CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. - The UIndy swimming and diving team completed an historic performance at the 2018 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships Saturday. The Greyhound men captured their first-ever conference title, while the women took runner-up honors, their highest placement at a conference meet in five years. All told, UIndy combined to set six GLVC records and horded five major awards, including sweeping the major honors on the men's side.
 

GLVC Women's Swimming & Diving Major Awards

Freshman of the Year: Natalie Galluzzo, TSU

Swimmer of the Year: Erica Dahlgren, So., DU

Diver of the Year: Cassie Kury, UIndy

Co-Coach of the Year: Jimmy Tierney, MCK & Brian Reynolds, DU

GLVC Men's Swimming & Diving Major Awards

Freshman of the Year: Hector Gomez Diez, UIndy

Swimmer of the Year: Rodrigo Codo Berti, UIndy

Diver of the Year: Josh Zylstra, UIndy

Coach of the Year: Jason Hite, UIndy

Spalding Individual Sportsmanship Nominees

Bellarmine – Luke Dobson, Olivia Hoskins

Drury – Dan Maynard, Hailey Hamlin

Indianapolis – Lucian Conner, Alexis Dobrzynski

Lewis – Ben Crnich, Kenzie Murphy

Maryville – Zac Suman, Mackenzie Jones

McKendree – Meredith Geyer, Macartney Motsinger

Missouri S&T – Stuart Mossop

Missouri-St. Louis – Alvaro Zaragoza, Merel Visser

Truman – Riley Olson, Loriel Hutchinson

William Jewell – Chris Davison, Molly Schoepp

Spalding Team Sportsmanship Winners

Women: William Jewell College

Co-Men: William Jewell College & McKendree

SATURDAY
Throughout the weekend, the Greyhounds have had outstanding performances throughout the teams. On the last day, things were no different. The Hounds kicked things off in the women's mile, as freshman Katie Thomas dropped almost seventeen seconds to get seventh overall on a 17:26.32 swim. Melanie Arnold then followed suit, as she claimed the fourth place spot on an outstanding time of 17:21.43. To lead the charge for the Greyhounds was Laura Boardman, who claimed another silver medal on the weekend, this time in a terrific 17:08.59.

The men followed up the ladies with two top eight finishes also, as Cody Liske dropped three seconds to touch the wall at a speedy 15:48.14 for eighth place. Adam Rosipal took the silver medal in the event, as his second place, 15:24.63 swim was less than a second away from obtaining the school record. Rosipal will get a chance again to break that record, come March.

The meet then moved to the women's 100 free, as the B-final included three different swimmers: Bry Nixon slamming a :53.41 for 16th place, Mary Niklarz placing 12th on a :52.48, & Stefanie Haholiades finishing 10th overall on her terrific :51.97. Soon after, the A-final came through with some hot races, as Malvina Shoukri continued a fantastic weekend, placing her :51.56 seventh overall. Krystal Caylor led the charge of all Hounds, rounding out her final individual event on a :50.86, second place finish.

The men placed high in the men's 100 free, with sophomore Ante Lucev slamming a fantastic :44.62 on a fifth place finish. Junior Guilherme Zavaneli not only led all Hounds, but also the entire event, as he gained the title of the fastest 100 freestyler in the GLVC with his winning time of :44.03. Zavaneli will now get a chance to swim the event again at Nationals, where he'll look to place in the top eight.

In the women's 200 back, junior Madeleine Leger rocked the B-final as she came in on a 2:05.19 touch, placing her ninth overall for the evening. Sophomore Danielle Wood qualified in the top eight in the morning, & she did nothing less than spectacular as she clocked in her race at a 2:03.47 for fourth overall.

For the men, the backstroke team continued to dominate, as all three entries qualified inside the top eight in the men's 200 back. Sophomore Jake Braumbaugh excelled even farther in his first GLVC meet, dropping a 1:49.02 for sixth place overall. Placing fourth overall was freshman Hector Gomez Diez, touching the wall at a quick 1:47.92. Rodrigo Codo Berti dominated for another GLVC medal, this time for gold, as he touched with a 1:45.31. Berti will also get a shot to medal at Nationals this March, as he has already qualified with an automatic cut.

