The Flying Dutchmen finished 21st in a field of 55 teams at the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in Houston, Tex.
The Flying Dutchmen finished 21st in a field of 55 teams at the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in Houston, Tex.
John Patnott's Flying Dutchmen finished with one All-America and five honorable mention All-America performances in the meet. Kenyon, Ohio repeated as national champion with 570 points. Hope ended with 53 points.
The Flying Dutchmen competed in all five relays and six individual events. The swimmers included three freshmen, two sophomores, a junior and senior.
Competitors included freshman Phil Heyboer of Zeeland, Mich. (Holland Christian HS); senior co-captain Jake Holton of Chelsea, Mich. (Chelsea HS); sophomore Stephen Kurti of Battle Creek, Mich. (Lakeview HS); freshman Ryan Nelis of Holland, Mich. (West Ottawa HS); freshman Matt Rose of Grandville, Mich. (Grandville HS); junior Charles VanderBroek of Holland, Mich. (Holland HS); and sophomore Ryan Vogelzang of Holland, Mich. (Holland Christian HS).
Phil Heyboer achieved NCAA All-America honors by finishing eighth in the 200-yard backstroke (1:53.55). He became Hope's first All-American in the 200 back since 1993. Heyboer advanced to the championship finals with a season-best time (1:51.89) in the prelims.
Hope's honorable mention All-American performances were:
° Hope finished 10th in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Ryan Vogelzang, Stephen Kurti, Jake Holton, and Matt Rose was tikmed in 1:23.51. The relay had a season best time of 1:23.41 in the prelims.
° Ryan Nelis placed 12th in the 100-yard butterfly with a school-record time of :50.24. He entered the national meet with a seeded time of :50.66 and improved it to :50.49 in the prelims. Of the 29 qualifiers, Nelis had the second-best time among the freshmen competitors.
° The 400-yard freestyle relay finished 13th. The team of Charles VanderBroek, Ryan Vogelzang, Jacob Holton and Matt Rose was timed in 3:06.46.
° The 800-yard freestyle relay finished 13th. The team of Charles VanderBroek, Ryan Vogelzang, Matt Rose and Ryan Nelis was timed in 6:55.51.
° The all-underclassmen 400-yard medley relay finished 13th. The team of Phil Heyboer, Ryan Vogelzang, Ryan Nelis and Matt Rose was clocked in 3:28.94.
° Phil Heyboer finished 14th in the 400-yard individual medley with a Hope school-record time of 4:03.26. He improved on his seeded-time by more than a second.
Other Hope performances that did not advance past the prelims were: 200-yard individual medley, Phil Heyboer, 20th place (1:54.07), and Ryan Nelis, 36th place (1:56.47); 100-yard freestyle, Matt Rose, 28th (:46.72), Charles VanderBroek, 29th (:46.82), and Ryan Nelis, 32nd (:47.04); 200-yard freestyle, Charles VanderBroek, 30th (1:42.93). Hope was one of five relays DQ'd while competing in the 200-yard medley relay.