ROCHESTER — It was only fitting that the Farmington Hills Mercy girls swimming & diving team jumped into the deep end of the Oakland University pool after repeating as Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Saturday.

That's because it was the depth of the team that propelled the Marlins to a dominating performance.

“There was no pressure on us at all,” coach Mike Venos said. “Just go take care of your own business and no matter what, we’re going to walk out of here successful.”

The Marlins won celebrated winners in two relays and an individual race. And when they didn’t finish first, they were placing, finishing with 375.5 points, well ahead of second-place Grosse Pointe South (255) and third-place Birmingham Seaholm (244).

“The thing I love about Mercy is that it’s a true team effort,” Venos said. “We scored multiple girls in almost every event. We do this as a team.”

If there was a surprise, Venos said, it came from sophomore Campbell Shore, who won the 100-yard freestyle in 51.41 seconds. She entered the weekend with the fourth-fastest seed time in that race.

“Winning that was great,” he said. 

The Marlins’ total was 50 points better than last year’s, easily holding off any challenges.

For Grosse Pointe South, it regardless was a school-record performance for a team that missed a chance to add to its total due to a disqualification in the 400 freestyle relay.

But South coach John Fodell didn’t dwell on what might have been.

“We had a little bump in the road (Friday) with the DQ, but today the team came together and really swam to get second, and they really battled for that,” he said.

It marked a leap forward for South, which finished fifth last year.

“We started off the meet by winning the medley relay, which was huge,” Fodell said. ‘Whitney (Handwork) won the 50 free (23.71) and Caroline (Bryan) won the butterfly (54.92). So those were nice things that got the motivation going.”

“We came in knowing it was going to be a battle for second, so we were really focused on that,” Handwork said.

Fenton’s Tess Heavner repeated as a double champion, setting a school record and earning All-America status in the individual medley (2:01.07) and also earning All-America in winning the backstroke (54.61).

”The backstroke was the finishing touch, because I had to wait for a long time in between (events),” she said, “I was happy I was able to keep it up and finish strong in that. I really like the IM and the backstroke. They kind of stress me out, but they're probably two of my favorite events.”

Several younger athletes joined Bryan in impressing. Freshmen Aubrey Yarker of Hastings (diving) and Amelia Malarz of Midland Dow (breaststroke) also won individual titles. Ann  Arbor Skyline sophomore Adrienne Schadler earned All-America consideration in winning the 500 freestyle (4:54.41) and All-America recognition in winning the 200 freestyle (1:48.79).

But Mercy also served notice that it will be reckoned with in 2025, with just three seniors on this year’s roster. 

But that’s a long way off.

One of those Mercy seniors, captain Katie Schwab, tried to articulate how it felt to repeat.

“That feeling is just indescribable,” she said. ‘Like the energy that was here today. It’s more than words can describe, and my heart is just so full being a part of this team.

“We have a really good, strong team, and we're going to be really strong for the next couple of years," she added. "I’m really excited to see where this team goes.”

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PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy’s Avery Tack swims to a runner-up finish in the 200 individual medley Saturday at Oakland University. (Middle) Grosse Pointe South’s Caroline Bryan powers to the championship in the butterfly. (Below) Skyline’s Adrienne Schadler swims to one of her two individual titles. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)