EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the first time since the league began sponsoring the sport in 2013-14, the UIndy Greyhounds won both the men's and women's titles at the GLVC Swimming & Diving Championships. The annual conference meet was held at Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, Ind.
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The Greyhounds racked up a combined 26 gold medals in 42 events, while hoarding six of the league's eight major individual awards. Junior
Jeremias Pock generated the two biggest highs of the week, setting NCAA Division II records in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke races.
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GLVC MAJOR WOMEN'S AWARDS
Swimmer of the Year: Justice Beard, UMSL
Diver of the Year:
Megan Sunderman, UIndy
Freshman of the Year:
Valentina Masella, UIndy
Coach of the Year: Tony Hernandez, UMSL
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GLVC MAJOR MEN'S AWARDS
Swimmer of the Year:
Jeremias Pock, UIndy
Diver of the Year:
Donovan McMahon, UIndy
Freshman of the Year:
Jan Schmidt, UIndy
Coach of the Year:
Brent Noble, UIndy
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In addition, one student-athlete from each team garnered the GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award, with
Sydney Alamein and
Swann Plaza earning the honors for UIndy.
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The team results netted the UIndy women their second GLVC title in the last four years and the Greyhound men their sixth GLVC championship overall. The women had a particularly strong finish, leapfrogging Drury University on Friday night and holding off the swimming powerhouse on the final day to earn the championship.
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FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (top 4 only)
|
WOMEN |
PTS |
|
|
MEN |
PTS |
| 1. |
UIndy |
1882 |
|
1. |
UIndy |
1853.5 |
| 2. |
Drury |
1850 |
|
2. |
Drury |
1632 |
| 3. |
UMSL |
918 |
|
3. |
McKendree |
1365 |
| 4. |
Lewis |
843.5 |
|
4. |
S&T |
801 |
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FUN FACT
A truly international event, 53 countries were represented at the GLVC Championships.
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SATURDAY
On his way to GLVC Swimmer of the Year accolades, Pock capped an incredible week with his second DII record in as many days. The German sensation won the 200-yard breaststroke by nearly six full seconds, snatching his fourth individual gold medal in as many nights and all but clinching the league's swimmer of the year accolades.
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Celina Schmidt made a serious bid for the women's top swimmer award, winning her fourth individual gold as well. The Berlin, Germany product won the 200 breast on Saturday after capturing gold in the 100 breast and both the 200 and 400 IM races earlier in the week.
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Schmidt led a quartet of Hounds in the 200 breast final. UIndy scored big in the race—and possibly clinched the team title—after
Caprice Schlueter (4th),
Bruna Bussmann (6th) and
Elisa Funes (7th) piled on the points.
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Freshman
Valentina Masella sealed top rookie honors after a gold-medal swim in the 200 backstroke. She recorded her first sub-two-minute time in the event, with her 1:58.06 moving her into fourth in the UIndy annals.
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Kirabo Namutebi reasserted herself as the top sprinter in the league with a winning time of 49.94 in the 100 free. She won a hard-fought battle down the stretch versus Drury's Ashlyn Moore, out-touching her by just 18 hundredths to claim back-to-back 100 titles—part of five combined 50 and 100 crowns in the last three GLVC meets.
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Like the women's 200 breast, the Hounds racked up a ton of points in the women's 100 free.
Hanna Burke,
Jasmin Hoffmann and
Caroline Reinke finished 6-7-8, supplementing Namutebi's gold-medal score.
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Senior
Swann Plaza started the evening with another display of distance dominance. Plaza bested the 1650 field by 27 seconds with his winning time of 15:10.34. He also claimed victory in the 500 and 1000 earlier in hte week, while tacking on a bronze in the 200 free for good measure.
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Led by bronze medalist
Silas Buessing, the Greyhound men made up half of the 200 back final, racking up an even 100 points.
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Donovan McMahon won the fourth diving gold of the week for the Hounds. After
Megan Sunderman completed a diving sweep on the women's side yesterday, McMahon followed suit with an impressive win on the 3-meter. He racked up 603.20 points to outpace Drury's top diver by nearly 40 points. Three Greyhounds followed in places three through five, including bronze medalist
Randy Balbuena.
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The Greyhound 400 freestyle relay teams capped the lengthy meet with two more podium finishes. The women's squad of
Valentina Masella,
Hanna Burke,
Jasmin Hoffmann and
Kirabo Namutebi earned the silver; while the men's quartet of
Zachary Anthony,
Jan Schmidt,
Harrison Andoko and
Swann Plaza took bronze.
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FRIDAY
Pock broke off a 51.58 in the 100 breast, not only setting UIndy and GLVC records but also generating the fastest time ever by a DII athlete. The Nuremberg, Germany native won the race by a second and a half to secure his fifth gold medal of the week.
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The UIndy women amassed eight top-three finishes Friday, including four gold medals.
Megan Sunderman earned the first gold of the day and second of her week, topping the field in the 1-meter diving event. Two days after winning gold on the 3-meter, Sunderman scored 450.90 points on the low board to make it a sweep. She was followed by teammate
Abby Sneed, who edged Drury's Madison Rogers by seven-tenths of a point to secure silver.
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UIndy took the top two spots in the women's 100 fly, with freshman
Valentina Masella earning her first individual gold with a 54.95—28 hundredths faster than teammate and silver-medalist
Caroline Reinke.
