Eagles Set to Compete at MAC Championships

Women's Swimming & Diving at Mid-American Conference Championships
Date	Wednesday, Feb. 24 - Saturday, Feb. 27
Venue	Bowling Green, Ohio \| Cooper Pool
Meet Notes	EMU Notes
Championship Central	MAC Championship Homepage
Watch	ESPN3
Twitter	@EMUSwimDive \| @EMUAthletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's swimming and diving team travels to Bowling Green, Ohio this week to compete in the Mid-American Conference Championships, Feb. 24-27. There, the Eagles will look to improve on last season's second place finish and cap a successful campaign on a high note.

CATCH ALL OF THE ACTION ON ESPN3: This season's Mid-American Conference Championships will be broadcast on ESPN3, beginning Thursday. A full schedule of events, including start times, can be found on page 5 of the complete set of notes.

ALL-MAC TRIO POISED FOR MAC MEET: A flock of Eagles that earned All-Mid-American Conference honors last season, are set to compete this week. Seniors Mary Kate MacLean and Becca Detro are joined by first team All-MAC honoree, Carly Jackson, as the top returners from the 2015 MAC Championships. MacLean played a leading role in the Eagles' relay success last season. Detro also swam a leg of the Eagles' relays and added a fourth-place finish in the 200 Free. Jackson turned in a pair of top-five finishes last season, claiming third in the 500 Free and fourth in the 200 Butterfly.

TAKING A LOOK BACK: One year ago, the Eagles turned in their best finish since the 2006-07 season at the Mid-American Conference Championships. Finishing runner-up as hosts of the meet, the Eagles totaled 507 points, trailing only Akron (650). That season, Madeline Pilchard, Ashley Durand, Sarah Chrzanowski, and Becky Renkola combined for six individual wins while the Eagles added a pair of relay titles to their point total.

RETURNING TO COMPETITION: Those competing in this week's Mid-American Conference Championships have been training for nearly a month since last competiting against Bowling Green, Jan. 29, in dual action. The Eagles came out on top in the senior day battle, dominating the Falcons by a final score of 184.5-107.5.

PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: The Eagles seem to be poised and ready to make a run at a conference title this week after turning in seven of the season's top times in their last outing. Back in January, the Green and White dominated Bowling Green, 184.5-107.5 to close out dual competition. In addition to a record-breaking performance by freshman Delaney Duncan, the Eagles turned in their best times of the season in the 200 Medley Relay as well as the 50, 100, 500, and 1650 Free.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Over the course of the season, the Eagles have benefited from impressive performances by several underclassmen. In particular, the freshman duo of Nicole Swartz and Delaney Duncan.
   Swartz opened the season red-hot, winning several distance events and posting some of the best times in the conference. Meanwhile, Duncan has etched her name into the Eastern Michigan record books with scorching times in the 100 and 200 Breastroke events. While the duo's individual showings will be crucial for the Eagles this week, the contributions from the rest of the young EMU swimmers will be critical. Freshman Dora Vrcic, Michal Liberman, Stephanie Johnston, and Emilie Desnoyers have been pivotal pieces of Eastern's relay success this season.

DEPENDING ON DEPTH: Eastern placed second at last season's Mid-American Conference Championships despite not having an individual champion, thanks to depth in several events. The Eagles will take a similar approach this season, while hoping to place a few at the top of the podium. Placing multiple swimmers in the finals could lead the Eagles to their first conference title since 2007.

SPRINGBOARD SUCCESS: The Eagles come into this season's MAC Championships with one of the most balanced and talented diving squads in the conference. Last season's MAC Champion returns in Ball State Pei Lin, but EMU returns with more experience this go around. Made up completely of underclassmen, the Eagles will rely on high scores from Becky Deacon and Alli Shereda. Deacon placed third on the 1-meter last season and runner-up on the 3-meter while Shereda picked up a fourth-place finish in the latter. While EMU will be without Lauren Dark from a season ago, fellow sophomores Molly Miller and Emily Tubbs as well as freshman Gabrielle Mace have shown promise throughout the season.

RELYING ON THE RELAYS: Plenty of points are up for grabs in the relays this week, and the Eagles are in a good position to grab some of the highest totals. Heading into the MAC showdown, the Green and White's times rank in the top half of the conference in nearly every relay. Most notably, Eastern's 200 Medley Relay time of 1:40.97 ranks second in the conference.

EAGLES POST STRONG SHOWING AT OSU INVITE: Eastern's small contingent of swimmers that competed at the Ohio State Invitational, Feb. 13-14, posted a strong showing at the event, turning in several personal-bests. In total, the Green and White registered three first-place finishes, four second-place times, and three third-place ranks.
   Sophomore Rosalie Yockey led the way, winning the 500 Free with a career-best time of 4:59.13. Yockey's top mark bested a stacked field and currently ranks as the 11th fastest in the MAC this season. The DeWitt, Mich. native also added a win in the 1650 free behind another career-best before closing out her weekend with a third-place finish in the 200 Individual Medley. Junior Emily Wimmer recorded the Eagles' other win on the weekend, touching in with a time of 1:04.51 in the 100 Breast to lead the way.

DUNCAN NAMED MAC SWIMMER OF THE WEEK: Following her record-breaking performance in the Eastern Michigan University women's swimming and diving team's, 184.5-107.5, win over Bowling Green State University, Jan. 29, freshman Delaney Duncan was selected as the Mid-American Conference Women's Swimmer of the Week, the conference announced today, Feb. 2. The award marks the first of Duncan's career.
   The freshman breaststroke specialist recorded three first place finishes to lift the Eagles past the Falcons in EMU's final dual of the season. Duncan opened the day swimming the second leg of Eastern's winning 200 Medley Relay team. Touching in with a time of 1:40.97, Delaney and the Eagles clocked in with the second fastest time in the MAC this season and nearly three seconds faster than EMU's previous fastest race this season.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lauren Dark

Becky Deacon

Emilie Desnoyers

Becca Detro

Delaney Duncan

Carly Jackson

Stephanie Johnston

Michal Liberman

Gabrielle Mace

Mary Kate MacLean

Molly Miller

Alli Shereda

Nicole Swartz

Emily Tubbs

Dora Vrcic

Emily Wimmer

Rosalie Yockey

Eastern Michigan Athletics