The Eastern Michigan women came up with a victory over Akron this past weekend, claiming a 158-142 win. EMU’s Grace Van Allen contributed with 3 individual wins to push the team to a win.
EMU:
AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Winning 10 events, the Eastern Michigan University women’s swimming and diving team topped the University of Akron, 158-142, on the road, Saturday, Jan. 23. The Eagles (5-1, 3-0 MAC) won both relays while junior Grace Van Allen(Indianapolis, Ind.-North Central) added three individual top-three finishes. The victory marked the 250th dual win of Head Coach Peter Linn‘s career.
A mix of veterans and freshmen lifted the Eagles to a win in the 200 Medley Relay as juniorAlexis Mitcheltree (Moon Twp., Pa.-Moon Area), freshman Delaney Duncan (Galesburg, Ill.-Galesburg), freshman Michal Liberman (Rosh Haayin, Israel-Begin), and senior Mary Kate MacLean (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-Detroit Country Day) bested the field. Mitcheltree gave the Eagles a slim lead heading into the second leg before MacLean swam the fastest split of the race to secure the win for the Green and White.
Sophomore Sarah Dombkowski (Canton, Mich.-Plymouth) followed up yesterday’s win in the 1000 Freestyle with a second place finish against the Zips. Touching in with a time of 10:23.10, Dobkowski was second to only freshman teammate Nicole Swartz (Dayton, Ohio-Centerville). The win marked the third time this season Swartz led the field in the event.
Swartz and Dombkowski’s one-two punch was followed by another for the Eagles as senior Becca Detro (Carmel, Ind.-Carmel) and Van Allen finished first and second, respectively, in the 200 Free. Detro led from the start but eventually held off a late push by Van Allen to hang on for the win, finishing with a time of 1:51.26. In addition to being her own season-best, Detro’s time marked the fastest time by an Eagle in the event this season.
Competing in her first individual event of the day, Mitcheltree claimed the 100 Backstroke with a time of 55.38 before Duncan and junior Genna Worthley (Portland, Maine-Deering) placed first and second, respectively, in the 100 Breaststroke. Duncan touched in with a season-best 2:19.50, beating out the field by nearly three seconds.
Junior Carly Jackson (La Porte, Ind.-La Porte) gave the Eagles their sixth consecutive win in the 200 Butterfly after Duncan and Worthley’s top notch performance. Jackson needed every second of her season-best 2:03.29 to touch in ahead of Akron’s Erin Seiler. Freshman Emilie Desnoyers finished third, also touching in with a season-best time (2:03.93), shaving roughly two seconds of her previous best.
Following the first break of the dual, Detro and MacLean claimed a pair of top-three spots in the 100 Free. Detro’s time of 51.82 earned second while MacLean touched in just behind her in third. The third-place finish by MacLean was her second of the day, as the Bloomfield Hills, Mich. native finished third in the 50 Free just before the break.
After a second place finish by Mitcheltree in the 200 Back, Duncan and Worthley repeated their success of an earlier race. A career-best time of 2:19.50 gave Duncan her first win of the season in the event while Worthley finished second in the 200 Breast.
The momentum from the impressive showing carried over to the 500 Free where Van Allen and Dombkowski touched in well-ahead of the Zips. Van Allen registered her fourth consecutive win in the event with a time of 5:01.76 while Dombkowski added a second place finish to her day.
Following a tie for third place in the 3-meter dive by sophomore Alli Shereda (Fraser, Mich.-Fraser) and Emily Tubbs (Monroe, Mich.-Monroe), Van Allen notched her second win of the day in the 200 Individual Medley. Shedding nearly four seconds off her previos career-best, Van Allen turned on the jets in the final 100 yards. Trailing Akron’s Madison Myers by two seconds midway through the race, the Indianapolis, Ind. product passed Myers up before distancing herself for the win.
With an 11-point lead in the dual, the Eagles closed out the competition with a win in the 400 Free Relay. Junior Sierra Wagner teammed up with Desnoyers, MacLean, and Detro for the victory, sealing the, 158-142, win for the Eagles.
Eastern Michigan closes out dual competition next weekend, Jan. 29, at home against Bowling Green State University. The senior day meeting between EMU and Mid-American Conference foe, BGSU is slated to begin at 5 p.m. in Jones Natatorium.
