GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its weekly awards following the ninth week of competition of the 2025-26 swimming & diving season. Three Northern Michigan athletes earned honors -- freshman Matteo Ballardin (men's swimming), senior Tobie Stiles (men's diving) and junior Kalina Ceglinski (women's diving) -- while Grand Valley State senior Lucy Hedley was named GLIAC Women's Swimmer of the Week.
MEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK: Matteo Ballardin, Northern Michigan
A freshman from Venice, Italy, the first-year swimmer led the men’s team with 96 points this past weekend, competing in six events over the three-day meet en route to earning his first GLIAC weekly honor of the season. Ballardin earned gold in all of his events as an individual, qualifying for the A finals during the morning sessions before finishing first in the 200 IM on Thursday, 400 IM on Friday, and the 200 Fly on Saturday. Ballardin also aided three relays: swimming back for the seventh-place 400 medley NMU B team, fly for the ninth-place 200 medley NMU B team, and leading off for the third-place 800 free relay team. At the time of writing, Ballardin is fifth in the GLIAC in overall points earned and holds the third-fastest and fifth-fastest times in the 200 IM (1:45.63) and 200 fly (1:45.48), with both of those times posted this weekend.
WOMEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK: Lucy Hedley, Grand Valley State
Lucy Hedley wrapped up a three-day swim meet this past weekend at the Calvin Winter Invite. Hedley was part of the 200-yard freestyle relay that took second place with a time of 1:31.93, and she won the 500 freestyle in 4:49.37. She also competed on the 400 medley relay that placed second in 3:43.88 and was a member of the 200 medley relay that finished in 1:42.09. Hedley grabbed first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:47.58 and also won the 100 freestyle in 50.04. She capped the weekend as a member of the 400-yard freestyle relay that broke the school record with a winning time of 3:21.34.
MEN'S DIVER OF THE WEEK: Tobie Stiles, Northern Michigan
A senior All-American from Lindstrom, Minnesota, Stiles earned his team the full 64 points over four events to earn his second weekly honor of the season. Stiles began his weekend on Friday, competing in the 3-meter diving prelims in the morning and finals in the evening. Stiles won the morning session, posting a score of 467.25, before claiming gold in the evening session with his score of 486.20. The 1-meter diving was next, and it was more of the same from the senior, as he finished first in the morning session with his total of 471.55 points, and first in the evening with a score of 489.60. Both of his finals scores on the 1-meter and 3-meter are the top marks in the GLIAC, and both rank 7th nationally.
WOMEN'S DIVER OF THE WEEK: Kalina Ceglinski, Northern Michigan
A junior All-American from Elmhurst, Illinois, Ceglinski had another strong week on the boards, earning 60 points for her team en route to her fourth GLIAC weekly honor of the season. Her weekend started with the 1-meter diving on Friday; while results are currently not available from the morning session, she earned gold in the evening session, earning a score of 444.15 and outperforming the second-place by nearly 23 points. Ceglinski had another impressive day on Saturday, where she finished second in the morning session with a 408.80 before turning in a score of 436.40 in the afternoon, finishing second in both sessions. Ceglinski’s score in the 1-meter is currently the best in the conference and fifth in the nation, and her score in the 3-meter is second in the conference and eighth in the nation.
