After a three-match weekend Jan. 28-30, Ball State’s Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Head Coach J. Agnew said despite ending with wins and losses, the Cardinals performed and gave their full effort each race.
"[We] had lots of races, got several wins," Agnew said. "I think we were excited, but in every race, we were in it.”
Ball State Men's Swimming (2-1, 0-1 MAC) defeated Bellarmine (2-4) 162-100 Jan. 28, while Ball State Women's Swimming (3-3, 1-3 MAC) beat Bellarmine (3-6) 157-99.
Women's Swimming totaled 10 victories against Bellarmine. Junior Shelby Crist, senior Alex Bader, freshman Hannah Jones and freshman Gracey Payne won the 400 medley relay with a final time of 3:55.63. Sophomore Mary Kate Phillips placed first in the 1000 freestyle with a final time of 10:42.71. Phillips also placed first in the 500 freestyle, with a final time of 5:15.61.
Junior Apsara Sakbun, junior Sydney Dygert, junior Gracie Saulman, sophomore Marcella Ribeiro, sophomore Laura Wright and freshman Abby Hartshorne also recorded individual victories.
In its win against Bellarmine, Men's Swimming totaled eight wins. Freshman Ethan Pheifer, sophomore Joey Garberick, junior Bryce Handshoe, and junior Owen Chaye finished with a first place time of 3:30.37 in the 400 medley relay. Garberick placed first in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, registering final times of 57.97 and 2:07.98. Garberick combined with Chaye, junior Jack Wolfred, and senior Duncan McLarty to win the 200 freestyle relay with a final time of 1:25.15.
Chaye, Pheifer, Handshoe, Wolfred and junior Landyn Riester also placed first in individual events.
As the Cardinals celebrated Senior Day in the Lewellen Aquatic Center Jan 29, women's swimming and diving fell to the defending Mid-American Conference (MAC) champions Buffalo 158-141. Ribeiro placed first in the 400 and 800 freestyle, finishing with final times of 4:02.36 and 8:20.25.
Ball State Senior Alex Bader swims the breaststroke leg of the 200 yard medley relay on Oct. 30 at Lewellen Aquatic Center. The Cardinal relay team won the event with a time of 1:44.76.
Sophomore Sophia Kuehn placed first in the 200 individual medley with a final time of 2:09.27, while Sakbun, Saulman, Jones and Payne combined to win the 200 freestyle relay with a final time of 1:25.15. Freshman Ashleigh Provan won the 3-meter dive scoring 279.68.
Wright won the 150 breaststroke with a final time of 1:41.47, while Bader won the 100 breaststroke with a final time of 1:04.28. Bader said Ball State understood the challenge of facing Buffalo and thought the excitement helped in competition.
“We knew coming into this meet that it was going to be a tough one,” Bader said. “We were excited to come in here and race against the defending MAC champs. Our spirits were high, with this being the last meet before the MAC [championship]. We gave it our all.”
Ball State totaled 628 points in the Butler Invitational Jan. 30, finishing behind Xavier (780) and the University of Indianapolis (747). The Cardinals had two second place finishers in Garberick and Handshoe. Garberick registered a final time of 2:07.82 in the 200 breaststroke while Handshoe clocked in a final time of 51.13 in the 100 butterfly.
Head Coach J. Agnew was proud of how the Cardinals competed throughout the weekend.
“Obviously, you can’t predict the outcomes,” Agnew said. “But it was great to see the teams rise up to the challenges."
Ball State Men’s Swimming and Diving return to action Feb. 5 against Valparaiso. First swim is 1 p.m. Ball State Women’s Swimming and Diving compete Feb. 5 against the University of Indianapolis in a diving-only event. The meet begins at 1 p.m.
Contact Nate Grubb with comments at nathaniel.grubb@bsu.edu or on Twitter @GrubbNate43.