EMU Individual Results
*Denotes season-best
#Denotes career-best
1000 Free
1. Nicole Swartz 10:22.68
2. Sarah Dombkowski 10:23.10
5. Rosalie Yockey 10:37.58
200 Free
1. Becca Detro 1:51.26*
2. Van Allen 1:51.81
4. Rebecca Winnert 1:58.62*
100 Back
1. Alexis Mitcheltree 55.38
5. Haley Shaw 58.56*
6. Erika Guenther 58.65
7. Michal Liberman x59.07
100 Breast
1. Delaney Duncan 1:02.02#
2. Genna Worthley 1:03.78*
5. Emily Wimmer 1:06.48
200 Fly
1. Jackson 2:03.29*
3. Emilie Desnoyers 2:03.93#
4. Clarice Daniel 2:04.82*
50 Free
3. Mary Kate MacLean 23.72*
4. Sierra Wagner 23.85*
6. Stephanie Johnston 24.19
8. Dora Vrcic x25.21
1-meter
5. Alli Shereda 254.10
6. Emily Tubbs 230.65
7. Molly Miller 224.18
8. Gabrielle Mace x218.32
200 Back
2. Alexis Mitcheltree 2:01.48
5. Erika Guenther 2:06.04
200 Breast
1. Delaney Duncan 2:19.50#
2. Genna Worthley 2:22.27
5. Emily Wimmer 2:26.48*
500 Free
1. Grace Van Allen 5:01.76
2. Sarah Dombkowski 5:05.24
4. Nicole Swartz 5:07.30
5. Rosalie Yockey x5:07.82*
100 Fly
4. Carly Jackson 56.25
5. Michal Liberman 56.82#
6. Emilie Desnoyers 57.47#
t7. Dora Vrcic x58.80
3-meter
t-3. Alli Shereda 260.10
t-3. Emily Tubbs 260.10
7. Gabrielle Mace 237.53
9. Molly Miller x214.72
200 IM
1. Grace Van Allen 2:04.82#
4. Clarice Daniel 2:09.64
7. Genna Worthley 2:12.72*
8. Erika Guenther x2:13.02
Akron:
AKRON, Ohio – The Akron swimming and diving team falls just short of a comeback against Eastern Michigan in the final event of the afternoon as the Eagles take the head-to-head dual 136-147 on senior night at the Ocasek Natatorium.
Senior night began with a second and third place finish for two of the Zips seniors. The team of junior Luka Szynal (Lublin, Poland), senior Hannah Raspopovich (Crown Point, Ind.), freshman Sadie Fazekas (Windsor, Ontairo) and freshman Madison Myers (Akron, Ohio), clocked in at 1:42.67 while junior Laura Savariau (Saint-Hilaire-la-Palud, France), sophomore Paloma Marrero Munoz (Merida, Spain), senior Erin Seiler (Phoenixville, Pa.), and sophomore Susan Franz (Canton, Ohio) were two seconds behind at 1:44.32.
Szynal and junior Laura Weiss (Indianapolis, Ind.) combined to lead the Zips in the 100 backstroke with a second and third place finish. Szynal swam four laps in 55.42 while Weiss finished in a time of 56.87.
Freshman Ragen Engel (Springfield, Ohio) recorded Akron’s first top finish of the afternoon in the 50 free, touching in a time of 23.67. Raspopovich was right on the freshman’s tail, finishing .02 seconds after Engel for second place (23.69).
Engel again earned the Zips nine points with a first place showing as she was the lone Zip in the 100 free top three turning in a time of 50.87.
Akron dominated the 100 fly sweeping the top three spots and gained 16 points to help the Zips gain ground on Eastern Michigan. Fazekas glided through the water for first (55.33), Seiler followed for second (55.52) and Engel rounded it out for third (55.55).
Senior Alice Hottensmith (Brunswick, Ohio) flourished on senior night with two first place finishes. She scored a combined total of 284.92 in the one-meter dive and tallied a 325.65 in the three-meter dive. Junior Paige Kelkenberg (Lockport, N.Y.) flew through the air with ease to earn a third place finish with a score of 280.95 in the one-meter dive and a second place finish in the three-meter dive (291.30).
The Zips ended the night taking two of the top three spots in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Engel, Fazekas, senior Ashley Niznik (McDonald, Pa.) and freshman Victoria Shaffer (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) timed in a 3:27.93. Savariau, Raspopovich, Franz and freshman Emma King (Centerville, Ohio) finished with a combined time of 3:31.90 for third place.
Akron will head on the road next weekend for two meets. The Zips go head-to-head with Xavier on Friday, January 29. One day later, January 30, Akron squares off against Miami (Ohio). These are the final two meets of the Zips regular season action.
Swimming news courtesy of Eastern Michigan and Akron Swimming & Diving.
