Valparaiso sits in sixth place in a field of nine teams after the first two events of the three-day Calvin Winter Invitational which began on Thursday evening in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The Crusaders tallied 14 points on day one, tied with Saint Mary’s (Ind.) in the overall standings.  GrandValley State leads with 142 points through two events.

Valpo opened the meet with a 10th place finish in the 800 freestyle relay.  Rachel Majercik (Schaumburg, Ill./Conant H.S.) led off with a 1:58.53 opening 200, a season’s best for the senior.  Laura Rickey (Monmouth, Ill./Monmouth-Roseville H.S.), Stephanie Ferschl (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago H.S.), and Kristy Shew (Terre Haute, Ind./North Vigo H.S.) then finished the race in a time of 8:04.61, a season’s best for the Brown and Gold.

Ferschl then turned in the Crusaders’ top time in the 1650 free, posting a mark of 18:55.90 to finish 18th  Katie Rader (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg H.S.) also swam the mile for the Brown and Gold, turning in a time of 21:01.83. overall.

Valparaiso will return to the water on Friday morning for the middle day of the weekend’s competition.  Preliminary heats begin at 9 a.m. CST with the finals slated for 5 p.m. CST.