Feb. 16, 2008

Results

Indianapolis, Ind. - The Grand Valley State men's swimming & diving team captured the 2008 GLIAC Championship with a team score of 665 points. The title is just the second in the programs history (2005). Wayne State finished second with 634 points and Indianapolis was third with 541. Grand Valley State head coach Andy Boyce was named the 2008 GLIAC Men's Coach of the Year after guiding the Lakers to the title. The Laker men qualified nine individuals and four relays for the 2008 NCAA DII Championships that will be held March 12-15 at the University of Missouri.

The Laker men started strong in the evening finals as GVSU placed three among the top five in the 200 backstroke. Jordan Schrotenboer finish second in a time of 1:53.71, while Evan Kobes was fourth (1:54.89) and Jeff Pauza fifth (1:55.62). Schrotenboer (1:53.71) and Kobes (1:53.65) both met the NCAA B qualifying marks in the morning prelims. Matt Witkowski finished fourth in the 100 free with an NCAA B mark of 46.73. The Lakers also made a strong showing in the 200 breaststroke, advancing three into the finals. Hans Hill finished second and met the NCAA B mark with a time of 2:07.74. Philip Kaseska was sixth (2:12.26) and Collin Perry seventh (2:113.48).

GVSU all but sealed the championship in the 200 fly as Justin Pattermann and Phil Watkins finished second and fourth. Patterman hit the NCAA B mark and set the school-record with a time of 1:53.92, while Watkins also hit the B standard with a time of 1:55.80. All the Lakers had to do in the 400 free relay was finish and they did just that with a sixth-place finish. The Lakers' 400 free relay then swam a time trial following the meet and hit the 400 free relay A mark with a time of 3:04.99. In addition, the relay that consisted of Jordan Schrotenboer, Matt Witkowski, Aaron Renton and Evan Kobes shattered the school-record by nearly three seconds.