Miami men’s swimming and diving fell to Mid-American Conference opponent Eastern Michigan on the road, 181-110, dropping their dual meet record to 2-4.
Senior Joe Baumgartner turned in some top finishes for the RedHawks. Baumgartner took first in the 50-yard freestyle with his time of 20.71. The senior swimmer came back to take second in the 100-yard freestyle,touching the wall at 45.82. Miami had the top team in the 400-yard freestyle relay with Baumgartner, sophomore Jack Strauss, freshman Ross Westrick, and junior Christopher Dieter.
Freshman Ross Rybakowicz made some contributions to the team with his first-place finish in the 200-yard IM, clocking a time of 1:58.89. Rybakowicz swam in the 200-yard butterfly, where he swam a time of 1:54.52, earning third, respectively.
The divers ended the meet with top finishes in the one-meter. Junior Michael Nash finished first with 293.4 points. Junior Cole Fryman was second, tallying 293.18 points. Nash placed second in the three-meter competition with 343.8 points.
Miami had sound performances in other events, including Dieter’s finish in the 200-yard freestyle. The junior swimmer turned in a time of 1:43.06, earning him second. In the 200-yard backstroke, junior Davis Staley took second with his time of 1:52.76.
In the 200-yard breaststroke, sophomore Matthew Rigali placed third, touching the wall at 2:09.58. Sophomore Bryan McNamara swam to a third-place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle with his time of 9:43.67.
The 200-yard medley relay team finished third, with a combined team time of 1:34.18. The relay team was comprised of Staley, senior Sam Crockett, sophomore Grant Stafford and Baumgartner.
Miami returns to Oxford to host Ball State on Saturday, Feb. 01, in the Nixon Aquatic Center. Saturday’s competition will also recognize the senior swimmers in their last home meet.
