Ball State University Athletics
Thursday, February 27
Buffalo, NY
Ball State University
at
MAC Championships Day Two
Day Two Highlighted by School Record, Bertram and Locante in Diving Finals
February 27, 2020 | Women's Swimming and Diving
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Ball State women's swimming and diving team had an explosive second day at the Mid-American Conference Championships with a school record in the 200 Free Relay and divers Rachel Bertram and Caitlin Locante competing in the 1-Meter championship final.
A team made up of Apsara Sakbun, Peighton Gilbert, Alex Bader and Anne Vormohr completed a time of 1:32.88 in the 200 Free Relay to set a new program record. Their performance was good for fourth place and it is the second year in a row that BSU broke the record in the event.
The Cardinals also got a major lift on the 1-Meter diving board from Bertram and Locante who both advanced to the championship round. Bertram finished sixth in the preliminary round by scoring a 252.78 while Locante finished eighth with a 240.60 to qualify for the finals. Both divers finished in the exact same places later in the evening with Bertram registering a 262.68 and Locante 251.31.
"We had a strong morning and I was very pleased with how we showed up," said diving coach Nick Gayes. "Caitlin has been great all year, so it was very exciting to see her hard work pay off by making her first MAC final. Rachel was consistent and did a great job as a senior leading the divers today. We missed a few opportunities tonight, but I'm really proud of how the girls competed. We held our spots and were able to contribute some important points in the team race, which was our primary goal."
Other highlights on the day were Sakbun and Gilbert qualifying for the B Final in the 50 Free and Sophie Bader in the 200 IM. Sakbun finished second in the heat and 10th overall (23.34) while Gilbert clinched fifth in the heat and 13th overall (23.51). Bader claimed seventh in her 200 IM heat and 15th overall (2:04.73). Sakbun and Bader both recorded lifetime bests and Bader swam the third-fastest time in school history.
All of Ball State's competitors in the 500 Free recorded lifetime bests in the preliminaries. Jessie Fraley, Cassidy Blackwin and Kayla Molnar set career highs while Katie Walker joined them and beat the seventh-best time in program history.
As a team, Ball State moved past Ohio to take sole possession of seventh place in the overall standings with 115 points. Akron continues to lead the field with 295 points. Full standings can be viewed below.
1 Akron- 295
2 Buffalo- 251.5
3 Eastern Michigan- 178
4 Miami- 143
5 Bowling Green- 128
6 Toledo- 120
7 Ball State- 115
8 Ohio 97.5
The championships continue Friday with the events below. Live streaming of the events is available via Buffalo's YouTube channel, and live results can be followed on MeetMobile.
Friday
100 Fly
400 IM
200 Free
100 Breast
100 Back
3-Meter Diving
400 Medley Relay
For all the latest on Ball State swimming and diving, follow @BallStateSwim on Twitter and visit BallStateSports.com.
A team made up of Apsara Sakbun, Peighton Gilbert, Alex Bader and Anne Vormohr completed a time of 1:32.88 in the 200 Free Relay to set a new program record. Their performance was good for fourth place and it is the second year in a row that BSU broke the record in the event.
The Cardinals also got a major lift on the 1-Meter diving board from Bertram and Locante who both advanced to the championship round. Bertram finished sixth in the preliminary round by scoring a 252.78 while Locante finished eighth with a 240.60 to qualify for the finals. Both divers finished in the exact same places later in the evening with Bertram registering a 262.68 and Locante 251.31.
"We had a strong morning and I was very pleased with how we showed up," said diving coach Nick Gayes. "Caitlin has been great all year, so it was very exciting to see her hard work pay off by making her first MAC final. Rachel was consistent and did a great job as a senior leading the divers today. We missed a few opportunities tonight, but I'm really proud of how the girls competed. We held our spots and were able to contribute some important points in the team race, which was our primary goal."
Other highlights on the day were Sakbun and Gilbert qualifying for the B Final in the 50 Free and Sophie Bader in the 200 IM. Sakbun finished second in the heat and 10th overall (23.34) while Gilbert clinched fifth in the heat and 13th overall (23.51). Bader claimed seventh in her 200 IM heat and 15th overall (2:04.73). Sakbun and Bader both recorded lifetime bests and Bader swam the third-fastest time in school history.
All of Ball State's competitors in the 500 Free recorded lifetime bests in the preliminaries. Jessie Fraley, Cassidy Blackwin and Kayla Molnar set career highs while Katie Walker joined them and beat the seventh-best time in program history.
As a team, Ball State moved past Ohio to take sole possession of seventh place in the overall standings with 115 points. Akron continues to lead the field with 295 points. Full standings can be viewed below.
1 Akron- 295
2 Buffalo- 251.5
3 Eastern Michigan- 178
4 Miami- 143
5 Bowling Green- 128
6 Toledo- 120
7 Ball State- 115
8 Ohio 97.5
The championships continue Friday with the events below. Live streaming of the events is available via Buffalo's YouTube channel, and live results can be followed on MeetMobile.
Friday
100 Fly
400 IM
200 Free
100 Breast
100 Back
3-Meter Diving
400 Medley Relay
For all the latest on Ball State swimming and diving, follow @BallStateSwim on Twitter and visit BallStateSports.com.
Players Mentioned
Breast
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Fly, IM, Free
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free, Back
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free, Breast
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free, Back
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free, Back
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Fly
/ Women's Swimming and DivingSports Link: National Girls and Women in Sports Day
Wednesday, February 25
Celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day // Produced by Ball State Sports Link
Wednesday, February 04
Sports Link: Zach Shaddy (Diving)
Tuesday, January 13
Sports Link: Hungry To Win (Malcolm Slater)
Thursday, January 08