Eastern Michigan vs Ball State
- November 4, 2023
- Muncie, Ind.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Ball State Sports
MUNCIE, Ind. — In another thriller at the Lewellen Aquatic Center, the Ball State women’s swimming & diving team used exhilarating efforts by freshman Alexa Von Holtz and sophomore Payton Kelly in the final two events to secure a 160-140 victory over Eastern Michigan Saturday afternoon.
“It was a battle from start to finish,” head coach J Agnew said. “This meet was flip-flopping, three points, five points, one point. That finish at the end, starting with three-meter diving, was exceptional for us. Alexa in the IM and Payton on the end of the relay. What can you say about that?”
However, the duo also made their presence felt early, teaming up with junior Lilia Newkirk and senior Laura Wright for a winning time of 3:49.52 in the opening 400 medley relay. Swimming anchor, Kelly closed the freestyle leg in 49.71 to help the Cardinals (3-0; 2-0 Mid-American Conference) earn the come-from-behind win.
The effort was the first of three straight, and 12 overall, event victories against the Eagles (0-4; 0-2 MAC) as freshman Kayla Newman followed with the win in the 1000 freestyle (10:24.44) and senior Marcella Ribeiro took top honors in the 200 freestyle (1:54.22). Ribeiro would also win the 500 freestyle (5:05.86).
Two events later, Wright claimed the first end of her breaststroke sweep with a final wall touch of 1:05.06 in the 100. She would go on to win the 200 in 2:21.33 later.
Von Holtz earned the first of her three individual wins by taking the 200 butterfly with a clocking of 2:04.37 to win the race by nearly six seconds. She would also win the 100 butterfly (56.92) and seal the meet victory for the Cardinals with a come-from-behind effort in the 200 IM, finishing in 2:07.15.
The effort included a closing freestyle leg of 28.29, turning a 1.12 second deficit into a .70 victory.
“We’ve just had three incredible meets,” Agnew added. “We talk about how it’s a team effort. We all share responsibility, and all must do our part. Just watching these freshmen handle it with poise, confidence, and race at this level is exciting. The way Alexa finished that last race was phenomenal.”
Speaking of phenomenal performances, Kelly continued her dominance in the freestyle springs by winning both the 50 (23.16) and 100 (50.83).
Kelly then added a little more excitement in the 200 freestyle relay, as she produced another solid anchor leg with a closing time of 22.52. Kelly trailed by .90 entering the final lap and came out by leading the relay to a .07 victory. She was joined by freshman Natalie Marshall, sophomore Kiran Stauffer and junior Hannah Jones in the event.
In addition to the event wins, the Cardinals tallied four runner-up finishes to help claim the overall meet win. None was bigger than perhaps senior Grace Walker’s effort on the 3M diving board, as she turned in an NCAA Zone Diving qualifying score of 286.20. It was her second-straight meet hitting a zone mark, as she turned in a 1M score of 286.28 in Friday’s win over IUPUI
“Swimming is one of those things where you want to win every meet, but it’s really all about how to finish the season,” Agnew said. “We try to stay humble and try to keep our heads balanced. We’re excited to win. We race every meet to win, so it does mean a lot, but we all know we’re working toward a bigger goal. It’s going to be exciting to see how this team comes together at the mid-season invite and then at MACs where everything is on the table.”
That mid-season invite is up next, Nov. 16-18, when both the women and men head to the IUPUI Natatorium for the IUPUI House of Champions Invite.
