Swimming & Diving Family Back In Action Saturday at Indiana Intercollagiates

Saturday, October 16

West Lafayette, IN

Noon

Ball State University

Indiana Intercollegiates (Hosted by Purdue)

Photo by: Samantha Blankenship (Ball State Creative Services)

Swimming & Diving Family Back In Action Saturday at Indiana Intercollagiates

October 14, 2021 | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

MUNCIE, Ind. - - Without a doubt, the 2020-21 season was full of challenges for the Ball State swimming & diving program. But through all the ups and downs, there was one constant for the program; a strong culture and a sense of family instilled by head coach J. Agnew.

"I think the first thing is being great teammates for each other," Agnew said when asked about the team's culture. "If you can learn anything, it's how to work as a team. How to be in it for each other and with each other, that's number one. When the culture is set, it's easy to swim fast, and it's easy to be supportive. Swimming fast comes after a good team culture."

That cohesiveness allowed the Cardinals to battle through the adversity to have a record-breaking year. It also sets the program up nicely to start a more traditional 2021-22 season this Saturday (Oct. 16) at the Indiana Intercollegiates hosted by Purdue.

Action in the meet, which features 13 schools and includes nine men's programs and 12 women's programs, will begin at noon at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center.

"We feel like a cohesive unit heading into the season," senior co-captain Abbie McCarter said. "One thing Coach Agnew has implemented in his time here is the family atmosphere, and that's something we've latched onto over the past few years. We've grown stronger as a team, and we're a cohesive unit heading into our first meet."

The entire Ball State swimming & diving family will be in action this Saturday, with both the men and women looking to build off solid campaigns in the COVID-19 adjusted 2020-21 season.

On the men's side, the Cardinals placed fourth overall at the 2021 Mid-American Conference Championships with 511.50 points. It was the program's highest point total since scoring 571 to place third at the 2005 MAC Championships. Ball State's student-athletes set seven program records during the run while also recording 57 lifetime bests.

On the women's side, the Cardinals placed fifth at the 2021 MAC Championships for the program's best finish since 2005. Ball State finished the three-day meet with 18 student-athletes scoring in individual events. Add in the relays, and that number grew to 20 different Cardinals who had a hand in scoring 320 points. In all, the Cardinals set five program records and 36 lifetime bests at the meet.

The best news for the program, a large bulk of the points return for the 2021-22 campaign, including all three individual MAC Champions from a year ago.

Joey Garberick became Ball State's first MAC men's individual swimming champion since the 2006 season when he won the 100 breaststroke with a program-record time of 53.99. The effort earned him a spot on the All-MAC First Team.

"Honestly, I'm just looking for improvement in all three of my events right now," Garberick said about his goals entering the season. "I'm not concerned with placing because other than in the 200, there aren't many places that I can move up. Hopefully, I'll make finals in the 50 free this year, and I'd like to win the 200."

Hunter Ongay became Ball State's first MAC men's diving champion since 1997 when he won the 3-meter diving competition with a score of 310.55. Ongay also placed second on the 1-meter board (298.55), earned First Team All-MAC, and was named MAC Most Outstanding Diver.

Ongay was just one star of the men's diving squad, which also saw Isaac Hunter named MAC Freshman Diver of the Year and coach Jacob Brehmer earn MAC Diving Coach of the Year.

Marcella Ribeiro was the breakout star at the women's MAC Championships, becoming the program's first MAC individual event champion since 2014 by winning the 1650 freestyle in a program-record time of 16:32.61. Ribeiro, who earned First Team All-MAC for the effort, also placed second in the 200 freestyle, third in the 500 freestyle, and set five program records at the meet.

"I'm most excited about being here for the first semester and having a full season with the team," Ribeiro said. The Brazil native joined the squad for spring of 2021 and jumped directly into competition. "For this season, I want to improve my personal best times. I also have a plan to get myself to the NCAA's. For my team, I hope we have a great season, support each other, and cheer for each other."

Another highlight for the women's squad at the 2021 MAC Championships was the 200 medley relay which placed third overall in 1:41.25. Three of the four members return for another go this season in Alex Bader, Shelby Crist, and Apsara Sakbun.

In addition to the strong showings at the MAC Championships, the combined squad totaled an impressive 99 individual event wins and 11 relay victories throughout the 2020-2021 season.

"We're coming off a strong year, and we know our team got better in the offseason," Agnew added. "We have more depth than we've ever had, and it's more competitive, which are both positives. There are some challenges when you talk about 55 athletes in a six-lane pool. However, they've adapted really well, and everybody is great about it. They're working their butts off, and they're ready to move forward."

When Ball State faces its first of many new competition challenges Saturday at Purdue, you can be sure there will be no lack of cheering from the Cardinals bench. That includes a warm competition welcome for the newest members of the family.

"Everybody is supporting each, and I'm excited to see what our freshman class does this year," Garberick said. "We've got a lot of strong swimmers coming in, and they've been fun to practice with. I'm excited to see them compete and see what the entire team can do this season."