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For the past two seasons, the depth of the Hillsdale College women's swimming and diving team has made it a force to be reckoned with at the G-MAC/MEC Championships.
The Chargers have claimed back-to-back titles in relatively comfortable fashion in both years, and now return to the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio on Wednesday for a four-day competition looking to make it three conference championships in a row with many of the same swimming stars from past titles leading the way.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference and its four teams that sponsor women's swimming compete for a shard championship with the seven teams that offer women's swimming in the Mountain East Conference, making for an 11-team field at this weekend's meet.
Hillsdale enters the meet after a season where it went 11-0 in duals, stretching a dual-meet winning streak to a program-best 15 straight, and in past years, the Chargers' depth across its lineup has made them a stronger invitational team than a dual-meet team.
This season, the Chargers enter the G-MAC/MEC Championships with much the same formula as past years – dominance in the distance events, strong relays and potential big point-scorers in virtually every contested event, outside of the two diving competitions.
Hillsdale can call on the strength of the defending G-MAC co-Women's Swimmer of the Year from 2021, Leah Tunney, in its lineup, as well as 2021 G-MAC Freshman of the Year Cecilia Guadalupi, multi-time G-MAC/MEC event champion Caroline Holmes and repeat first-team All-G-MAC swimmer Marie Taylor.
The Chargers also have multiple contenders to bring home the team's third-straight G-MAC Freshman of the Year award in a stellar class, as Elise Mason, Megan Clifford and Joanna Burnham are all seeded in the top three in multiple events and will play major roles in the team's title chase.
Hillsdale will have a fight on its hands on the path to a third straight crown, as two-time runner-up Findlay is looking to reclaim the title it last won in 2019. The Chargers beat the Oilers 141-77 in a dual meet earlier in the season, but Findlay didn't swim its full squad that day, and on paper, the Oilers have a lineup that can score enough points to mount a serious challenge for the team championship this week. Both teams will be score-watching right up through Saturday in what should be a tight race.
Spectators are welcome to attend this week's meet, though they will be allowed only in specific areas of the venue and are expected to comply with all local health and safety protocols concerning Covid-19. Tickets should be purchased online in advance at the link above. An all-session pass giving access to events on all four days of the meet costs $60, while you can buy single-session passes for $10 apiece.
All four days of the event also will be livestreamed on the Great Midwest Digital Network at the link above as well, if you can't make it to Canton to catch the action live.