Hope swimming seniors end sensational careers with ninth place as team, runner-up relays

The Hope College swimming senior class has done special things in the water for the past four years, bringing the program to the highest point in decades. The Flying Dutch put a spectacular stamp on the seniors' careers with a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships that ended Saturday, March 21, in Indianapolis. The big performance was Greta Gidley's national championship in the 200 IM, but fellow seniors Laurel Wasiniak, Bella Turner, Katie Hermann and Madi Remenschneider all earned All-American honors as well.

The big wave was the Hope relays, finishing NCAA runner-up twice to lead Hope to its third top-10 finish in the past four years, something that hasn't happened in a quarter century. In the final event of the meet, senior Bella Turner (Chelsea), freshman Claudia Busse (Grand Haven), senior Laurel Wasiniak (Northville) and Gidley (Franklin) clocked a school-record swim of 3:20. 17 to match the program's best finish in the event at nationals.

More: Greta Gidley cements legacy with Hope's first swimming NCAA title in 25 years More: Hope title hunters Wasiniak, Gidley, Baldwin lead swim team to NCAAs More: Hope's greatest senior swim class aiming for spectacular finish to already stunning legacy The relay hung on eventual national champion New York University's heels before equaling Hope's 1998 national runner-up performance. NYU won in 3:28. 66.

"We felt the whole season like this could be a pretty special relay for us," Hope coach Jake Taber said. "That was an unbelievable way to end this season. " The Flying Dutch totaled 159 points over four days to finish in the Top-10 at the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons since 1999 and 2000.