This last Friday, Nov. 8, Oakland University’s swim and dive team traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the University of Michigan (U-M). This meeting marked the 20th time that the two schools have faced off, with the last competition taking place during the 2022-23 season — where Oakland recorded a loss.
Unfortunately, for the Golden Grizzlies, their record against the Wolverines continued to fall this year after a 92-202 loss in favor of the Wolverines. Both the men’s and women’s teams lost with the same score.
The event kicked off with the 200-medley relay. The Wolverine women’s team dominated the event, with all three of their relay squads coming in first, second and third. Oakland’s A-team of freshman Grace Albrecht, junior Isabella Gary, senior Jordyn Shipps and fifth-year Ronja Riihinen finished in fourth.
The result was no better for the men, as the Wolverines earned the top three finishes again. The men’s A-team was comprised of juniors Harry Nicholson, Christopher Palvadre, Micah Scheffer and Charles Brown.
Next came the 1650 free. Again, Michigan’s swimmers came out on top, earning the top four finishes in both the women’s and men’s races. Freshman Kelley Hassett and senior Karel Subagyo came in fifth place for OU in their respective races.
The Golden Grizzlies wouldn’t beat a Michigan swimmer until the men’s 200 free, where senior Jonas Cantrell and sophomore Joey Countryman earned fourth and fifth over U-M’s Matthew Kroll in sixth. It took until the eighth event, the men’s 100 back, for an Oakland swimmer to finish in the top three. Nicholson narrowly missed out on first, only 0.33 seconds behind the first-place swimmer.
In the women’s 100 breast, they found similar success. Oakland placed third through sixth, highlighted by Gary in third place. Standout Shipps earned a second-place finish in the women’s 200 fly.
Both 50 frees were dominated by the Wolverines, securing the top three spots in both the men’s and women’s races. The same rang true for the 1-meter dives as Michigan again held the podium.
In the women’s 100 free, the Golden Grizzlies stood tall and had perhaps their best event of the afternoon, capturing places second through fifth. Riihinen led the way at 52.47 seconds, trailing Michigan’s Christey Liang at 50.5 seconds. Senior Sam Thiessen earned third for OU. The men repeated this success, also finishing second through fifth. Scheffer and Countryman came up at second and third.
This pattern of second through fifth-place finishes continued for the next eight races. It was a remarkable showing of depth and talent for the Golden Grizzlies. Still, there was always one Michigan swimmer in each race just a bit ahead of the pack.
Freshmen Albrecht had a spectacular day; she finished second in the 200 back. Gary also earned another podium finish, getting second in the 200 breast. Hassett impressed with a second-place finish in the 500 free, and Subagyo kept up a great year with a second-place finish in the men’s 500 free.
In the women’s 3-meter dive, senior diver Ellie Chalifoux fell just short of second place, only 1.2 points behind U of M’s second-place diver. No Golden Grizzly diver for the men finished inside the top six for either event.
Oakland swimmers dominated the 200 individual medley race but failed to capture first place again, settling for second through fifth finishes. Junior Mia Englender and graduate student Jack Wike earned second for the women and men, respectively.
The black and gold relay teams had a much stronger showing in the 400 free than in the 200 medley relay. Oakland again captured second through fifth place in the women’s event, led by the A-team of Riihinen, Albrecht, Thiessen and Shipps. The men took second through fourth place, with the A-team featuring Nicholson, Brown, Cantrell and Scheffer.
All in all, the score reflected the Golden Grizzlies’ failure to secure first-place finishes and U-M’s domination in diving, the medley relays, 1650 frees, and the 200 frees. There is still much to be proud of in this race; Oakland’s depth was on full display in the event’s second half.
The men’s and women’s teams rebounded nicely the next day, Saturday, Nov. 9, with victories over Grand Valley State University. The swim and dive team’s next matchup will be against Miami University on the road on Saturday, Nov. 6.
