Ball State University Athletics
BSU Swimming & Diving Notebook
March 06, 2002 | Women's Swimming and Diving
WOMEN'S SWIMMING LOSES AT WESTERN KENTUCKY, PREPARES FOR INVITATIONAL
The Ball State Cardinals lost 141-98 Saturday, Nov. 17 in Bowling Green, Ky. taking their 2001-2002 record to 4-3 through the fourth week of the season. In the final two events of the 13-event meet, Ball State tallied one individual first and one relay first place finish.
Freshman Karla Bailey (Naperville, Ind./Naperville H.S.), with her seventh first-place finish of the year, outpaced the field with a 2:26.16 200-yard breaststroke. Bailey has held the top time most of the season. This week's new top-time replaces her previous mark by hundredths of a second. Also on Saturday, Bailey placed second in the 200-yard individual medley (2:11.05) and was a member of the 1:51.64, second-place 200-yard medley relay team.
Ball State's other first place of the meet came in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Sarah King (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central), Ericka Nance (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point), Michelle Arakgi (Montreal, Quebec/St. Ignatius) and Dee Dee Wolverton (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville) combined for the first-place time of 3:42.85. The time is two seconds off the team's season best mark.
Arakgi also turned in a solid performance in her individual events. The distance freestyler took second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:19.01 and second in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:45.61. She led the Cardinals in both events on Saturday. Arakgi holds the season-best slot in the 500 free at 5:13.0 set at Illinois State.
The Cardinals look to improve their Mid-American Conference record this weekend at the Miami Invitational. The post-holiday meet is Ball State's second opportunity of the season to compete with conference competition.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING SPLITS LAST WEEK'S, NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
•The Cardinals lose to Michigan State at home but defeat Illinois State in Normal, Ill.
Ball State's women's swim team improved to 4-2 on the season with a win and a loss last week. The Cardinals hosted Big Ten opponent Michigan State on Thursday. The Spartans line-up proved too deep for the Cardinals as Michigan State won 146-92. Ball State traveled to Illinois State Saturday and notched its fourth win, 172-128 over the Redbirds.
The Cardinals opened their home season with the loss to Michigan State at Lewellen Aquatic Center. Ball State controlled the 100-yard freestyle with three of the top four times. Dee Dee Wolverton (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville) took second swimming a personal-best 55.19. Freshman Sarah King (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) swam a 55.98 for third while Ericka Nance (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) rounded out the BSU top three with a 56.05. Freshman diver Dawn Ogden (Ridgeville, Ind./Jay County) outscored other Cardinals in the meet at both one (218.55) and three meters (227.02), placing third in each.
In Saturday's win, Ball State oupaced Illinois State in 10 of the meet's 16 events. Kait Martin (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) placed first in both backstroke events, swimming a 1:00.2 at 100 yards and 2:10.0 in the 200-yard event. She holds the team's season-best time in each. Martin also swam on the winning 200 medley relay team. Junior Melissa Keilen (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) took an individual first in the 100 free (54.8) ans was a member of the two first-place relay teams. The 200 medley relay turned a 1:50.8 for first, while the 400 free relay placed first with a 3:40.4.
Freshman Karla Bailey (Naperville, Ind./Naperville H.S.) is making an impression in her first five meets with the Cardinals. She holds the team's season-best times in the 100 free (54.17) and the 200 IM (2:09.62). Bailey has tallied six first-place finishes on the season, twice as many as any other Cardinal swimmer.
Ball State continues its non-conference schedule Saturday in Kentucky with a 1 p.m. meet versus the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
BALL STATE COMPETES IN FIRST CONFERENCE MEET OF THE SEASON
•The Cardinals Split the Dual Meet 1-1 at Miami University Saturday
In the first weekend of Mid-American Conference swimming, Ball State traveled to Oxford, Ohio and Miami University for a dual meet with the host RedHawks and the Northern Illinois Huskies Sat., Nov. 3. Miami topped the Cardinals 215-85 while Ball State took the advantage over Northern 186-112.
Ball State placed two firsts, while Miami took top honors of the 14 others in the 16-event meet. In the day's 15th event, the 200 individual medley, Ball State controlled first place and three of the top four. Freshman Karla Bailey (Naperville, Ind./Naperville H.S.) outpaced second place by nearly four seconds with a 2:09.62 and recording the team's best time of the season in the event. Senior Kate Willets (Whitehouse, Ohio/Anthony Wayne) placed third at 2:15.15 and sophomore Emily Aubie (Nepean, Ontario/John McCrae) took fourth at 2:16.19.
The Cardinals other first came in the day's final event. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Nora Lucas (Fremont, Ind./Fremont), Sarah King (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central), Melissa Keilen (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) and Dee Dee Wolverton (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville) swam a 3:41.33 to edge second place by two-tenths of a second. Cardinals relays took third in the 200-yard medley at 2:11.08.
Backstroker Kait Martin (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) performed well in the meet, tallying two second-place finishes. At 100 yards, she went 1:00.41 while she swam a 2:12.31 in the 200-yard backstroke. Martin was also a member of the third-place 200 medley relay team.
Ball State prepares for its first home meet of the year on Nov. 8 versus Michigan State before traveling to Illinois State Nov. 10.
BALL STATE GOES 2-0 IN OPENING WEEKEND
•The Cardinals Outpace Intra-State Opponents Friday, but Take Second to Purdue Saturday
The 2001-2002 Ball State women's swim team went undefeated in the first weekend of competition pouncing on the IUPUI Jaguars 77-18 and Valparaiso University 63-32 Friday evening in Indianapolis. The Cardinals placed first in 10 of the meet's 13 events. Freestyling sophomore Dee Dee Wolverton (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville) took first in both the 200- and 500-yard free events, going 1:59.13 and 5:21.99, respectively. Freshman Karla Bailey (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) placed first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:11.44) and the 100-yard freestyle (54.17) in her first competition in Cardinals' red.
Divers Dawn Ogden (Ridgeville, Ind./Jay County) and Cassandra Pavlovich (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) took first and second at 1- and 3-meters. Pavlovich was first at 1-meter with 206.70 points while it was Ogden in first at 3-meters with 229.13 points.
The inaugural meet at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind., saw the Boilers hosting six intra-state schools in the Indiana Intercollegiate meet. Purdue women were fastest tallying 759.50 points, with Ball State second at 504.50. Emily Aubie (Nepean, Ontario/Jean McCrae), the third place finisher in the 200-yard fly at conference championships last season, took fifth in the 100-yard butterfly on Saturday with a time of 1:00.80. Kait Martin (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) placed fourth, behind three Purdue swimmers, swimming a 1:00.56 in the 100-yard backstroke. Pavlovich performed well again on Saturday placing second at 3-meters and first at 1-meter.
The Mid-American Conference season opens on November 3 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, the Cardinals next meet.
