Akron vs Ball State (W)
- Saturday, November 5, 2022
- Muncie, Ind.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
- Team Scores: Akron 159, Ball State 138
Courtesy: Akron Athletics
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Akron swimming and diving team trailed 113-110 after 12 events and finished strong to defeat Mid-American Conference foe Ball State 159-138 as the Zips moved to 2-1 in dual meets for the season and 2-0 against league opponents on Saturday at the Lewellen Aquatic Center.
The Cardinals won the first three events but couldn’t keep the Zips off the scoreboard as Akron claimed second and third in the 200-yard medley relay to open the meet. The Zips followed with a silver medal in the 1000-yard freestyle as senior Gail Workman stopped the timer at 10:24.34, and freshman Elle Couture added a bronzed medal in the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:54.72 time.
Junior Madelyn Gatrall secured the Zips first gold, winning the 100-yard backstroke with a 56.53 time and Akron proceeded to keep the meet close by claiming the second, third and fourth spots in the 100-yard breaststroke. Senior Andrea Fischer (1:05.69), sophomore Abigail Daniel (1:06.25) and senior Sara Bozso (1:06.92) touched the wall in succession, and the Zips proceeded to capture all available points in the 200-yard butterfly. Junior Astrid Halvoorsen (2:07.13) won the race followed by senior Alyssa Riker (2:07.73) and sophomore Kendall Craig (2:07.91).
After a silver and bronze performance by Gatrall (52.28) and Daniel (52.45) in the 100-yard freestyle, Akron won back-to-back events as senior Weronika Gorecka (2:02.54) won the 200-yard backstroke and junior Madeline Dyer (2:19.59) claimed first in the 200-yard breaststroke. Two events later, Daniel won the 100-yard butterfly (55.43), while sophomore Rebecca Reid (58.38), Craig (58.61) and junior Giovanna Cappabianca (59.97) swept the top three spots in the 100-yard individual medley.
Senior Paige Kalik won the 3-meter and 1-meter diving events with 315.82 and 273.30 points, respectively. In addition, Akron added silver medals in both diving events as sophomore Laurel Smith (244.72) was second in the 3-meter and freshman Elizabeth Noble (248.62) was runner-up on the 1-meter board.
Akron ended the meet with a runner-up finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:30.44).
Akron will be back in action on Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 17-19 at the Magnus Cup Invitational hosted by Cleveland State.
Courtesy: Ball State Athletics
MUNCIE, Ind. – – The Ball State women’s swimming & diving program gave defending Mid-American Conference Champion Akron all it could handle Saturday afternoon, leading 113-110 after 12 events at the Lewellen Aquatic Center.
Unfortunately, three straight event wins allowed the Zips (2-1; 2-0 MAC) to escape Muncie with a 159-138 victory.
The Cardinals (1-2; 0-2 MAC) would not go down quietly, however, countering with a nearly three second win in the 400 freestyle relay to punctuate a solid all-around team effort on the day. Combining for a time of 3:27.48 in the event were sophomore Gracey Payne, senior Apsara Sakbun, junior Marcella Ribeiro, and freshman Payton Kelly.
It was one of eight overall wins on the day for a Ball State squad which is continuing to build under fourth-year head coach J. Agnew.
“You know you’re swimming the defending MAC Champs; Akron is a great team,” Agnew said. “I was really impressed with how our athletes rose to the level of competition. They weren’t intimidated, they raced hard, and they believed they could win races, which they did.”
In addition to combining for the relay win to end the meet, the Cardinals dominated the freestyle events with Kelly winning the three sprint events and Ribeiro taking top billing in the two distance events.
Ribeiro followed a BSU 200 medley relay win to open the meet with a 13-second victory in the 1000 freestyle, clocking in at 10:24.34. Later, she led a 1-2 Ball State finish in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:03.03. That effort gave BSU a three-point edge after 12 events.
Meanwhile in the sprint freestyle events, Kelly would touch the wall first in the 200 (1:52.48), 50 (23.57), and 100 free (51.74).
“Payton and Marcella brought their “A” game today, that’s for sure.” Agnew continued. “They are training really strong, working incredibly hard, and it was really nice to see them stand out amongst great competition and get the win for the team.”
