During spring break, multiple Golden Grizzly teams were competing to gain position within various Horizon League championship races, with some teams wrapping up a championship season.

Swim & Dive

Both men’s and women’s swim and dive teams won the Horizon League Championship on Saturday, Feb. 16. Both teams won by large margins of victory to extend decade-long streaks of conference championships. The men’s team finished in first by a margin of 220.5 over the next closest school, Cleveland State University, who finished with 607.5 points. This conference championship made it 41 straight conference titles for Pete Hoveland and the men’s swim and dive team.

The women’s swim and dive team recorded 823 points in their 26th straight conference victory, scoring 155.5 more points than the next closest school, the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Jaguars. Susan LaGrand finished first in the 200 backstroke and was part of the relay team that broke a school and Horizon League record in the 400 freestyle relay race.

Women’s Basketball

The women’s basketball team hosted two home games over the past week, facing off against IUPUI and the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC). The Golden Grizzlies fell six points short of IUPUI, losing 76-70 in a game that was a battle the whole way through. Against UIC however, the team was able to turn it around and defeat a team they are battling for a postseason position.

The Flames entered this game at 1-14, and if they were able to defeat the Golden Grizzlies, would move into a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot. The women took care of business and defeated the Flames 74-57. Senior Taylor Jones led the team with 23 points and 14 rebounds, missing a triple-double by one assist as well. Junior Nikita Telesford was the only other Golden Grizzly in double figures, as she chipped in 13 points.

Softball

The season began on Friday, Feb. 15 for the softball team as they took on Loyola University in Chicago and Hartford in a double header. The Golden Grizzlies went 1-1 in these games, losing to Loyola 10-0 in a five inning mercy and defeating Hartford 7-4 at Brinkley Stadium in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Against Hartford, designated hitter Mikayela Marciniak and left fielder Shannon Carr led the team with two RBIs a piece. Marciniak scored the go-ahead runs for the Golden Grizzlies in the third inning when she knocked in two runs on a single, giving Oakland a 3-1 lead. Carr was able to stretch the lead twice, hitting two singles in the third and fifth innings that brought Brittney Miller home both times.

Starting pitcher Lauryn DeBono got the win, pitching five and two-thirds innings in which she allowed three earned runs, walked three batters and struck out five. Emily Karas was able to come in relief for DeBono in the sixth inning and hold on to the victory.