Swim & Dive Returns to Action at Bowling Green

Swimming and Diving at Bowling Green
Date	Friday, Jan. 29 \| 5 p.m.
Venue	Bowling Green, Ohio \| Cooper Pool
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Results	TBA
Twitter	@EMUSwimDive \| @EMUAthletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - Competing for the first time in 2021, the Eastern Michigan University swimming and diving team treks to Bowling Green, Ohio for a matchup with Bowling Green State University, Jan. 29, at 5 p.m.
Results will be available via the team's Twitter account, @EMUSwimDive, as well as EMUEagles.com once the event is completed.

SERIES HISTORY: EMU leads the all-time series against Bowling Green, 27-14. Dating back to the 1998-99 season, the Eagles won 16 straight meetings between the two sides, before falling to Falcons during the 2014-15 season. Eastern has won four consecutive contests since. EMU holds an 11-6 record competing in Bowling Green.

LAST TIME AGAINST BGSU: The birds last battled Jan. 24, 2020, at Jones Natatorium. Eastern came away with the win, 203.5-96.5, winning 12-of-16 events. Of the current roster, sophomore Hannah White earned two wins (100 and 200 fly), while Meike Staffeldt (50 Free), Carlee Jones (200 Breast), Elli Machado (100 Breast), and Riley Hofmann (400 IM) each added a win for the Green and White.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS: BGSU enters the meet with a 0-1 record on the season, falling to Ball State, 127-172, in the first half of the season.
   Leading the Falcons are Daisy Platts (100 and 200 back) and Maddy Andrews (200 free, 500 free) who each won two events as well as competed on the victorious 400 free relay squad. Kylie Mosset won 1-meter diving for BG, and Zoe Smith took the top spot in the 3-meter event.

BATTLE OF THE PERKINS: In addition to sharing the conference they compete in, the Eagles and Falcons have one more thing in common: both squads are lead by Coach Perkins. Eastern Michigan Head Coach Derek Perkins enters his second season at the helm of the program, while Bowling Green Head Coach Rickey Perkins is in his third season with the Falcons. Derek Perkins leads the all-time Perkins matchups, 1-0.

SENIOR DIVING DUO: The senior diving duo of Micaela Schempf and Bethany Berger have won every diving event so far this season for the Eagles, making themselves reliable point-scorers for the Green and White.
   Schempf won the 1-meter vs. Toledo, Nov. 6, and 3-meter vs. Akron, Nov. 20. Berger won the second 1-meter flight against Toledo, Nov. 6, and 1-meter against Akron, Nov. 20.
   In the first meet of the season, Nov. 6, Berger scored a 292.21 in 1-meter diving, exceeding the 265 standard needed to qualify for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships. Following the completion of the regular season, Berger will compete at the Zone C Championships, scheduled to occur in March, in Ann Arbor, Mich.

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern wrapped the fall portion of its 2020-21 schedule against Akron, Nov. 20. EMU earned two individual wins and had five Eagles post career-best performances. The senior diving duo of Bethany Berger and Micaela Schempf won 1-meter (276.83) and 3-meter diving (244.20), respectively. Also on the springboard, Keira Veltigian had a career-best day in 1-meter with a 255.90 score.
   Elsewhere in the pool, senior Carlee Jones picked up a new personal-best in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:06.29 swim, while senior Abby Rapien recorded a new individual standard in the 1000 free with a time of 10:18.36. Sophomores Kayla Whitehead and Kelsi Hill added new career-bests in the 200 breaststroke with times of 2:24.78 and 2:27.53, respectively. Hill marked a second new personal-best mark with a 4:41.03 showing in the 400 individual medley to round out the afternoon.

BLASTING OFF AGAINST THE ROCKETS: The Eagles opened their 2020-21 slate with a 134-104, Mid-American Conference victory over Toledo, Nov. 6 at Jones Natatorium. The Green and White earned eight wins, led by sophomore Lainie Bell with two, in addition to helping EMU to a win the 200 medley relay. Senior Abby Rapien won the 1000 free, while sophomore Hannah White picked up the win in the 100 butterfly and senior Meike Staffeldt finished at the top of the podium in the 100 free. In two rounds of 1-meter diving, Bethany Berger and Micaela Schempf each picked up a win.
   With the win, EMU moved to 13-9 all-time in conference lid lifters, and 4-0 against the Rockets in those contests. The Green and White is now 25-17 all-time in season-opening dual meets.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK: In her second meet donning the Green and White, sophomore Lainie Bell cracked the top-10 all-time performance list in the 100 backstroke, ranking seventh with a time of 54.96.
   In the 2019-20 season, Eastern Michigan saw nine entries on the top-10 list be added or improved. Joining the list for the first time was then-freshman Savanna Mouat, who currently sits seventh all-time in the 500 free (4:49.64) and fifth all-time in the 1,650 free (16:35.44). Then-junior Riley Hofmann also found herself on the list for the first time, currently ranking fifth in the 200 fly (2:01.02) and sixth in the 400 IM (4:22.53). Then-junior Ali Staver added her name to the top 100 back performances, swimming to fifth (54.89), while also improving her standings in the 100 fly from sixth to third (54.49) and 200 fly from eighth to fourth (2:00.02). Lastly, classmate Alyssa Shugarman posted quicker marks in the 500 free (4:44.51) to move from fifth to second all-time, and in the 1,650 free (16:27.88) to improve to third place from eighth.

ROAD AHEAD: Like many collegiate athletic programs, EMU Swim & Dive's schedule has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The result is a shift to mostly Mid-American Conference opponents, with the exception of Oakland University.Additionally, deviating from the normal schedule order, the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships and NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships will still go on as scheduled in March, however, instead of the season ending at their completion, EMU will resume #MACtion meets and host the MAC Championships following the championships in March and April.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern will travel to Rochester Hills, Mich. for a matchup with Oakland University Friday, Feb. 5. The event is set to commence at 5 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lainie Bell

Bethany Berger

Kelsi Hill

Riley Hofmann

Carlee Jones

Elli Machado

Sav Mouat

Abby Rapien

Micaela Schempf

Alyssa Shugarman

Meike Staffeldt

Ali Staver

Keira Veltigian

Hannah White

Kayla Whitehead

Eastern Michigan Athletics