Ball State Individual Results
400 Medley Relay
1st – Lilia Newkirk, Laura Wright, Alexa Von Holtz, Payton Kelly – 3:49.52
4th – Sophia Kuehn, Julia Ofman, Hannah Jones, Haley Sakbun – 3:58.25
EX – Eliza Bader, Neely Agnew, Natalie Marshall, Emma Horton – 4:10.41
1000 Freestyle
1st – Kayla Newman – 10:24.44
3rd – Kiran Stauffer – 10:41.45
200 Freestyle
1st – Marcella Ribeiro – 1:54.22
3rd – Mary Kate Phillips – 1:57.01
4th – Elizabeth King – 1:58.49
100 Backstroke
3rd – Hannah Jones – 57.99
5th – Lilia Newkirk – 58.32
6th – Alyssa Messenger – 59.53
100 Breaststroke
1st – Laura Wright – 1:05.06
4th – Julia Ofman – 1:08.00
6th – Neely Agnew – 1:13.35
200 Butterfly
1st – Alexa Von Holtz – 2:04.37
5th – Callie Tuma – 2:14.07
6th – Sophia Kuehn – 2:14.73
50 Freestyle
1st – Payton Kelly – 23.16
2nd – Natalie Marshall – 24.70
6th – Haley Sakbun – 25.02
EX – Eliza Bader – 25.08
EX – Emma Horton – 26.49
3 Meter Dive
2nd – Grace Walker – 286.20
8th – Leelah Fettig – 215.55
10th – Ella Penny – 185.18
100 Freestyle
1st – Payton Kelly – 50.83
5th – Haley Sakbun – 54.34
6th – Natalie Marshall – 54.81
EX – Mary Kate Phillips – 54.29
EX – Elizabeth King – 54.44
EX – Emma Horton – 57.28
200 Backstroke
2nd – Alyssa Messenger – 2:07.48
3rd – Lilia Newkirk – 2:07.59
6th – Callie Tuma – 2:16.01
200 Breaststroke
1st – Laura Wright – 2:21.33
5th – Julia Ofman – 2:28.78
6th – Neely Agnew – 2:38.86
500 Freestyle
1st – Marcella Ribeiro – 5:05.86
2nd – Kiran Stauffer – 5:06.12
3rd – Kayla Newman – 5:10.06
100 Butterfly
1st – Alexa Von Holtz – 56.92
4th – Hannah Jones – 58.46
6th – Eliza Bader – 1:00.51
1 Meter Dive
4th – Grace Walker – 259.65
7th – Ella Penny – 215.78
9th – Leelah Fettig – 207.60
EX – Ava Pavich – 182.63
200 IM
1st – Alexa Von Holtz – 2:07.15
3rd – Laura Wright – 2:12.59
200 Freestyle Relay
1st – Natalie Marshall, Kiran Stauffer, Hannah Jones, Payton Kelly – 1:35.89
4th – Haley Sakbun, Eliza Bader, Elizabeth King, Marcella Ribeiro – 1:38.43
Courtesy: EMU Athletics
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University swim and dive program was bested in its second meet in a 24-hour time-span as it was defeated by the Ball State University Cardinals, 160-140, today, Nov. 4, inside the Lewellen Aquatic Center.
“I was happy {with} how our team bounced back today. We had a disappointing meet against Indiana State, but came more focused and ready to race Ball State today. It came down to the final two events to win the meet and both races came down to the wire. Today was a good step in the right direction,” said Head Swimming Coach Derek Perkins.
Eastern again secured its first event-win of the contest in the 100 yard backstroke as Kiersten Russell (Clinton, Mich./Saline) finished first in 56.48, trailed by Marlee Christie (Seminole, Fla./Seminole) in second in 57.81 and Siporah Sang (London, Ontario/Sir Frederick Banting Secondary) placing fourth in 58.02. Additionally, Christie’s 57.81 marks her fastest time of the season in the event.
All in all, the three Eagles collected 15 points in the event.
“The divers dug deep and came out with a strong competition on both the one and three meter, scoring a lot of points for the team. I’m very proud of how hard they continue to work every day,” said Head Diving Coach Buck Smith.
Eastern Michigan’s diving success continued in the contest against the Cardinals, as they triumphed in the one and three meter dive. Camryn Hughes (London, Ontario/Sir Frederick Banting Secondary) set the tone, scoring 295.58 points in the three meter. Hughes was followed by Keira Veltigian (Oxford, Mich./Oxford) in third with 285.40 and Rebekah Knapp (Mesa, Ariz./Skyline) rounded out the scoring for the Eagles in fourth with 257.70.
The same trio of divers found success in the one meter dive as well, as Veltigian claimed the top spot with 268.43 points. Hughes would slot in second by a razor-thin margin, scoring 268.18 with Knapp close in third, notching 266.63. Altogether, the divers secured 30 points for EMU.
