MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – Strong performances by a flock of Eagles led the Eastern Michigan University women’s swimming and diving team to a 175-115 victory over Ball State University, Saturday, Oct. 31. Ten different Eagles recorded first place finishes for the Green and White while junior Carly Jackson (La Porte, Ind.-La Porte) registered two individual first place finishes on the day.
Eastern Michigan won the first 12 swimming events, jumpstarted by a sweep of the 200 Medley Relay. Claiming the top spot, junior Alexis Mitcheltree (Moon Twp., Pa.-Moon Area), Jackson, junior Genna Worthley (Portland, Maine-Deering), and senior Mary Kate MacLean(Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-Detroit Country Day) touched in with a time of 1:45.03, just ahead of the Eagles freshmen foursome. Michal Liberman (Rosh Haayin, Israel-Begin), Delaney Duncan (Galesburg, Ill.-Galesburg), Dora Vrcic, and Stephanie Johnston posted a second place finish while freshman Erika Guenther (Hudson, Wis.-Hudson), Emily Wimmer(Hammond, Ind.-Munster), Makenzie Garringer (Napoleon, Ohio-Napoleon), and Emilie Desnoyers rounded out the top-three.
The Green and White later added sweeps of the 200 Freestyle, 100 Free, and 200 Breaststroke. Grace Van Allen‘s (Indianapolis, Ind.-North Central) time of 1:54.99 led the field by nearly a second as Sierra Wagner (Huntsville, Texas-Huntsville) touched in with a time of 1:55.97 to take second. Freshman Nicole Swartz (Dayton, Ohio-Centerville) continued the impressive start to her collegiate career, clocking in at 1:57.66 to take third.
After taking second in the 200 Free, Wagner posted her first first-place finish of the season in the 100 Free, followed by MacLean and Desnoyers who took second and third, respectively.
Worthley paced the trio of Eagles in the 200 Breast, claiming first while Wimmer and Duncan posted times of 2:27.57 and 2:28.99, respectively.
Senior Becca Detro (Carmel, Ind.-Carmel) took part in the 1000 free for the first time this season, leading from the opening split to take home a first-place finish. Sophomore Rosalie Yockey (DeWitt, Mich.-DeWitt) finished on the heels of Detro, taking runner-up in the event.
After a sweep in the 200 Free, Mitcheltree and Liberman took first and third, respectively, in the 100 Backstroke. The win marked the second of the season for Mitcheltree in the event.
The Eagles continued their winning ways in the 100 Breastroke, claiming the top two spots. One week after tying in the event, Duncan bested Worthley by a second as the duo paced the field.
A few events after helping the Eagles to a first place finish in the 200 Medley Relay, Jackson added an individual win to her day. Touching in with a time of 2:05.35, Jackson claimed the top spot with senior Clarice Daniel (Belcamp, Md.) taking third. Jackson later added another individual win in the 500 Free, finishing ahead of Yockey who touched in with a time of 5:11.59 in second place.
The Eagles closed out their impressive 11-event win streak with one-two finishes in the 50 Free and 200 Back. MacLean led the way in the 50 Free, finishing just ahead of Johnston while Guenther shaved 16 seconds off her previous time in the 200 Back. Behind Guenther’s first place finish, the first win of her EMU career, junior Abby Aumiller (Canton, Mich.-Salem) took second.
On the springboard, sophomore Alli Shereda (Fraser, Mich.-Fraser) posted her second top-three finish of the season and first win, taking the top spot in the 1-meter dive with a score of 249.90.
With the meet in hand, the Eagles declined points in the final few events, taking the meet by a final score of 179-115.
“Quality depth is s key component of our success,” Head Coach Peter Linn said of his team’s all-around effort. “Not only because of the scoring system both in dual meets and the MAC championships but it also gives us great flexibility in situations where there is an illness or injury. The freshmen are growing in their roles but the entire team is making solid progress across the board. It’s still October so we want to keep building on our strengths and eliminating our weaknesses.”
The Green and White move to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in Mid-American Conference competition behind the total team effort. Next up for the Eagles is a break from MAC competition, as Eastern Michigan welcomes Oakland University to Jones Natatorium, Saturday, Nov. 7. The dual is slated to start at 1 p.m.
Swimming news courtesy of Eastern Michigan Swimming & Diving.