The Hounds continued this year's excellence with the women's 200 breast, as two more ladies placed in the top eight overall. Christina Voskou battled through for a fantastic seventh place finish, hitting the wall at 2:23.67. Athina Konstantinidi showed again that she is one of the best breastrokers in division II, getting the silver medal on her 2:18.01 in her event.

In what arguably could be the best Greyhound event of the day, the men's 200 breast surprised everyone but the Hounds themselves. Junior George Oancea started things off in the B-final, jamming a 2:04.39 for 12th place in the event. In the A-Final, the Hounds featured FOUR different athletes, & here's how they resulted: David Salmon brought things together with an exceptional swim, touching the wall at 2:05.92 for eighth. Lucian Conner was right behind him, as he clocked in his time of 2:04.26, giving himself a seventh place finish. Jan Zuchowicz continued to excel in his freshman season, as he came to the wall in 2:01.56, throwing himself up to fourth in the event. Leading the Greyhounds was sophomore TJ LeSeure, as he gained a bronze medal in the event, tossing an outstanding 2:01.26.

In the final events of the day (& the weekend) the Greyhounds flew by the competition in the women's 400 free relay. The B-relay squad of Darian Murray, Alexis Dobrzynski, Laura Bem, & Bry Nixon dialed up a 3:32.25 on their 13th place finish. In the A-relay team of Krystal Caylor, Mary Niklarz, Stefanie Haholiades, & Malvina Shoukri show off their speed, hauling in an excellent 3:26.71 second place touch.

The men's 400 free relay showed similar success in the pool, as the big dawg B-lay came right at the competition, as Demetraikis Haholiades, Kyle Massengale, TJ LeSeure, & Chris Gurski fly in at a 3:06.84 for 14th overall. As the A-team came by & raced, Rodrigo Codo Berti, Victor Antonon Rodriguez, Ante Lucev, & Guilherme Zavaneli zoomed into a 2:57.55 finish, placing 1st overall. The race broke the current school record set in 2014, & it sets the Greyhounds up for an exceptional NCAA meet coming soon.

As awards commenced after the meet's conclusion, several awards were given out, as the men's team swept all awards. To start, Hector Gomez Diez proved to be an exceptional second-semester addition, as the he ran with the 2018 GLVC Male Freshman of the Year. Right after, Rodrigo Codo Berti was awarded the 2018 GLVC Male Swimmer of the Year. Finally, Jason Hite won the 2018 GLVC Men's Coach of the Year, his first of hopefully many to come.

The women's swimming & diving team finished the GLVC Championships second overall with 756.5 points, 101.5 points ahead of Truman State. Compared to last season, they Greyhounds placed third overall behind Truman State. This marks the highest conference finish since the 2012-2013 conference championships, where they got second overall. The Greyhounds' highest scorer was senior-captain Malvina Shoukri, who scored 57 points overall in her final GLVC Championship meet.

The men's swimming & diving team was crowned the 2018 GLVC Men's Champions! The Greyhounds scored 845 total points, 150 points ahead of rival Drury, & 270.5 points ahead of Missouri S&T. Last season, the Greyhounds placed third overall behind second-place Missouri S&T & first-place Drury. This marks the first time in the twenty-first century that Indianapolis has won a men's conference title. The highest scorer on the team was Rodrigo Codo Berti, who scored 75 points.

The Greyhounds will continue to prepare for Nationals in this upcoming March, as they highly anticipate the announcement of this year's qualification list. Before that, the Greyhounds will also participate in the Purdue Last Chance meet in West Lafayette, which they'll look to maybe improve some times to help better some individual's chances. That meet will commence on February 24th, & Nationals will be in late March.