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Celina Schmidt continued her incredible week, topping a host of Greyhounds to win the 100 breast final. She shaved a 10th of a second off her previous best with a time of 1:00.49, securing her third individual gold of the week and fifth overall.
Megan Gregory earned the bronze medal in the event, followed by
Caprice Schlueter in fifth,
Elisa Funes in seventh and
Kirabo Namutebi in eighth.
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Swann Plaza continued his success in the distance races. He won the 1000 free on Thursday and added 500 gold on Friday, with his time of 4:18.79 out-pacing second place by just a half second.
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The evening once again ended with relay finals, this time with the exciting 200 free relay. The UIndy women made it three relay golds in as many nights, with the team of Namutebi,
Addisyn Newman,
Jasmin Hoffmann and Reinke combining for a winning time of 1:30.88.
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The men's relay followed, with the Hounds taking silver. Anthony,
Johann-Matthew Matamoro, Noe and Pock finishing with a 1:19.05 to earn a lofty spot on the podium.
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Jokubas Jankauskas led a trio of Hounds in the men's 100 back final, sharing third with a personal-best 48.14.
Hanna Burke also took home the bronze in the 200 fly, and
Lillie Arps finished fifth in the 500 free.
Zachary Anthony took seventh in the men's 200 fly, while
Silas Buessing and
Elias Noe went 1-2 in the consolation final.
THURSDAY
The UIndy men rocketed up the standings on day three, turning a 37-point deficit into a triple-digit lead. The men won all five of their events, bookended by gold-medal performances on the 1-meter board and in the 400 free relay.
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The men's relay race highlighted the action as the only record breaker of the evening. Following a close win by the UIndy women's team of
Caroline Reinke,
Celina Schmidt,
Caprice Schlueter and
Kirabo Namutebi, the men's group—
Jokubas Jankauskas,
Jeremias Pock,
Elias Noe and
Zachary Anthony—combined for a 3:07.90, resetting the top time in both the UIndy and GLVC record books while also positioning them as the fastest quartet in DII.
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Both Schmidt and Pock captured their second individual gold in as many days, sweeping the 400 IM for the Hounds. The men's podium was particularly crowded, as
Silas Buessing (silver) and
Nico Basten (bronze) joined Pock at the top.
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Schlueter led a parade of Greyhounds in the women's 100 butterfly. The German rookie took gold with a time of 54.52, with three other Hounds finishing in the top seven and a total of seven in the top 14.
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Elias Noe followed with a victory in the men's 100 fly, out-touching McKendree's Daniel de Oliveira by three hundredths.
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Freshman
Donovan McMahon made a splash in his first conference meet, winning gold in the 1-meter diving event. His 592.65 points topped teammate and silver medalist
Adam Carr, while fellow-Greyhounds
Randy Balbuena and
Eliot Riem placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
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Swann Plaza added a bronze medal in the 200 free, while Dani Sita placed fourth in the 100 fly.
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WEDNESDAY
UIndy crafted a number of impressive performances on the day. Junior diver
Megan Sunderman got the ball rolling with a gold-medal performance on the 3-meter board. It marked the first career conference gold for Sunderman and the eighth in the last nine years for Hounds in the event.
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Later in the lap pool,
Jeremias Pock delivered one of the more impressive swims of the night, setting both school and conference records in the 200 IM. His gold-medal time of 1:43.63 was good for the fastest time in Division II all year.
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Senior distance standout
Swann Plaza also wrote his name in the record books. His 1000 free victory yielded a conference-record time of 8:53.72, topping all DII student-athletes this season.
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On the women's side,
Kirabo Namutebi captured her third consecutive GLVC gold medal in the 50 free. The accomplished sprinted touched the wall in 22.20 seconds, resetting the league record and keeping her name at the top of the DII ranks.
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Graduate-student
Celina Schmidt added to her decorated career with a win in the 200 IM, leading a quartet of Hounds in the top nine.
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Zachary Anthony shared the silver medal in the men's 50 free with a 19.93,
Sydney Alamein and
Jan Schmidt placed fourth in their respective 1000 free races, and
Silas Buessing (5th) and
Nico Basten (7th) racked up significant points in the men's 200 IM final.
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The Greyhound capped the fruitful evening by sweeping gold in the 200 medley relay. The women's team of
Valentina Masella, Schmidt,
Caprice Schlueter and Namutebi combined for a winning time of 1:40.08; while the men's quartet of
Camille Trinquesse, Pock,
Elias Noe and
Johann-Matthew Matamoro touched first with a 1:25.54.
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TUESDAY
The 2026Â GLVC Swimming & Diving Championships got underway Tuesday night at Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, Ind. With only the 800 freestyle relay on the docket, the UIndy secured a pair of medals and a school record in the two events.
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The men's team of
Jan Schmidt,
Harrison Andoko,
Jokubas Jankauskas and
Swann Plaza combined for a time of 6:26.61, resetting the program record by more than a second while also netting a bronze medal. Â The Greyhounds women won the silver, with the quartet of
Valentina Masella,
Lillie Arps.
Celina Schmidt and
Caroline Reinke combining for a 7:26.12. The women hit an NCAA B cut while the men improved their provisional status.
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The Greyhound B teams also contributed to the cause. The men's team of
Nico Basten,
William Pettifer,
Camille Trinquesse and
Silas Buessing won their heat with a 6:37.51, good for the fourth-fastest time of the evening. The UIndy women's B team of
Hanna Burke,
Malaika Claudic,
Sydney Alamein and
Dana Dominguez took the runner-up spot in their initial heat.
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