he Hope College men's swimming team maximized its opportunities in finishing among the nation's elite NCAA Division III programs.

he Hope College men's swimming team maximized its opportunities in finishing among the nation's elite NCAA Division III programs.

Coach John Patnott's Flying Dutchmen finished fourth in the 51-team field at the national championship meet which concluded Saturday (March 17) in Buffalo, N.Y.

The Hope delegation of seven swimmers headed to New York with 17 opportunities to place in 13 events. The Dutchmen returned to campus having scored points in all 13 events gaining All-America or honorable mention All-America designations in 16 of their 17 opportunities.

The Flying Dutchmen had 10 All-America performances, five in individual events and five in relays highlighted by junior Josh Boss of Jenison, Mich. (Jenison HS) who was voted the NCAA Division III swimmer of the year after he captured national championships in two events and swam on three All-America relay teams.

Boss, who competed in the U.S. Olympic trials last summer, captured the gold medal in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke.

He won the 200-yard breaststroke for a third consecutive year, setting a Division III record of 1:58.90. He established the previous mark (2:00.53) as a freshman in 1999.

He won the 100-yard breaststroke (:54.70) for the second time in his career. He was one-hundredth of a second off the Division III record (:54.69) he set in 1999.

Boss has been an NCAA All-American 13 times in his career, six as an individual and seven times in relays.

Other All-America performances by Hope swimmers were sophomore Tim DeHaan of Haslett, sixth in the 50-yard freestyle (:21.00) and eighth in the 100-yard freestyle (:47.06) and sophomore Brian Slagh of Holland, seventh in the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.28).

The Flying Dutchmen were second in the 400-yard medley relay (3:22.68), third in the 200-yard medley relay (1:32.26) and 400-yard freestyle relay (3:04.92), fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:23.91), and fifth in the 800-yard freestyle relay (6:53.46). Joining Boss, DeHaan and Slagh on the relay teams were senior Chris Dattels of Wilmette, Ill., freshman Chris Hamstra of Zeeland, sophomore Ian Kobes of Holland and senior Scott Vroegindewey of Portage. Dattels was an NCAA All-American all four years.

Backstrokers Chris Dattels and Ian Kobes each achieved honorable mention All-America designation twice. Dattels finished 11th in the 100 (4:35.39) and 12th in the 200 (1:54.17) while Kobes was 14th in the 200 (1:54.47) and 16th in the 100 (:53.38).

Brian Slagh counted points in two freestyle events, finishing 11th in the 500 (4:35.39) and 13th in the 100 (:46.76).

Hope's fourth place team total of 257 points was its third highest in school history surpassed only by the third place team in 1993 (335 points) and the second place squad of 1995 (295 points). The Flying Dutchmen have finished in the top ten nationally 11 of the last 12 years.

In 20 seasons, Patnott has coached Hope swimmers (men and women) to 28 national championships. A total of 100 swimmers and divers in the men's and women's programs have achieved NCAA All-America status.

Hope College Performances at NCAA Division IIIMen's Swimming & Diving Championships Thursday-Saturday, March 15-17 - Buffalo, N.Y.

TEAM SCORE
4. Hope, 257 points

ALL-AMERICA PERFORMANCES

100-YARD BREASTSTROKE
Josh Boss, 1st place, :54.70

200-YARD BREASTSTROKE
Josh Boss, 1st place, 1:58.90 (DIII record)

400-YARD MEDLEY RELAY
2nd place (Ian Kobes, Chris Dattels, Josh Boss, Tim DeHaan), 3:22.68

200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY
3rd place (Ian Kobes, Chris Dattels, Josh Boss, Tim DeHaan), 1:32.26

400-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY
3rd place (Brian Slagh, Chris Hamstra, Scott Vroegindewey, Tim DeHaan), 3:04.92

200-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY
4th place (Scott Vroegindewey, Josh Boss, Chris Hamstra, Tim DeHaan), 1:23.91

800-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY
5th place (Brian Slagh, Chris Hamstra, Tim DeHaan, Chris Dattels), 6:53.46

50-YARD FREESTYLE
Tim DeHaan, 6th place, :21.00

200-YARD FREESTYLE
Brian Slagh, 7th place, 1:42.28

100-YARD FREESTYLE
Tim DeHaan, 8th place, :47.06

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICA PERFORMANCES

500-YARD FREESTYLE
Brian Slagh, 11th place, 4:35.39

100-YARD BACKSTROKE
Chris Dattels, 11th place, :52.19

200-YARD BACKSTROKE
Chris Dattels, 12th place, 1:54.17

100-YARD FREESTYLE
Brian Slagh, 13th place, :46.76

200-YARD BACKSTROKE
Ian Kobes, 14th place, 1:54.47

100-YARD BACKSTROKE
Ian Kobes, Hope, 16th place, :53.38

OTHER PERFORMANCES

100-YARD FREESTYLE
Scott Vroegindewey, 25th place, :47.10

HOPE COMPETITORS AT NATIONALS
Joshua Boss (Junior from Jenison/Jenison HS)
Chris Dattels (Senior from Wilmette, Ill./New Trier HS)
Tim DeHaan (Sophomore from Haslett/Haslett HS)
Chris Hamstra (Freshman from Zeeland/Zeeland HS)
Ian Kobes (Sophomore from Holland/Holland HS)
Brian Slagh (Sophomore from Holland/Zeeland HS)
Scott Vroegindewey, Hope (Senior from Kalamazoo/Portage Central HS)