FRIDAY
Cassie Kury got things started as she won the second diving event of the weekend, scoring 404.15 on the one-meter. Kury then ran away with the 2018 GLVC Female Diver of the Year, the first UIndy female diver to ever win the award. Josh Zylstra replied with a 490.2 point performance on the three-meter, taking the gold medal. Zylstra then was awarded his second consecutive GLVC Male Diver of the Year, a feat that has not been done since 2015. Freshman Laura Boardman excelled even farther, as she hit the wall at fourth overall on her 5:00.77 women's 500 free swim. As the men's 500 free came around next, & Adam Rosipal obtained yet another medal, this time silver on his time of 4:25.64. The women's 100 back featured a handful of Greyhounds, as Malvina Shoukri broke the school record with her swim of :56.65. Rodrigo Codo Berti stole the show for the men, as he clocked in his time at :48.02 for the gold medal. Onto the 100 breast, the women were led by Athina Konstantinidi, as she touched the wall in a speedy 1:02.7. The men had Jan Zuchowicz at the helm, as he broke into a silver medal, :54.35 fantastic swim. A gold medal was then given to sophomore Darian Murray, who finished at a 2:02.26 in the women's 200 Fly, a conference meet record. Hector Gomez Diez next had a tremendous swim in his 200 fly, as he obtained his B-cut in a 1:49.92 fashion. The women's 800 free relay was nothing less than thrilling, as Krystal Caylor, Mary Niklarz, Laura Boardman, & Malvina Shoukri touched at a 7:30.19, placing second overall in the event. The men replied with a race that proved to be just as exciting, as the squad of Adam Rosipal, Cody Liske, Hector Gomez Diez, & Guilherme Zavaneli obtained their bronze medal on their 6:36.42 time.

THURSDAY
On day two, the Greyhounds started nicely with a win on both boards for the day. Cassie Kury won the women's three-meter on a score of 409.35, while Josh Zylstra broke the GLVC meet record for men's one-meter with a score of 509.1. In the women's 200 free relay, Stefanie Haholiades, Sotia Neophytou, Veeanna Edwards, & Malvina Shoukri touched at a 1:34.8, finishing third in the event. The men finished fouth, as Victor Antonon Rodriguez, Demetrakis Haholiades, Jan Zuchowicz, & Ante Lucev swam a solid 1:21.99. The men's 400 IM featured Hector Gomez Diez, who broke the school record in the event as he clocked in a speedy 3:55.66. The women's 100 fly was led by Sotia Neophytou, who jumped up in a fourth place, :55.23 finish. Rodrigo Codo Berti dominated the men's event, posting a :48.33 on his 100 fly. Senior-captain Malvina Shoukri charged past as she claimed the second place medal, swimming an astounding 1:50.86 on the day. Guilherme Zavaneli also placed second overall in the men's 200 free, as he laid down a time of 1:35.25. Madeleine Leger, Athina Konstantinidi, Sotia Neophytou, & Krystal Caylor brought their A-game in the final women's event of the night, as the snagged another silver medal in the women's 400 medley relay, hitting with a time of 3:46.3. Rodrigo Codo Berti, Jan Zuchowicz, Ante Lucev, & Guilherme Zavaneli finished the final race of the night in 3:14.25, snagging the gold medal from the competition.

WEDNESDAY
The Greyhounds started hot as freshman Krystal Caylor re-broke her own record in the women's 200 IM, swimming a 2:02.53, while also placing second overall in the event. Following soon after was another record, this time from Rodrigo Codo Berti. In the men's 200 IM, Berti broke his own GLVC meet record in the event, posting a solid 1:47.81 in a gold medal finish. Stefanie Haholiades led all women in the 50 free, slamming a :23.56 for fourth place overall in the event. Guilherme Zavaneli also placed fourth on the men's side, having a terrific :20.41 in the event. The freshman took over in the 1000, as Laura Boardman snagged a bronze medal on a great 10:14.04 swim, as Adam Rosipal led the men to a bronze medal as he also claimed the school record in the 1000 free, swimming a 9:08.26. The 200 medley relay team of Madeleine Leger, Athina Konstantinidi, Sotia Neophytou, & Stefanie Haholiades cruised into second place as they nabbed a silver medal, getting a time of 1:43.17. The men followed suit, also snagging a silver medal on a time of 1:29.64. The relay consisted of Rodrigo Codo Berti, TJ LeSeure, Victor Antonon Rodriguez, & Jan Zuchowicz.