Swim & Dive Begins Winter Slate Thursday at Florida Gulf Coast University

Swim & Dive at FGCU
Date	Jan. 5
Venue	Fort Myers, Fla. - FGCU Aquatics Center
Live Results	Live Results
Preview Info	Team Information Guide
Twitter	@EMUSwimDive \| @EMUAthletics

FORT MYERS, Fla. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University swimming and diving program begins its winter slate with a trip to sunny Fort Myers, Fla. to battle the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles in a dual meet format Thursday, Jan. 5. The first event is set for 3 p.m. inside the FGCU Aquatics Center.

Fans can follow the meet via live results on MeetMobile. Eastern will look to get out to a hot start Thursday as the team has not competed in over a month (Dec. 3 at Denison Invitational).

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern placed third with 1,753 total points at the Denison Invitational Saturday, Dec. 3. Denison University placed first (2,177.5 points), followed by Emory University (1,854.5 points). The Eagles were followed by Johns Hopkins University (fourth – 968 points) and Washington University St. Louis (fifth - 819 points). The Eagles (1-3, 1-1 MAC) won nine events in the invitational, with the diving team sweeping all events in Granville, Ohio. Senior Carlin Hudson (Chattanooga, Tenn.-Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences) took the top spot in the 100-yard freestyle (51.42) and in the 200-yard IM (2:05.80), while Kudo won the 200-yard freestyle (1:52.02) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:00.82).
In the pool, Eastern earned a pair of second-place finishes. Freshman Alexandra Kudo (Guelph, Ontario-John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute) placed runner-up in the 500-yard freestyle with a career-high time of 4:53.66 while Hudson took second in the 200 individual medley with a mark of 2:03.90. Additionally, Hudson's time of 2:02.46 in the preliminary round of the 200 individual medley was a career-best and is the 10^th-best time in program history in the event, surpassing her old mark of 2:03.93. Junior Katie Shoen (Owego, N.Y.-Owego Free Academy) took third place in the 50-yard freestyle with a career-high time of 23.15. The mark not only ties a collegiate high but it is also tied for the 10^th best time in EMU's program history in the event.
Sophomore Kiersten Russell (Clinton, Mich.-Saline) earned the win for EMU in the individual events, taking the 100-yard backstroke with a mark of 55.56. In the relay events, the Eagles' "A" group took first in the 800-yard freestyle, finishing with a time of 7:26.77. The group consisted of freshman Alexandra Kudo (Guelph, Ontario-John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute), Russell, and seniors Sav Mouat (Tecumseh, Ontario-All Saints) and Hudson. Additionally, senior Abigail Wenger's (Upper Sandusky, Ohio-Upper Sandusky) time of 1:03.59 in the 100-yard breaststroke is the ninth-best time in program history. The mark was also good for fourth on Friday.
Russell won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:59.05. Freshman Isabel Harri (Thunder Bay, Ontario-Westgate Collegiate & Vocational Institute) took home the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:16.39 while Olivia Clarino (Toronto, Ontario-Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute) won the 200-yard fly with a mark of 2:04.47. Russell's 200-yard backstroke time is a new career-high and is the fifth-best time in EMU program history. Additionally, Harri's time in the 200-yard breaststroke is also good for fifth all-time in the program's history.
On the boards, senior captain Kiera Veltigian (Oxford, Mich.-Oxford) took first in the 1-meter dive with a score of 296.50. The Eagles took home all top-six spots in the lone diving event Saturday. In the preliminary round, Savannah Fisk (Chelsea, Mich.-Chelsea) and Ciara Wheeler (Johnston, Iowa-Johnston) both qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships, March 9-11, after Fisk earned a score of 276.10, while Wheeler notched a score of 274.05.
The qualification is the first of Fisk's and Wheeler's careers, respectively. Fisk and Wheeler join Veltigian, Camryn Hughes (London, Ontario-Sir Frederick Banting), and Rebekah Knapp (Mesa, Ariz.-Skyline) whom all qualified for the postseason meet previously this season. Veltigian, Hughes and Knapp all made an appearance at the championships in 2021-22.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles will host a quad meet Saturday, Jan. 14, when EMU hosts the University of Indianapolis, Grand Valley State University and the University of Findlay. The first event is set for 5:30 p.m. at Saline High School in Saline, Mich.

To stay up to date on all things EMU swimming and diving, continue to check EMUEagles.com, or follow the team on Twitter, @EMUSwimDive, and Instagram, @emuswimanddive.

Swim & Dive Begins Winter Slate Thursday at Florida Gulf Coast University

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Olivia Clarino

Savannah Fisk

Isabel Harri

Carlin Hudson

Camryn Hughes

Rebekah Knapp

Ali Kudo

Sav Mouat

Kiersten Russell

Katie Shoen

Abigail Wenger

Ciara Wheeler

Eastern Michigan Athletics