Swim and Dive Returns to Action at Wayne State

Swimming and Diving at Wayne State
Date	Saturday, Jan. 11 \| 1 p.m.
Venue	Detroit, Mich. \| Matthaei Natatorium
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Twitter	@EMUSwimDive \| @EMUAthletics

DETROIT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University swimming and diving team begins the 2020 portion of its schedule Saturday, Jan. 11 at Matthaei Natatorium against I-94 rival Wayne State University. The meet is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

SCOUTING WAYNE STATE: The Warriors had a strong fall, posting a 3-1 overall record and 2-0 record in the GLIAC. Wayne State will take on Saginaw Valley Friday, Jan. 10 before the Eagles land in Matthaei Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 11.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE WARRIORS: The Eagles are undefeated against the Warriors, having competed against them 12 times in program history. After meeting for the first time Nov. 16, 2001, the Eagles and Warriors have made their matchup an annual affair since the 2012 season.
Last season, the EMU won the dual meet, 174-111, Jan. 12, 2019 at Jones Natatorium.

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 four-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, and capturing the title at the Denison Invitational with 2,223 points, Dec. 7.

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.

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.

FOUR AND COUNTING: Senior Casey Gavigan has won either the 100 or 200 yard backstroke in each of the last four meets this season, including sweeping both events on two occasions (Oct. 26 vs. Miami, Nov. 9 vs. Oakland/Florida Gulf Coast).

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

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.

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
1000 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
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: The Eagles will return to #MACtion with a dual meet at Akron Saturday, Jan. 18. The meet is set to begin at 12 p.m. at the Ocasek Natatorium in Akron, Ohio. Eastern will then return home for their first home meet of the decade, hosting MAC-foe Bowling Green Friday, January 24 at 1 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bethany Berger

Morgan Booth

Casey Gavigan

Brielle Johnston

Sav Mouat

Micaela Schempf

Alyssa Shugarman

Ali Staver

Sophia Tsafantakis

Claire Young

Eastern Michigan Athletics