Swim & dive determines who continues to NCAA

This past weekend at the NCAA Division III swim and dive meet in Crawfordsville, Indiana, three Flying Dutchmen were recognized in the top ten. This meet determines who continues onto the NCAA Championship held in late March. From the women’s team, senior Sara Plohetski finished in tenth place during the one-meter dive. In addition, she also completed the three-meter dive with a score of 424.75. Her score landed her sixth place out of 27 contestants. “Sara had the best meet of the year,” head diving coach Rebecca Garza said. “She set her own personal-best within the first five dives. She gave this weekend her all.”

From the men’s team, sophomore Grant Williams and senior Brian Simonich both did well in the three-meter dive. Grant Williams scored a total of 440.10 points in the one-meter event and landed ninth place in the three-meter dive. Brian Simonich also scored a total of 409.95 points in the one-meter dive. He also landed third place in three-meter dive. “Brian’s goal this season has been consistency with his dives. It drove his training and was the focus for this meet. Tonight’s competition was all about consistency. He had a clear mind and stayed consistent with entries. He focused on what he’s been doing in training, and his results tonight showed that”, Coach Garza stated. Brian fell in ninth place out of the twenty-one divers competing in the one-meter diving. Brian heads to the national meet with Meg Peel (’21) as representatives for Hope College. Grant and Sara have been named as alternates for the championship.