Eagles Pick Up First Win of the Season Against Oakland

Complete Results

ROCHESTER, Mich. (EMUEagles.com)—Eastern Michigan University's men's swimming and diving team picked up its first win of the 2014-2015 season with a victory over in-state rival Oakland University, Nov. 8. The Green and White picked up a 153.5-144.5 decision, bringing its record to 1-1 while Oakland falls to 4-2.

The meet was tightly fought throughout the entirety of the competition, with the final relay acting as the deciding factor in the Eagles' win. The team won just six events, but had strong efforts from all athletes to keep the point total just high enough to edge out the Golden Grizzlies.

Two Eagles swept their respective events, starting in between the lane lines with Andrew Henry (Garner, N.C.-West Johnston)'s victories in the 100 and 200 free. Henry started off his afternoon with a .15-second margin of victory in the 200 free over Oakland's Jorden Merrilees, touching in at 1:38.83. In the 100 free, the junior took the top spot in 45.97 seconds, followed by Brian Moore (Anthem, Ariz.-Boulder Creek) in a tie for second with Tuomas Kiviluoma in 46.06 seconds. Henry and Moore ended their meet by swimming the third and fourth legs of the winning 400 free relay, teaming up with Erik Gissen (Karlstad, Sweden-Alvkullegymnasiet) and Cole Bateman (Hutchinson, Minn.-Hutchinson) to finish just over half a second ahead of Oakland's A team in 3:03.16.

Jordan Lesser (Bethesda, Md.-Thomas S. Wootton (Minnesota-Alabama)) was the only other Eagle to earn double individual wins, taking the titles in the 1- and 3-meter dives. Lesser led a sweep in both events with a pair of personal bests. On the 1-meter springboard, the Bethesda, Md. native notched 334.20 to pace Dan Gironza (South Lyon, Mich.-South Lyon) and Alex Chan (Toronto, Ontario-Neil McNeil Catholic). Lesser then edged out Chan by just over a point to win the 3-meter dive with 382.65 points.

The final win of the afternoon came from Gissen, who took the top time in the 100 fly in 50.08 seconds, just .03 seconds ahead of teammate Krzysztof Gilski (Dywity, Poland-Adam Mickiewicz Secondary). In the 200 fly, Gilski took third in another close matchup with Marcin Rzyski (Olsztyn, Poland-Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace #4), who took runner-up in 1:53.34.

Though the Eagles did not pick up any more victories, the top finisher was the runner-up in all other races. Bateman paced his teammates in the 100 and 200 back, finishing in 50.61 seconds and 1:50.77 behind Oakland's ace backstroker, Aleksander Danielewski. The breaststroke events were split, as Chris Hodges (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson) was second in the 100 breast in 58.12 seconds while Mike Fisher (Saline, Mich.-Saline) was runner-up in the 200 breast with a time of 1:50.77.

Franco Petrone (Etobicoke, Ontario-Silverthorne Collegiate Institute) finished second in both the 500 and 1000 free, finishing the 500 in 4:39.25 while he recorded a mark of 9:39.97 in the longest distance event of the meet. To round out the freestyle events, Gissen was the top swimmer for the Green and White in the 50 free, taking second in 21.05 seconds. One more individual event took place before the close of the meet, as Ethan McNally (Loveland, Colo.-Loveland) finished second in the 200 IM in 1:56.24.

The Eagles will return to Jones Natatorium for their next meet, when they take on the University of Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. Live results will be available through EMUEagles.com.

EMU Individual Results (* signifies personal best)

200-yard Medley Relay
2. Bateman, Aerne, Gilski, Gissen	1:32.43
3. Burton, Fisher, Johnson, Brinkhoff	1:34.35
5. Cutter, Finnigan, Fotsch, K. Moore	1:37.12
7. Schingoethe, Hahn, Kreider, Graham	1:39.02

1000-yard Freestyle
2. Petrone, Franco	9:39.97
3. Lichtenberg, Kyle	9:44.49
6. Tento, Sean	9:56.43
7. Schmitter-Sanchez, Axel	X10:00.16

200-yard Freestyle
1. Henry, Andrew	1:38.83
4. Moore, Brian	1:41.69
5. Flores, Rodolfo	1:44.57*
6. Crompton, Dylan	X1:45.70

100-yard Backstroke
2. Bateman, Cole	50.61
3. Burton, Logan	51.24*
5. Cutter, Chris	52.58
6. Wasberg, Craig	X54.41

100-yard Breaststroke
2. Hodges, Chris	58.12
5. Schwarz, Grant	1:00.17

200-yard Butterfly
2. Rzyski, Marcin	1:53.34
3. Gilski, Krzysztof	1:53.47
4. McKane, Liam	1:53.50
7. Cook, Hunter	X1:57.25

50-yard Freestyle
2. Gissen, Erik	21.05
3. Moore, Brian	21.15
5. Brinkhoff, Erik	21.82
7. Moore, Kevin	X21.97

1-meter Diving
1. Lesser, Jordan	334.20*
2. Gironza, Dan	312.40
3. Chan, Alex	288.00
4. Johnson, Dakoda	X234.10

100-yard Freestyle
1. Henry, Andrew	45.97
t-2. Moore, Brian	46.06
5. Berning, Kristian	48.02*
7. Crompton, Dylan	X48.19

200-yard Backstroke
2. Bateman, Cole	1:50.77
4. Cutter, Chris	1:53.36
5. Burton, Logan	1:55.85
6. Schingoethe, Nate	X1:58.89

200-yard Breaststroke
2. Fisher, Mike	2:06.53
3. Hodges, Chris	2:07.61
6. Aerne, Kyle	2:13.68
7. Buzard, Chris	X2:16.08

500-yard Freestyle
2. Petrone, Franco	4:39.25
4. Rzyski, Marcin	4:43.59
6. Tento, Sean	4:46.54
7. Lichtenberg, Kyle	X4:46.97

100-yard Butterfly
1. Gissen, Erik	50.08
2. Gilski, Krzysztof	50.11
6. Johnson, Connor	51.34*
8. Moore, Kevin	X53.32

3-meter Diving
1. Lesser, Jordan	382.65*
2. Chan, Alex	381.80
3. Gironza, Dan	302.40

200-yard Individual Medley
2. McNally, Ethan	1:56.24
3. McKane, Liam	1:56.77*
6. Cook, Hunter	1:58.07*
7. Aerne, Kyle	X1:58.92

400-yard Freestyle Relay
1. Gissen, Bateman, Henry, B. Moore	3:03.16
3. Berning, Burton, Gilski, Petrone	3:08.67
5. Fotsch, Brinkhoff, K. Moore, Kreider	X3:13.66
6. Graham, Flores, MacDonald, Buzard	X3:17.76

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cole Bateman

Alex Chan

Mike Fisher

Krzysztof Gilski

Dan Gironza

Erik Gissen

Andrew Henry

Chris Hodges

Jordan Lesser

Ethan McNally

Brian Moore

Franco Petrone

Marcin Rzyski

Eastern Michigan Athletics