ALBION, Mich. – Brad Melpolder and Austin Bateman won the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke, respectively, in the first half of the meet and it set the tone for Albion College to achieve a 168-125 victory over Hope College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association men's swimming & diving dual meet inside the Dean Aquatic Center.
"One of the things I outlined with the captains was how I thought this was going to be a close meet," Albion Coach Jake Taber said. "I didn't know if we could win any of the first five events. Brad and Austin won those two and it set the tone."
Melpolder added a first-place finish in the 500 freestyle and he and Bateman joined Derek Bosko and Brian Fiorillo on the winning 400 freestyle relay. Fiorillo also sprinted past the field in the 50 freestyle.
Albion also received a boost when Mike Crinion won both diving events.
"Mike came to me last spring and asked if he could dive even though he had never done it before," Taber said. "He spent the summer watching You Tube videos and, lo and behold, he knew how to dive. He is a wonderful addition to the team."
Another good addition to the team has been first-year swimmer Andrew Mattson, who won the 200 butterfly, 200 breaststroke and 400 individual medley.
"A.J. is a workhorse," Taber said. "He completes a collegiate team because he swims the long individual medley and distance freestyle events. He has a great attitude with four good strokes."
Adding to Albion's score were Bosko in the sprint freestyle events (second in the 100 and third in the 50), Blake Blair with second-place performances in the distance freestyle events, Josh Boren with a second-place finish in the 200 butterfly and a third-place showing in the 200 freestyle, Nick Deppner with a runner-up finish in the 100 backstroke and a third-place performance in the 100 butterfly, Charlie Shinske with a runner-up finish in the 200 backstroke, David Huggins with a second-place finish in 3-meter diving, and Landon Lefler with a third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke.
The outcome was important to the Albion squad that checked in at No. 20 in the Division III rankings this week.
"The ranking provided a shot in the arm," Taber said. "The men were into the meet and it made it easier to give more. We weren't particularly fast, but we raced well."
Albion will complete the dual meet portion of the season Feb. 1 with a competition at Olivet College.
