working with her throughout the year.
“It’s been fun to end up watching her grow and mature from her freshman year to this year,” Ward said. “We’ve seen so much progress; I’m really looking forward to working with her for the rest of the season.”
Vander Baan, who also won the 1-meter dive with a score of 259.50, qualified for nationals on both boards today after her impressive performance. She is happy with the season so far and looks to keep improving.
“It’s been a pretty good season. I started off pretty strong this year,” Vander Baan said. “I’m hoping to just get stronger and do my best in nationals this year.”
The Wildcats continued their dominance through the meet recording first-place finishes in 11 of the 13 events. Other first-place finishers for the ’Cats were Lauren Cockles (100-yard butterfly), Kelsey Sipple (100-yard freestyle), Gaby Alzaga (100-yard backstroke), Lindsay Stedman (500-yard freestyle) and Olga Budiansky (100-yard breaststroke).
The Wildcats don’t race again until Saturday, Dec. 4 at the Calvin invite in Grand Rapids. Voigt said her team needs the recovery time after having four meets in four weeks. She also expects the times be better at Calvin.
“It’s a little different than a dual meet. They can attack one race at a time,” Voigt said. “They’ll have more rest and recovery in between events so we should be looking at a little faster times.”
