Eastern Michigan Athletics
Swim and Dive Opens MAC Competition at Buffalo Saturday
10/24/2024 10:42:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
The meet will begin at 11 a.m.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Fresh off a dominant season-opening win, the Eastern Michigan University swimming & diving team will begin Mid-American Conference (MAC) competition against the Buffalo Bulls at Alumni Arena Natatorium & Dorsi Raynolds Pool in Buffalo, N.Y., Saturday, Oct. 26, at 11 a.m.
Fans can stream the action live here, and follow along with live results here, and stay posted to EMUEagles.com for a post-meet recap with full results attached. Also, stay tuned to the team's social media accounts on Instagram, X, and Facebook for EMU swim & dive content.
ALL-TIME AGAINST BUFFALO
The Eagles hold a commanding lead in the all-time series with an 18-3 record against the Bulls, and an 8-1 mark when facing them in Buffalo. Eastern won the first 13 contests from 1992-2008. The Eagles hold a 7-3 record in the series' last ten matchups, and average 166.52 points when facing UB. The Eagles and Bulls last met in the 2022 season, a meet the Bulls won, 165.5-92.5.
DIVER OF THE WEEK
Rebekah Knapp (Mesa, Ariz./Skyline) appeared in mid-season form against Cleveland State, Oct. 18, as she earned an NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut in the 3m dive with a personal-best score of 317.25 points. She also took fourth-place in the 1m dive, posting 245.03 points.
For her efforts, Knapp was named MAC Diver of the Week, Oct. 23. The award marks the second of Knapp's career, the first from the team in 2024, and the first of the Head Diving Coach Tom Gimm era. Knapp previously earned the honor last season, after she placed first in the 3m dive with a score of 306.90 points in Eastern's 173-114 win over Bowling Green, Jan. 26.
BIG SEASON-OPENING WIN
The Eagles opened the season with a 190-108 win over Cleveland State, Oct. 18. The win marked the largest margin of victory (82 points) in a season-opening victory in the Head Coach Derek Perkins era. The win also went down as his fourth win to start a season in his six years at the helm of the program. Six Eagles won multiple events, as the team won nine of the 12 individual swimming events in the meet, and 12-of-16 total events.
PERKINS IN MAC OPENERS
Perkins-led EMU teams hold an impressive 4-1 record when opening MAC competition. Its only loss in the first MAC meet of the season came last year, a 179-120 defeat at the hands of Miami.
SZADORSKI EXCELS IN SEASON-OPENING MEET
Abby Szadorski (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East) swam to victories in both the 100y (1:05.12) and 200y breaststroke (2:19.26) against the Vikings, and swam the second leg in the 200y medley relay, as the Eastern team of Kiersten Russell (Clinton, Mich./Saline), Szadorski, Tristen Mina (Santa Clara, Calif./The King's Academy), and Lucy Noble (Flagler Beach, Fla./Flagler Palm Coast) touched the wall first in 1:46.18.
Previously Noted
ENTERING YEAR SIX UNDER PERKINS
The program is entering its sixth year under Perkins. Overall, he holds a 12-19 record, and 9-10 mark in Mid-American Conference (MAC) competition. Under Perkins, the program has seen 64 Academic All-MAC selections and four College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America teams.
THE SEASON AHEAD
Eastern is set to compete in nine regular season meets in 2024-25, culminating in the MAC Championships, Feb. 26-March 1. The Eagles will attend meets in the states of Michigan, Ohio, New York, Florida, and Washington.
TOM GIMM – HEAD DIVING COACH
Perkins announced the hiring of Gimm as the Eagles' Head Diving Coach, June 20. He brings extensive club coaching experience and has also coached in the MAC, as he served as the Head Diving Coach at Ohio University from 2016-18. Gimm most recently served as the Head Diving Coach/Director of Diving Operations for Moss Farms Diving, a junior diving powerhouse with a state-of-the-art facility in Moultrie, Ga. Most recently, his Flying Tigers placed second in the 2024 USA Diving Zone B Championships held at the Moss Farms Diving Facility. Gimm also coached high school standout Tuck Gregory to a Georgia High School Association Individual State Championship in 2024.
RETURNERS/NEWCOMERS
This year's Eagles team returns 23 letterwinners from the 2023-24 squad, and welcome nine newcomers to the team, all of which are freshmen, including Riess Estep (Smyrna, Ga./Whitefield Academy), Aisling Gutierrez (New Kent, Va./New Kent), Nehir Guven (Istanbul, Turkey/Istek Atanur Oguz Okullari), Rose Kendrick (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva), Megan Lupa (Campden, Ontario/West Niagara Secondary), Nehir Oz (Istanbul, Turkey/Cevre), Taityn Speier (Fairfax, Va./WT Woodson), Azra Umut (Istanbul, Turkey/Fenerbahce School), and Adley Zamore (Tampa, Fla./H.B. Plant).
DIVING LEADER
On the boards, the Eastern squad is led by Knapp who earned a second-place finish in the 3m dive at the MAC Championships last season, with a score of 301.15.
SWIMMING LEADERS
In the pool, the Eagles return Kiersten Russell (Clinton, Mich./Saline), who clocked the fifth-fastest 100y backstroke time in program history in 54.33. Joining Russell is Nina Larosa (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay), who notched the program's eighth-best 100y breaststroke time in 1:03.00 as a freshman last season. Among Russell and Larosa is Szadorski, who bettered her eighth-best program time in the 200y breaststroke, completing the event in 2:16.60.
