The OU Swim and Dive team opened their season with a dominating preseason win over the Wayne State University Warriors on Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Oakland Aquatics Center.
“I feel good,” OU head coach Mitch Alters said. “This is a lot of fun for us — we are really grateful that Wayne comes up. It’s really about bringing two teams together.”
The meet opened with a 200 medley relay co-ed race, which featured four teams of four swimmers from both schools. Oakland’s ‘A’ and ‘B’ relay teams took first and second place, respectively, with the ‘C’ team coming in fourth and the ‘D’ team coming in fifth.
Next, the men and women competed separately in a 200 freestyle race. The Grizzlies came up on top in both races, with Mia Englender and Jonas Cantrell claiming first place in their respective events.
Following the first three events, the Grizzlies’ battle continued with the Warriors in multiple 50-meter events, including butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle races.
To start things off, Mia Keranen took complete control of the women’s 50 butterfly, placing first in all three rounds. Sofus Balladone and Colin Martin would tie for first to start the men’s 50 butterfly with a time of 22.54. However, Martin would come in first in the second round before ultimately winning the final round.
The Grizzlies continued to dominate in the 50 backstroke, as Ajete Eggers finished first in each of the three rounds. Dane Charleston claimed the first round for the men before Harry Nicholson took over, winning the last two rounds for the Grizzlies.
Following that, Barbara Bart took first in all three rounds of the women’s 50 breaststroke. Alex Larkin won the men’s first round, and Christian Bart claimed first in the second and final rounds.
Jordyn Shipps and Micah Scheffer closed out the 50 freestyle for the Grizzlies, sealing first place in all three rounds individually. Notably, the Grizzlies came out on top in all 24 rounds of the 50-meter battle with the Warriors.
Next up was the 100 individual medley. The men and women once again competed separately in their events and continued to dominate.
Shipps, Angelina Baker and Keranen headlined the women’s race, placing first, second and third, respectively. Jack Wike, Ian Allen, Auben Nugent and Andrew Gelston completely beat out the Warriors in the men’s race, with each swimmer placing in the top four.
The last event of the evening was the mixed 500 freestyle relay. The Grizzlies and the Warriors formed two teams of ten swimmers each for the event.
Oakland’s ‘A’ relay team would finish first with a time of 3:50.90. Wayne’s ‘A’ relay finished in second place, with Oakland’s ‘B’ relay team coming in third, putting Wayne’s ‘B’ relay team in fourth place.
Regarding the outlook for the rest of the season, Alters is just focused on getting better as he does his best to replace longtime legendary coach Pete Hovland.
“They’re big shoes to fill,” Alters said. “I’m grateful to be here as a former Oakland University athlete. The goal right now is just to improve, continue to find ways to improve and for the program to grow.”
OU Swim and Dive will play next in an intrasquad match on Friday, Sept. 29. Next, the team will host the 40th Annual Ray Miller Alumni Meet on Saturday, Sept. 30. Both events will take place at the Oakland Aquatics Center.