The Oakland University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have reached the end of their season and are looking forward to The Summit League Championships in February.

The Michigan USA Open runs Feb. 8 until Feb. 10 at the OU Aquatic Center. Oakland will also host The Summit League Championships Feb. 20-23.

“We think with both teams, with both the guys and the girls, we’re progressing,” head coach Pete Hovland said. “I think we’re getting better and better as we go along and hopefully we finish on a real positive note in February in The Summit League Championships.”

During this time, swimmers begin tapering. This is when exercise is reduced days before a major competition. For senior Anders Jensen, he’ll be doing things a bit differently.

“Pete and I have been talking about not tapering fully for Summits and getting ready for NCAA (Championships) because we think that we have a pretty good chance of going already,” Jensen said.

Making history

The men’s swimming team was ranked fourth in the Mid-Major poll — their highest ranking in program history. They are behind Princeton, Harvard and Eastern Michigan University.

“We’re real pleased with that,” Hovland said. “The men have good depth and good balance throughout the lineup through all the events.”

The women are currently ranked 23rd in the Mid-Major poll. Hovland sees some weaknesses but believes that come time for conference championships, they will be ready.

“In the dual meet you can be exposed if you’re weak in a particular event,” Hovland said. “That can really hurt you. But when you get to the conference championship it doesn’t matter. You’re taking your best 18 and you can put them wherever you want.”

The trifecta

Hovland credits junior Vanessza Balogh, senior Alyssa Busch and senior Sandra Czerska as main components of the women’s success.

“They are probably three of the best female swimmers in school history,” Hovland said. “They’re our leaders. The team goes how they go. They’re very important to our program.”

Busch points to the coaching staff as one of the reasons they have an edge over opponents.

“They’ve been here a long time and they know what they’re doing,” Busch said. “A lot of these programs are getting new coaches. Maybe they might not be used to how that coach trains, but we’re already set. We know where we’re going.”

Looking forward

Despite losing some of their best swimmers at the end of the season, Hovland is confident in the future of the team. The team announced in December that they signed 15 recruits.

“We had probably the best recruiting class in school history,” Hovland said. “We got a lot of our first choices. We’re really excited about the fall of next year. Though we’re losing some good ones, we’ve got some good ones to replace them. I think they’re positioned really well.”

Hovland said Oakland’s swimming and diving team does not compare financially to some of the bigger schools, but the program is on the right path.

“My goal while I’m still the coach here is to have the teams in the top 25 in the nation on a consistent basis,” Hovland said. “We’re definitely taking strides and we’re definitely heading in the right direction.”

Contact Sports Editor Lindsay Beaver via email at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @lindsaybeavs