Swim and Dive Travels to Akron for Conference Dual Meet

Swimming and Diving at Akron
Date	Saturday, Jan. 18 \| 12 p.m.
Venue	Akron, Ohio \| Ocasek Natatorium
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stream	Zips Digital Network
Twitter	@EMUSwimDive \| @EMUAthletics

AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University swimming and diving team travels to Akron, Ohio Jan. 18 for a Saturday afternoon matchup with Mid-American Conference foe Akron. The meet is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at the Ocasek Natatorium.
The meet will be live streamed on the Zips Digital Network. Results will be posted throughout the meet on the team's twitter account, @EMUSwimDive.

SCOUTING AKRON: The defending MAC swim and dive champions head into Saturday with a 3-1 overall record, and unblemished 3-0 record against conference opponents. Akron's loss came at the hands of Ohio State, Nov. 8.
The Zips hold eight individual top-times in the MAC, as well as all five top relay times in the conference.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE ZIPS: The Eagles and Zips will meet for the 17th time on Saturday, with Eastern holding the all-time series advantage, 16-0. Eastern and Akron last met head-to-head Nov. 4, 2017, at Jones Natatorium in Ypsilanti, Mich. The Green and White came away with the victory, 162-138.

EAGLES ON TOP: Eastern Michigan has been on a roll since its first dual meet of the season, Oct. 26 against Miami. The Eagles are on a five-meet win streak after defeating the RedHawks, 152-148, Ball State 167-133, Nov. 2, Oakland and Florida Gulf Coast with 150.5 points, Nov. 9, capturing the title at the Denison Invitational with 2,223 points, Dec. 7, and defeating I-94 rival Wayne State, 193-49, Jan. 11.

IF YOU'RE NOT FIRST: Jan. 11 at Wayne State, Eastern Michigan won all 13 events against the Warriors in the 193-49 victory. In addition, the Eagles podium swept five events: 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 1,000 free, and 100 fly.

GET IN THE ZONE: Four Eastern Michigan divers have met the NCAA Qualifying Standard in 1-meter diving, while three of those four have also qualified in 3-meter diving. Seniors Brielle Johnston and Sophia Tsafantakis, along with junior Bethany Berger, have met the qualifying standard in both events, while junior Micaela Schempf has qualified for the 1-meter event at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in March.

BACKSTROKE'S BACK: Eastern Michigan seniors Casey Gavigan and Claire Young have dominated backstroke events in the last five meets. In the nine backstroke events over five meets, the Eagles have won all of them. Gavigan has won six of the nine events (three 100 yard and three 200 yard), while Young has won the remaining three (two 100 yard and one 200 yard).

BREAKING STANDARDS: In addition to leading the MAC with her 16:27.88 mark in the 1,650 yard freestyle, junior Alyssa Shugarman became the first Eagle swimmer to meet a NCAA Standard Cut. The third-fastest time in program history earned the Oswego, Ill. native a NCAA "B" Cut.

FIRST W: Two Eagles picked up their first wins of the 2019-20 season, Jan. 11 at Wayne State. Junior Carlee Jones earned the top spot in the 400 yard individual medley, while junior Meike Staffeldt was the fastest swimmer in both the 100 and 200 yard freestyle.

OMAHA BOUND: Eastern Michigan senior Casey Gavigan punched her ticket to the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Neb. at the long course time trials hosted by Denison University on Dec. 4, 2019. The East Setauket, N.Y. native clocked in at 1:02.11 in the 100-meter backstroke to qualify for the 2020 trials.

STACKING UP IN THE MAC: Eastern Michigan has 18 times and marks in the top-five across the conference in 14 events. They are:

1,650 Yard Freestyle - 1st - Alyssa Shugarman, 16:27.88
4th - Savanna Mouat, 16:48.89
5th - Morgan Booth, 16:52.87
200 Yard Freestyle - 4th - Alyssa Shugarman, 1:49.27
500 Yard Freestyle - 3rd - Alyssa Shugarman, 4:49.36
1,000 Yard Freestyle - 1st - Alyssa Shugarman, 9:52.76
3rd - Savanna Mouat, 10:06.31
100 Yard Backstroke - 4th - Claire Young, 54.56
200 Yard Backstroke - 4th - Casey Gavigan, 1:57.94
50 Yard Breaststroke - 5th - Elli Machado, 30.47
200 Yard Butterfly - 5th - Ali Staver, 2:00.22
100 Yard IM - 3rd - Claire Young, 59.39
200 Yard Freestyle Relay - 5th - Eastern Michigan, 1:34.42
800 Yard Freestyle Relay - 2nd - Eastern Michigan, 7:23.02
200 Yard Medley Relay - 3rd - Eastern Michigan, 1:42.54
400 Yard Medley Relay - 3rd - Eastern Michigan, 3:44.28
1-meter Diving - 2nd - Brielle Johnston, 275.10,
3rd - Sophia Tsafantakis, 267.55
3-meter Diving - 5th - Brielle Johnston, 253.05

MAC PRESEASON POLL: The Eastern Michigan University swimming and diving team was picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference by the league's eight head coaches.

2019 MAC Women's Swimming and Diving Coaches' Preseason Poll
1. Akron (8) - 64
2. Buffalo - 53
3. Eastern Michigan - 46
4. Miami -41
5. Ohio - 35
6. Bowling Green - 22
7. Ball State - 15
8. Toledo - 12

The defending MAC Champions from Akron were selected to defend their title once again, earning 64 points and all eight first-place votes. Buffalo followed the Zips with 53 points, with Eastern close behind in third place at 46 points.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will return home for the first time in the new decade, hosting MAC-foe Bowling Green Friday, January 24 at 1 p.m. at Jones Natatorium.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK: At the Denison Invitational, the Eagles recorded 18 new top-10 times in program history across eight events. Notable for Eastern is junior Alyssa Shugarman claiming the third fastest time in the 1,650 yard freestyle at 16:27.88, which also leads the MAC. Freshman Savanna Mouat cracked the top-10 list in her first semester at Eastern, ranking eighth all-time in the 1,650 free with a time of 16:48.89.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bethany Berger

Morgan Booth

Casey Gavigan

Brielle Johnston

Carlee Jones

Elli Machado

Sav Mouat

Micaela Schempf

Alyssa Shugarman

Meike Staffeldt

Ali Staver

Sophia Tsafantakis

Claire Young

Eastern Michigan Athletics