Aleksander Danielewski was a three-time individual winner, but it was not enough as the Golden Grizzlies' men's team dropped a tough dual to Eastern Michigan, 153.5-144.5, in an energetic environment at the Oakland Aquatics Center. The Oakland women tied with Eastern Michigan 149-149, but dropped its dual with Bowling Green, 155-139.
Jorden Merrilees and Tricia Grant added two individual wins apiece to aid Oakland's efforts.
"Both Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green have been swimming well this season, and we were hoping to just get it close heading into the final relay," Oakland head coach Pete Hovland said. "To get to that point, we had to do some things really well; moving forward, I'm glad we stepped up to the occasion."
Danielewski swept the backstroke with wins in the 100 (49.62) and 200 (1:48.42) while adding a key victory in the 200 IM (1:54.10). Along with Danielewski's win in the IM and a fourth-place finish by Aaron Helander and a fifth-place by Mario Rusnak, the Golden Grizzlies tied Eastern Michigan up at 140.5 heading into 400 freestyle relay.
While Oakland managed its best time of the season in the final event, Eastern Michigan out-touched the Golden Grizzlies to take the win, 3:03.16 to 3:03.71.
Merrilees was a two-time winner in the 1000 free (9:37.36) and the 500 free (4:35.48) and just missed grabbing a third win in the 200 free - just six minutes after finishing the 1000 free race - but was out-touched by just over one-tenth of a second, finishing second in 1:38.98.
Also notching individual wins were Mitch Alters (200 fly, 1:50.91), Jeremiah Morren (50 free, 21.01) and Hrafn Traustason (200 breast, 2:06.36). The 200 medley relay team of Danielewski, Traustason, Mario Rusnak and Morren touched first in 1:31.52.
For the women, Grant won both the 1-meter (312.00) and 3-meter (333.95) diving events, maintaning her unbeaten streak this season.Patricia Aschan added a win in the 1000 free (10:26.19), with Arynn de Leeuw finishing second in 10:29.93.
The depth of the women's team kept the squad in the double dual: 2-3 finishes in the 100 free by Holly Morren (51.76) and Nikki Flynn(51.98) and in the 500 free by de Leeuw (5:05.56) and Cassie Misiewicz (5:07.43) helped the Golden Grizzlies rack up points. Takara Martin just missed a first-place finish in the 200 breast, finishing in 2:20.33.
In the final event, Oakland needed a victory, and the quartet of Flynn, Misiewicz, de Leeuw and Morren touched first in 3:28.12 to secure the tie with Eastern Michigan.
Oakland will be back in action Dec. 5-6 when the Golden Grizzlies reciprocate Eastern Michigan's visit, participating in the EMU Invitational.
The Bowling Green State University swim and dive team won eight events Saturday afternoon, defeating both Oakland and MAC opponent, Eastern Michigan. Estela Davis Ortiz won three individual events and was a part of the winning 200 medley relay team.
“We are obviously very excited about the final outcome of today's competition against two very tough teams,” Head Coach Petra Martin said. “Our women showed a lot of heart and responded a lot better to being on a road than last year at this point of the season.”
BGSU won 155-145 against previously unbeaten EMU and beat Oakland, 155-139. The Orange and Brown remain undefeated this season, currently sitting at 3-0. Both teams were ranked first in their conferences going into the meet, according to CollegeSwimming.com.
“Thank you to the Falcon Fanatics as they traveled with us and made a big difference for us today,” Martin added.
The Falcons opened up the afternoon with a win in the 200 medley relay. Davis Ortiz, Kristin Filby, Jordan Bullock and Kayla Effinger swam a season-best team time of 1:44.28. BG is undefeated in the event so far this season.
Davis Ortiz continued her dominating day in the 100 backstroke. She and Maya Skorupski both set season personal best times, finishing in first and second place. Davis Ortiz and Skorupski teamed up again for a 1-2 finish respectively in the 200 backstroke.
Filby won her second race of the meet by swimming a season best 1:03.56 in the 100 breaststroke. Daniela Carrillo finished fourth in the event. The duo also finished in third and fourth place in the 200 breaststroke, with Filby setting a new season personal best.
Bullock’s other first place finish came in the 200 butterfly, as she beat her previous season PR by just under two seconds. She also added a second place finish in the 100 butterfly, swimming a 57.39.
Victoria Griffin continued her successful season with two individual wins of her own. The sophomore won the 50 freestyle with a season-best time of 23.85. Effinger followed in second place, with a 24.05. Griffin’s second victory came in the 100 freestyle, a race she had yet to compete this season.
The Falcons finished strong in the second to last event, with Davis Ortiz finishing first, Filby in second and Bullock in third. 200 IM
In the final event of the afternoon, BG’s 400 freestyle relay team of Effinger, Maria Galic, Griffin and Hannah Newman raced a season-best time in their second place finish.
Although Natalie Criswell finished fourth in the 500 freestyle, she set a team season-best time in the event, swimming a 5:08.71.
“The meet itself was very close the whole time and we were a little bit up and down in the first couple individual races but recovered well,” Martin said. “The divers improved again and we can see their progression from week to week which is exciting; their scores were better and they are starting to pick up harder and more difficult dives.”
Devan Hennig and Rachel Perry both competed in the 1- and 3-meter diving competition.
BGSU next competes in the Georgia Tech Invitational Nov. 20-22 and return to Cooper Pool Jan. 16.