The Eagles tabbed an event-win in the 200 backstroke with Russell swimming the fastest time of the season for Eastern and placing first in 2:02.80. Sang came next for the Green and White in fourth in 2:07.63 with Tristen Mina (Santa Clara, Calif./The King’s Academy) in fifth in 2:09.97. Overall, EMU posted 12 points in the event.
The meet would conclude soon after the Eagles’ win in the 200 backstroke, resulting in a 160-140 defeat at the hands of the Cardinals.
EMU Results by Event
400 Medley Relay
2. EMU A (Sang, Harris, Clarino, Christie) – 3:52.11
3. EMU B (Russell, LaRosa, Mina, Noble) – 3:52.92
1,000 Freestyle
2. Ali Kudo – 10:31.98
4. Morgan Hofmeister – 10:53.09
5. Maren Romine – 11:25.71
200 Freestyle
2. Emma Littrell – 1:56.82
5. Abby Szadorski – 1:58.70
6. Abbey Whipple – 2:01.74
— Hannah Ward – x2:00.73
— Ashley George – x2:05.27
100 Backstroke
1. Kiersten Russell – 56.48
2. Marlee Christie – 57.81
4. Siporah Sang – 58.02
100 Breaststroke
2. Nina LaRosa – 1:06.30
3. Taylor Harris – 1:06.44
5. Tristen Mina – 1:08.47
— Madelyn Sursi – x1:08.37
200 Butterfly
2. Katarina Pastar – 2:10.14
3. Olivia Clarino – 2:10.48
4. Sydney Ulmer – 2:13.78
50 Freestyle
3. Katie Shoen – 24.77
4. Lucy Noble – 24.90
5. Hannah Hardin – 25.01
— Sophie Gatrall – x25.20
3 Meter Diving
1. Camryn Hughes – 295.58
3. Keira Veltigian – 285.45
4. Rebekah Knapp – 257.70
5. Ciara Wheeler – x251.25
6. Savannah Fisk – 232.28
7. Tierney Fraidenburg – x216.23
9. Cate Migliori – x209.03
100 Freestyle
2. Marlee Christie – 52.18
3. Emma Littrell – 54.07
4. Lucy Noble – 54.14
— Hannah Hardin – x54.25
200 Backstroke
1. Kiersten Russell – 2:02.80
4. Siporah Sang – 2:07.63
5. Tristen Mina – 2:09.97
200 Breaststroke
2. Taylor Harris – 2:23.90
3. Abby Szadorski – 2:24.45
4. Nina LaRosa – 2:27.75
— Madelyn Sursi – x2:32.47
500 Freestyle
4. Ali Kudo – 5:13.93
5. Morgan Hofmeister – 5:18.30
6. Hannah Ward – 5:30 .53
— Maren Romine – x5:30.33
— Abbey Whipple – x5:35.67
100 Butterfly
2. Olivia Clarino – 57.28
3. Emma Littrell – 57.81
5. Katarina Pastar – 58.49
— Sydney Ulmer – x 1:01.03
1 Meter Diving
1. Keira Veltigian – 268.43
2. Camryn Hughes – 268.18
3. Rebekah Knapp – 266.63
5. Savannah Fisk – x254.03
6. Ciara Wheeler – x218.03
8. Tierney Fraidenburg – x213.83
200 IM
2. Tristen Mina – 2:07.85
4. Katarina Pastar – 2:14.56
5. Abby Szadorski – 2:15.15
— Taylor Harris – x2:13.24
— Morgan Hofmeister – x2:16.30
— Nina LaRosa – x2:22.52
200 Freestyle Relay
2. EMU A (Christie, Noble, Shoen, Russell – 1:35.96
3. EMU B (Hardin, Littrell, Whipple, Kudo) – 1:38.37
5. EMU C (Sursi, Sang, Ward, Gatrall) – x1:41.14
Up Next
The Eagles will go nearly two weeks without competing as their next meet is set for Thursday, Nov. 16, at 4 p.m. against the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies inside the Oakland University Natatorium.