Ball State University
Eastern Michigan (Men)
BSU Record Broken in Swimming & Diving Loss to EMU
January 24, 2009 | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving
MUNCIE, Ind. - - In its final home meet of the season, both the Ball State men's and women's swimming and diving teams fell to Mid-American Conference rival Eastern Michigan Saturday, with the men's squad (1-3, 0-2 MAC) losing, 125-107, and the women's team (2-5, 1-4 MAC) coming short, 177.50-120.50, at the Lewellen Aquatic Center.
The men's and women's teams earned four first-place finishes a piece, with one of those breaking a school record.
For the women's team, freshman Emily Haifley (Roanoke, Ind./Homestead H.S.) broke Rachel Beltrame's (1995-96) Ball State 200-yard breaststroke record by clocking a time of 2:19.49, almost two seconds better than the previous mark. Haifley also had one of BSU's other first-place finishes, swimming a season-best 1:05.13 in the 100-yard breaststroke. Her efforts in the 100 and 200-yard breaststrokes were good enough for the third and second-best times in the MAC this season.
Along with sophomores Alanna Bader (Monroe, Wis./Monroe H.S.) and Katie Bylsma (Westfield, Ind./Pinckney H.S.), and freshman Nicole Saulters (Highland, Ind./Highland H.S.), Haifley also helped lead the 200-yard medley relay team to a second-place effort (1:49.19).
Senior Lisa Maertin (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way-Central H.S.) continued her outstanding season, winning both the one and three-meter diving events with scores of 252.67 and 256.20, respectively.
Collecting second-place finishes for the Cardinals were seniors Erika Paul (McCordsville, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern H.S.) (200-yard IM/2:12.20) and Megan Ploetz (Mount Vernon, Ind./Castle H.S.) (200-yard butterfly/2:08.44), juniors Mary Ehresman (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson H.S.) (1,000-yard freestyle/10:41.21) and Sarah Kehe (Westville, Ind./Chesterton H.S.) (50-yard freestyle/5:13.26), sophomore Alanna Bader (Monroe, Wis./Monroe H.S.) (100-yard butterfly/58.96) and freshmen Whitney Adams (Danville, Ind./Danville H.S.) (three-meter diving/238.95) and Sarah Hostetler (Vincennes, Ind./Jasper H.S.) (200-yard backstroke/2:10.01).
For the men's team, freshman Andrew Hostetler (Vincennes, Ind./Jasper H.S.) notched BSU's first win of the day, clocking a time of 4:50.24 in the 500-yard freestyle, while senior David Linn (Elkhart, Ind./Concord H.S.) tallied a score of 259.20 to earn a first-place finish in the three-meter dive.
The Cardinals continued their success in the 200-yard breaststroke with freshman Gavin McNeeley (North Manchester, Ind./Manchester H.S.) taking first-place honors (2:13.36) followed by freshman Todd Wenger (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge H.S.) (2:17.37). The 400-yard freestyle relay team of juniors Ben Battjes (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart H.S.), Austin Laska (Palos Park, Ill./A.A. Stagg H.S.), Josh Young (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North H.S.) and freshman Chris Krupa (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike H.S.) also claimed a first-place finish (3:09.77).
Senior Kyle Hembree (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge H.S.) recorded two second-place finishes, clocking a season-best 9:55.55 in the 1,000-yard freestyle and 4:54.16 in the 500-yard freestyle.
Individually, Krupa and Young each earned a second-place finish, with Krupa swimming the 200-yard butterfly in 1:56.60 and Young finishing the 100-yard freestyle in 47.94.
Other individuals earning second-place finishes for BSU were juniors Battjes (50-yard freestyle/21.71) and Tyler Dixon (Jeffersonville, Ind./Jeffersonville H.S.) (200-yard backstroke/1:57.36) and sophomore Jeremy Whited (Richmond, Ind./Richmond H.S.) (three-meter diving/211.50).
Juniors Zach Coquillard (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) and Chris Steindorff (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian H.S.) combined with freshmen Tony DeBrota (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike H.S.) and Casey Schroeder (Williamsport, Ind./Seeger Memorial H.S.) to lead the 400-yard freestyle relay 'B' team to a second-place finish (3:16.22).
Before the meet, the Cardinals eight senior members were honored, including: Mark Augustyn (Highland, Ind./Highland H.S.), Rebekah Gingerich (Goshen, Ind./Northridge H.S.), Lauren Harger (Avon, Ind./Avon H.S.), Hembree, Linn, Meghan Patterson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley H.S.), Paul and Ploetz.
The women's team returns to action when they travel to Ohio next Saturday, Jan. 31 for a 1 p.m. start. The men's team will return to the pool when both squads compete at Miami on Friday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
