Ball State University
Miami
Swimming & Diving Swept At Miami
February 07, 2009 | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving
OXFORD, Ohio - - The Ball State swimming & diving program ended the 2008-09 dual meet season with a pair of setback at Miami Friday evening. The women suffered a 190-105 defeat to the RedHawks, while the men fell by a score of 161-135 at the Nixon Aquatic Center.
The Ball State women's squad finished the dual meet season with a 2-7 (1-6 Mid-American Conference) record, while Miami's women posted a 10-2 (6-1 MAC) record.
Overall, the BSU women won three of the 16 events in the meet. The Cardinals posted a 1-2 finish in the 200 butterfly, with senior Megan Ploetz (Mt. Vernon, Ind./Castle H.S.) clocking in with a winning time of 2:07.31. Junior Maria Gramelspacher (Jasper, Ind./Jasper H.S.) was a close second, with an effort of 2:07.57.
Ball State also claimed the top three spots in the 400 IM, with senior Erika Paul (McCordsville, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern H.S.) taking home first place with a time of 4:38.75. Junior Mary Ehresman (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson H.S.) was second at 4:41.58, followed by sophomore Catherine Ingram (Westfield, Ind./Westfield H.S.) at 4:45.15.
The women's squad wrapped up the meet with a first-place time of 3:37.08 in the 400 freestyle relay, thanks to the efforts of Gramelspacher, sophomore Katie Bylsma (Westfield, Ind./Pinckney H.S.), junior Sarah Kehe (Westville, Ind./Chesterton H.S.) and freshman Nicole Saulters (Highland, Ind./Highland H.S.).
On the 3-meter diving board, junior Lisa Maertin (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way-Central) improved upon her NCAA Zone Diving qualifying mark and cracked the BSU record books as well, posting the third-best six dive score in program history at 301.13. Earlier this season, Maertin took over the second slot on the BSU 1-meter six-dive list with a zone qualifying mark of 281.85.
On the men's side, Ball State finished the dual meet season with a 1-4 (0-3 MAC) record, while Miami went 4-7 (2-1 MAC).
In the 16-event meet, the Cardinals captured five first-place finishes. Sophomore Ben Karwoski (Bluffton, Ind./Bluffton H.S.) was the first BSU swimmer to win an event, recording a BSU season-fast time of 9:47.04 in the 1000 freestyle.
Juniors Austin Laska (Palos Park, Ill./A.A. Stagg H.S.) and Ben Battjes (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial H.S.) gave BSU a 1-2 finish in the 50 freestyle, with times of 21.04 and 21.41, respectively.
The Cardinals also collected a 1-2 finish in the 200 breaststroke, as freshman Gavin McNeeley (North Manchester, Ind./Manchester H.S.) and Todd Wenger (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge H.S.) posted clocking of 2:14.21 and 2:14.36, respectively.
Ball State's fourth victory, and third 1-2 finish, came in the 100 butterfly, as freshman Chris Krupa (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike H.S.) won the event with a BSU season-fast time of 51.33, while junior Zach Coquillard (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) placed second at 52.69.
The Cardinals ended the meet with Battjes, Laska, freshman Casey Schroeder (Williamsport, Ind./Seeger Memorial H.S.) and junior Josh Young (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North H.S.) winning the 400 freestyle relay with a combined effort of 3:10.01.
Next up for the Cardinals are the Mid-American Conference Championships. The men's event, which is held in conjunction with the Sun Belt Conference Championships in Nashville, Tenn., runs Feb. 18-21. The women's league meet, which will be hosted by Bowling Green, is Feb. 25-28.
MEET PREVIEW
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Both the Ball State men's and women's swimming & diving teams will conclude the regular season Friday, when they travel to Miami for a Mid-American Conference dual meet at the Nixon Aquatic Center. The two sqauds will square off versus the RedHawks at 7 p.m.
On the men's side, the Cardinals return to the pool for the first time since Jan. 24 with a 1-3 (0-2 MAC) record. Miami enters the meet with a 3-7 (1-1 MAC) record. Last season, the Cardinals suffered a narrow 136-163 setback to the RedHawks at the Lewellen Aquatic Center.
Junior enters the week as one of the league's top freestyle sprinters, ranking second in the conference in the 50 freestyle (20.94) and fourth in the 100 freestyle (46.25)Ben Battjes
Junior paces Ball State in the 200 freestyle, ranking sixth in the league at 1:43.86, while junior ranks fifth in the MAC in the 500 freestyle at 4:40.20.Adam DaleBen Karwoski
Senior is BSU's top distance swimmer, ranking fifth in the league in both the 1000 freestyle (9:55.55) and 1650 freestyle (16:25.55).Kyle Hembree
In the backstroke, tops BSU and ranks third in the MAC in the 100 at 51.64, while Dale owns a team best 200 time of 1:52.41 to rank fourth in the conference.Adam Thieling
is BSU's top breaststroker, ranking fourth in the MAC in the 100 (58.83) and seventh in the 200 (2:11.05).Jordan Rantz
Thieling also owns BSU's top clockings in the 100 butterfly (51.85) and 200 individual medley (1:58.26) to rank sixth and fifth in the MAC, respectively, while 's effort of 1:54.45 in the 200 butterfly ranks second among all league swimmers.Chris Krupa
rounds out the individual swimming events, ranking fifth in the league in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:10.65.Andrew Hostetler
In the diving events, is BSU's top competitor, ranking sixth in the MAC on the 3-meter board (272.93) and eighth on the 1-meter board (257.95).David Linn
In relay events, the Cardinals rank third in both the 200 freestyle relay (1:24.83) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:08.22), while ranking fourth in the 800 freestyle relay (7:03.38), the 200 medley relay (1:35.80) and the 400 medley relay (3:30.99).
On the women's side, BSU enters the contest with a 2-6 (1-5 MAC) mark, while Miami boasts a 9-2 (5-1 MAC) slate. Last season, the Cardinals scored a 176-124 home victory over the RedHawks the conclude the regular season.
Junior leads the Cardinals and ranks 15th in the league in the 1000 freestyle at 10:29.76, while ranking 17th in the 1650 freestyle at 17:40.41.Mary Ehresman
Freshman is BSU's top-ranked female student-athlete in the 100 backstroke, holding down the 20th spot with a time of 59.47.Nicole Saulters
Fellow freshman is BSU's top-ranked female swimmer overall, holding the No. 3 time in the MAC in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.49) and the fourth-fastest clocking in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.13).Emily Haifley
Sophomore enters the week ranked 14th in the MAC in the 100 butterfly (57.61), while senior has the league's 12th-best 200 butterfly effort of 2:06.98.Megan PloetzMaria Gramelspacher
Senior leads the squad and ranks 20th in the MAC in the 200 individual medley (2:10.86), while Ehresman is 14th in the 400 individual medley at 4:34.84.Erika Paul
is BSU's top diver, with NCAA Zone Diving qualifying marks on the 1-meter (281.85) and 3-meter (282.00) boards to rank sixth and seventh in the league, respectively.Lisa Maertin
In the relay events, the Cardinals rank 12th in the 800 freestyle relay (7:49.52), 13th in the 400 medley relay (3:55.76), 14th in the 400 freestyle relay (3:34.03), 15th in the 200 freestyle relay (1:38.26) and 18th in the 200 medley relay (1:49.14).
Players Mentioned
