March 13, 2003

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State junior Brandon Deters placed second in the 50 freestyle in the first day of competition at the NCAA National Swimming and Diving Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Deters entered the heat with the second fastest time in the preliminaries and held onto the spot with a time of 20.33 to earn All-American honors in his first season at GVSU. GVSU sophomore Ben Raap finished 10th in the 3-meter diving competition with a score of 361.10. The Laker men currently sit in 12th place with 24 points.

Deters holds the Grand Valley and GLIAC records for the 50 and 100 freestyle. Deters will compete in the 100 free competition in the championships on Saturday, March 15. It is the second straight top ten finish for Raap in the 3-meter competition at Nationals after placing 8th a year ago.

Katy Ballantine and Rachell Terpstra will compete for the Lakers on the women's side in the diving events. The women's one meter diving will be on Thursday, March 13, while the three meter is on Saturday, March 15.