The Bowling Green swimming team won 13-of-14 races as the Falcons closed out the 2014 dual meet season with a 179-110 win over Youngstown State on Senior Day. BGSU recognized three seniors – Joelle Scheps, Brittany Szekely and Emily Waller – who all won at least one race on the afternoon.
The meet itself was never in doubt and was not as close as the final score indicated. The Falcons gave up 32 points in diving and forfeited all points in the final two races by having all their swimmers move into exhibitions. Bowling Green led 179-63 before the final diving event and the last two swimming races.
Nine different Falcons won at least one individual race and two others swam on winning relay teams. Daniela Carrillo and Jordan Bullock each won two events with Carrillo also swimming a leg of the victorious 200 medley relay team.
The seniors all contributed to the victory in their final home meet of their careers. Scheps won the 100 freestyle in 52.15 seconds and swam on both victorious relay teams. Szekely won the 50 freestyle for the seventh time this year and was also on both winning relay teams. Waller picked up a victory in the 500 freestyle and was third among a Falcon sweep of the top five spots in the 200 freestyle.
In fact, the 200 freestyle was not the only event in which Bowling Green’s depth was a factor. The Falcons took the top two spots in 12 of the 14 races and swept the top three finishes nine times.
After Bowling Green opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, freshman Hannah Albion set a new personal best in the first individual race, the 1000 freestyle. Her time of 10:32.93 was good enough to edge out teammates Alexandra Poitinger and Nicole Hranchook, who also set a personal best in the event.
In the next race, freshman Victoria Griffin improved to 7-0 in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:50.53 to lead five Falcons at the top of the results. Erica Nieminen was second with a season-best 1:52.25. BGSU captured the top four finishes in the 100 breaststroke as Carrillo swam a 1:04.65 and Kristin Filby added a personal best 1:04.80 to place second.
The 200 butterfly followed and Bullock got her first win of the day in 2:05.95. Hannah Albion and Stephanie Boyle both set PRs in the race, sandwiching Hranchook in third.
Szekely moved to 7-1 in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.63 and Anna Babinec added a personal best of 24.00 to place second. Babinec again set a PR and finished second in the 100 freestyle in 52.84, trailing only teammate Scheps at 52.15.
In the 200 backstroke, Nieminen posted a season-best time of 2:05.72 to win the event and Carrillo added a victory in the 200 breaststroke to lead four Falcons at the top. Waller then picked up her win in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:05.50, less than a half second in front of teammate Tara Capouch in second.
Bowling Green’s final scoring event was the 100 butterfly as Haley Roberts used a season-best time of 58.13 to edge teammate Griffin, who had a career-best time of 58.57. In the 200 individual medley that followed, Bullock won her second race with a time of 2:09.11 and Kristin Filby was second with a personal best race of 2:10.30. The Falcons closed the meet by winning the 200 freestyle relay in 1:36.54.
Bowling Green, ranked No. 50 in the country by CollegeSwimming.com and No. 16 in the mid-major poll, ends the year with a dual meet record of 6-3. The Falcons won five straight dual meets, all coming after the calendar turned to 2014.
The Falcons now have 19 days off before competing in the MAC Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio beginning Feb. 27.
