Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
EMU Invitational
Women's Swimming And Diving Wins EMU Invitational
12/2/2017 9:16:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
The Eagles had three record-breaking swims en route to the victory
Full Results (PDF)
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - Three record-breaking swims highlighted the Eastern Michigan University women's swimming and diving team fourth consecutive EMU Invitational win Saturday, Dec. 2. With a total score of 1,300.5, the Eagles finished ahead of Wayne State University (971), Tiffin University (199), Albion College (180), and Ball State University (84.5).
The Eagles started the day off with a record-breaking 200 medley relay swim. Sophomore Claire Young (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.-Grosse Pointe South) teamed up with juniors Delaney Duncan (Galesburg, Ill.-Galesburg), Michal Liberman (Rosh Haayin, Israel, Begin), and Stephanie Johnston (Holland Mich.) to set a new pool and meet record with the time of 1:41.34. The previous pool record was set in 2005 by an Ann Arbor Pioneer foursome while the meet record has been in place since 2010.
The second record-breaking swim was thanks to Duncan's dominating performance in the 100 breaststroke during the morning session. The Galesburg, Ill. native's time of 1:02.21 broke the previous pool and meet record of 1:02.27 set by Laura Lindsay from the University of Toledo in 2010.
Starting the evening session, an EMU cohort of freshman Meike Staffeldt (Niedersachsen, Germany), Johnston, sophomore Amelia Armstrong-Grant (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Saline), and senior Chase Walker (Virginia Beach, Va.-Landstown) claimed a new meet record in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:34.36, breaking the previous record of 1:34.39 set in 2005 by a Michigan foursome.
As the meet transitioned to individual races in the morning session, Eastern's outstanding performance carried over to the 400 IM. Junior Nicole Swartz (Dayton, Ohio-Centerville) clocked in with a time of 4:28.93 in her first time competing in the race this season to claim first-place. Freshman Carlee Jones (Edgewood, Ky.-Notre Dame Academy) followed close behind at 4:33.08 to snag second.
The winnings continued for the Green and White in the 100 butterfly as Liberman and Walker grabbed a pair of top-three finishes. Liberman came away with a top finish after clocking in at 57.31 while Walker took third at 57.49.
In the 200 freestyle, EMU extended its lead after going 1-2-3-4. Senior Sarah Dombkowski (Canton, Mich.-Plymouth) led the way with a time of 1:54.59 with Staffeldt right on her heels at 1:54.94. Armstrong-Grant and junior Marissa Marion (Rockford, Mich.-Rockford) rounded out the sweep at third and fourth-place, respectively.
After Young and Gavigan finished first and third, respectively in the 100 backstroke, the Green and White closed out the morning session with an incredible showing in the 800 free relay. Staffeldt, Swartz, Dombkowski, and Armstrong-Grant combined to record a time of 7:33.08 to take first-place in their first time competing in the race this season. Another Eastern cohort claimed second, clocking in at 7:45.12
Before kicking off the evening session, the Eagles completed the diving portion of the meet. It was a battle for the top-spot as only .55 of a point distinguished first from second. Coming out on top was sophomore Sophia Tsafantakis (Washington, Mich.-Romeo) who ended the meet with a final score of 276.35 while senior Molly Miller (Farmington Hills, Mich.) tallied 275.80 total points for second place.
Following the record-breaking 200 free relay swim, Eastern Michigan swimmers came through with another solid finish in the 500 free as a Swartz led another EMU sweep. The Dayton, Ohio product touched in at 4:57.18 for her sixth consecutive win in the event this season. Dombkowski and freshman Alyssa Shugarman (Oswego, Ill.-Oswego) used a pair of season-best times to round out the top-three at 4:59.61 and 5:08.31, respectively.
After a third-place finish in the 200 IM by Jones, Johnston got the Eagles back on track with a first-place finish in the 50 free with a time of 23.94.
The Green and White concluded the meet with a 1-2 punch in the 400 medley relay. Gavigan, Duncan, Liberman, and Armstrong-Grant teamed to up take first with a time of 3:45.08 to cap the meet off with a total of 1,300.5 total points for EMU.
The EMU Invitational marked the final competition of the 2017 calendar year for the Eagles. Eastern returns to action next month, Jan. 19, at home in Mid-American Conference dual action against Ball State at 5 p.m.
EMU Individual Results
* - Denotes season-best
# - Denotes career-best
! - Denotes pool-record
% - Denotes meet-record
400 IM
1. Nicole Swartz 4:28.93*
2. Carlee Jones 4:33.08*
5. Riley Hofmann 4:40.16
6. Ali Staver 4:42.31
x. Kaitlynd Scanlan 4:40.49*
x. Rebecca Winnert 4:41.55*
100 Fly
1. Michal Liberman 57.31
3. Chase Walker 57.49*
4. Dora Vrcic 57.62*
6. Kylie Sutherlin 58.54
x. Marcella Da Costa 59.13*
x. Emilie Desnoyers 59.08#
x. Sydney Thomas 59.87
x. Avrie Stewart 1:00.95
200 Free
1. Sarah Dombkowski 1:54.59*
2. Meike Staffeldt 1:54.94
3. Amelia Armstrong-Grant 1:55.85
4. Marissa Marion 1:55.99
x. Stephanie Johnston 1:55.66
x. Abby Rapien 1:57.36
x. Rachel Stark 1:57.49*
x. Hannah Newell 1:58.14*
100 Breast
1. Delaney Duncan 1:02.21 !#
5. Alyssa Shugarman 1:11.60*
6. Abby Saddler 1:12.17
100 Back
1. Claire Young 56.56
3. Casey Gavigan 57.02
6. Michal Liberman 59.05
9. Avrie Stewart 59.86
x. Dora Vrcic 57.70*
x. Hunter Ignasiak 1:02.43
1-meter
1. Sophia Tsafantakis 276.35
2. Molly Miller 275.80
4. Alli Shereda 246.05
5. Emily Tubbs 245.75
x. Mikela Schempf 239.85
x. Bethany Berger 234.55
500 Free
1. Nicole Swartz 4:57.18
2. Sarah Dombkowski 4:59.61*
3. Alyssa Shugarman 5:08.31*
5. Abby Rapien 5:13.77*
x. Emilie Desnoyers 5:05.83
x. Kaitlynd Scanlan 5:09.34*
x. Rebecca Winnert 5:10.60*
x. Marcella Da Costa 5:16.60
x. Meike Staffeldt 5:18.17 *
x. Marissa Marion 5:29.11
200 IM
3. Carlee Jones 2:09.32
5. Claire Young 2:10.00
6. Riley Hofmann 2:10.89
7. Kylie Sutherlin 2:13.55
x. Dora Vrcic 2:08.43
x. Casey Gavigan 2:09.97#
x. Sydney Thomas 2:12.83
x. Ali Staver 2:14.88*
50 Free
1. Stephanie Johnston 23.94
3. Chase Walker 24.03
4. Amelia Armstrong-Grant 24.11
5. Meike Staffeldt 24.22
x. Delaney Duncan 24.41
x. Michal Liberman 24.74
x. Hunter Ignasiak 25.10
x. Hannah Newell 25.15*
x. Rachel Stark 25.23
x. Abby Saddler 25.32
x. Avrie Stewart 25.64
Players Mentioned