Ball State’s other individual win came in the 100 breaststroke, with senior Laura Wright earning a half-second win at 1:05.18. Wright also took second in the 200 breaststroke at 2:19.88, just 0.29 behind the race winner after mounting a furious comeback in the closing laps.
“We had a lot of really good contributions across the board,” Agnew added. “Laura Wright was in a couple great breaststroke battles. I thought everyone rallied together. Winning two relays was huge, that’s your best four against their best four, and it was nice to see us get the wins.”
It was not Wright’s only win on the day, however, as she combined with Shelby Crist, Hannah Jones and senior Apsara Sakbun, for a winning time of 1:44.43 in the meet’s opening relay which set the tone for the day.
Ball State swimming & diving returns to action next Friday (Nov. 11), with both the men and women competing in a 4 p.m. dual versus IUPUI at the IUPUI Natatorium.
COMPLETE BALL STATE RESULTS
200 Medley Relay
1. Shelby Crist, Laura Wright, Hannah Jones, Apsara Sakbun – 1:44.43
4. Lilia Newkirk, Kenzie Pierce, Eliza Bader, Gracey Payne – 1:48.45
5. Alyssa Messenger, Jenn Gillen, Sydney Dygert, MaKayla Miller – 1:51.02
1000 Freestyle
1. Marcella Ribeiro – 10:24.34
3. Callie Tuma – 10:40.72
5. Mary Kate Phillips – 11:00.13
200 Freestyle
1. Payton Kelly – 1:52.48
2. Kiran Stauffer – 1:53.43
5. Haley Sakbun – 1:56.55
EX. Emma Horton – 2:01.29
100 Backstroke
2. Hannah Jones – 57.52
3. Lilia Newkirk – 57.79
5. Shelby Crist – 58.86
EX. Alyssa Messenger – 59.81
EX. Eliza Bader – 1:01.51
100 Breaststroke
1. Laura Wright – 1:05.18
5. Kenzie Pierce – 1:07.88
6. Jenn Gillen – 1:09.15
EX. Neely Agnew – 1:10.99
50 Free
1. Payton Kelly – 23.57
2. Apsara Sakbun – 24.28
3. Gracey Payne – 24.45
EX. MaKayla Miller – 25.78
EX. Kayleigh Witt – 26.05
3M Diving
3. Maddy Hischer – 240.23
5. Ashleigh Provan – 224.40
100 Freestyle
1. Payton Kelly – 51.74
4. Apsara Sakbun – 52.68
5. Gracey Payne – 53.24
EX. Haley Sakbun – 52.96
EX. Kayleigh Witt – 56.07
EX. Emma Horton – 58.03
200 Backstroke
3. Alyssa Messenger – 2:07.81
4. Lilia Newkirk – 2:08.33
5. Alexa Arkenberg – 2:11.63
200 Breaststroke
2. Laura Wright – 2:19.88
5. Kenzie Pierce – 2:28.44
6. Jenn Gillen – 2:29.08
EX. Neely Agnew – 2:36.50
500 Freestyle
1. Marcella Ribeiro – 5:03.03
2. Kiran Stauffer – 5:07.72
5. Mary Kate Phillips – 5:14.90
100 Butterfly
2. Hannah Jones – 57.34
5. Eliza Bader – 59.06
6. Shelby Crist – 59.42
EX. Sydney Dygert – 1:00.71
EX. Callie Tuma – 1:01.37
1M Diving
2. Maddy Hischer – 244.42
5. Ashleigh Provan – 229.87
6. Hannah Justice – 222.30
100 IM
4. Sophia Kuehn – 1:01.80
5. Laura Wright – 1:02.61
6. Kayleigh Witt – 1:04.66
400 Freestyle Relay
1. Gracey Payne, Apsara Sakbun, Marcella Ribeiro, Payton Kelly – 3:27.48
3. Kiran Stauffer, Haley Sakbun, Mary Kate Phillips, Hannah Jones – 3:32.24
6. Eliza Bader, Alyssa Messenger, MaKayla Miller, Emma Horton – 3:42.84
