GVSU holds Celebration of Women in Sport

Grand Valley State held its annual Celebration of Women in Sport on Jan. 31 at halftime of the women’s basketball game against Hillsdale. The event was put together by the athletics department, Student Life Sports, the alumni department and the Women’s Center. Three former GVSU standouts, Kim Hansen, Doug Woods and Courtney Jones, were honored at the event.

Hansen was the first Laker to be drafted by a professional basketball team when she was selected by the San Francisco Pioneers, after graduating in 1980. Woods is the former head athletic trainer at GVSU, as well as the varsity softball coach for 24 years. Because of him, GVSU was the first college in Michigan to have women on the football team’s training staff. Jones, a 2014 graduate, was a member of GVSU’s triathlon club. She went on to compete at the Triathlon World Championships for Team USA.

The GVSU women’s basketball team capped off the day with a 63-42 win over Hillsdale, and a reception was held after the game.

Postmus named GLIAC swimmer of the week

Grand Valley State sophomore swimmer Sam Postmus was named the GLIAC Swimmer of the Week after a stellar performance against Findlay on Jan. 23.

Postmus broke the school record for the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:52.37, beating out the previous mark of 1:53.76. Postmus wasn’t done, and broke another school record in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:06.09. She also won the 100 freestyle with a :54.19 mark. GVSU’s women’s team won the meet 208-81, and the men won 210-80.

GVSU football named top program

Grand Valley State has been named the top football program in the state of Michigan by HERO Sports, an online publication. HERO ranked all 671 programs across the country across four divisions based on a number of different criteria. They announced the top program for each state, and ranked all programs nationally. GVSU was ranked ninth among all the programs ranked first in each state.

The Lakers are the all-time winningest program in Division II history. They’ve won four championships since 2001, and have posted an overall record of 172-28 during that span. The Lakers are coming off of a season that included a national semifinal appearance, in which they lost to Shepherd, 34-32.

Club sailing hits milestone

The Grand Valley State sailing club recently celebrated its three-year anniversary, and competed at the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association Midwinters Conference over the weekend. The Lakers were also approved to move up from associate to provisional status, a significant promotion in club sailing. GVSU will also host the MCSA Fall Championship, along with two other regattas, this semester.