MAC COACHES PRESEASON POLL
In a poll with the MAC's eight head coaches, the Eagles' team was picked to finish sixth in the MAC standings for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will have the next week off from competition as they prepare to open the home portion of their 2024-25 schedule Saturday, Nov. 9, against Indiana State at Jones Natatorium in Ypsilanti, Mich.
FOLLOW US
For the latest in EMU swimming & diving, stay tuned to EMUEagles.com, and follow the team's social media accounts on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
Fans can stream the action live here, and follow along with live results here, and stay posted to EMUEagles.com for a post-meet recap with full results attached. Also, stay tuned to the team's social media accounts on Instagram, X, and Facebook for EMU swim & dive content.
ALL-TIME AGAINST BUFFALO
The Eagles hold a commanding lead in the all-time series with an 18-3 record against the Bulls, and an 8-1 mark when facing them in Buffalo. Eastern won the first 13 contests from 1992-2008. The Eagles hold a 7-3 record in the series' last ten matchups, and average 166.52 points when facing UB. The Eagles and Bulls last met in the 2022 season, a meet the Bulls won, 165.5-92.5.
DIVER OF THE WEEK
Rebekah Knapp (Mesa, Ariz./Skyline) appeared in mid-season form against Cleveland State, Oct. 18, as she earned an NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut in the 3m dive with a personal-best score of 317.25 points. She also took fourth-place in the 1m dive, posting 245.03 points.
For her efforts, Knapp was named MAC Diver of the Week, Oct. 23. The award marks the second of Knapp's career, the first from the team in 2024, and the first of the Head Diving Coach Tom Gimm era. Knapp previously earned the honor last season, after she placed first in the 3m dive with a score of 306.90 points in Eastern's 173-114 win over Bowling Green, Jan. 26.
BIG SEASON-OPENING WIN
The Eagles opened the season with a 190-108 win over Cleveland State, Oct. 18. The win marked the largest margin of victory (82 points) in a season-opening victory in the Head Coach Derek Perkins era. The win also went down as his fourth win to start a season in his six years at the helm of the program. Six Eagles won multiple events, as the team won nine of the 12 individual swimming events in the meet, and 12-of-16 total events.
PERKINS IN MAC OPENERS
Perkins-led EMU teams hold an impressive 4-1 record when opening MAC competition. Its only loss in the first MAC meet of the season came last year, a 179-120 defeat at the hands of Miami.
SZADORSKI EXCELS IN SEASON-OPENING MEET
Abby Szadorski (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East) swam to victories in both the 100y (1:05.12) and 200y breaststroke (2:19.26) against the Vikings, and swam the second leg in the 200y medley relay, as the Eastern team of Kiersten Russell (Clinton, Mich./Saline), Szadorski, Tristen Mina (Santa Clara, Calif./The King's Academy), and Lucy Noble (Flagler Beach, Fla./Flagler Palm Coast) touched the wall first in 1:46.18.
Previously Noted
ENTERING YEAR SIX UNDER PERKINS
The program is entering its sixth year under Perkins. Overall, he holds a 12-19 record, and 9-10 mark in Mid-American Conference (MAC) competition. Under Perkins, the program has seen 64 Academic All-MAC selections and four College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America teams.
THE SEASON AHEAD
Eastern is set to compete in nine regular season meets in 2024-25, culminating in the MAC Championships, Feb. 26-March 1. The Eagles will attend meets in the states of Michigan, Ohio, New York, Florida, and Washington.
TOM GIMM – HEAD DIVING COACH
Perkins announced the hiring of Gimm as the Eagles' Head Diving Coach, June 20. He brings extensive club coaching experience and has also coached in the MAC, as he served as the Head Diving Coach at Ohio University from 2016-18. Gimm most recently served as the Head Diving Coach/Director of Diving Operations for Moss Farms Diving, a junior diving powerhouse with a state-of-the-art facility in Moultrie, Ga. Most recently, his Flying Tigers placed second in the 2024 USA Diving Zone B Championships held at the Moss Farms Diving Facility. Gimm also coached high school standout Tuck Gregory to a Georgia High School Association Individual State Championship in 2024.
RETURNERS/NEWCOMERS
This year's Eagles team returns 23 letterwinners from the 2023-24 squad, and welcome nine newcomers to the team, all of which are freshmen, including Riess Estep (Smyrna, Ga./Whitefield Academy), Aisling Gutierrez (New Kent, Va./New Kent), Nehir Guven (Istanbul, Turkey/Istek Atanur Oguz Okullari), Rose Kendrick (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva), Megan Lupa (Campden, Ontario/West Niagara Secondary), Nehir Oz (Istanbul, Turkey/Cevre), Taityn Speier (Fairfax, Va./WT Woodson), Azra Umut (Istanbul, Turkey/Fenerbahce School), and Adley Zamore (Tampa, Fla./H.B. Plant).
DIVING LEADER
On the boards, the Eastern squad is led by Knapp who earned a second-place finish in the 3m dive at the MAC Championships last season, with a score of 301.15.
SWIMMING LEADERS
In the pool, the Eagles return Kiersten Russell (Clinton, Mich./Saline), who clocked the fifth-fastest 100y backstroke time in program history in 54.33. Joining Russell is Nina Larosa (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay), who notched the program's eighth-best 100y breaststroke time in 1:03.00 as a freshman last season. Among Russell and Larosa is Szadorski, who bettered her eighth-best program time in the 200y breaststroke, completing the event in 2:16.60.
MAC COACHES PRESEASON POLL
In a poll with the MAC's eight head coaches, the Eagles' team was picked to finish sixth in the MAC standings for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will have the next week off from competition as they prepare to open the home portion of their 2024-25 schedule Saturday, Nov. 9, against Indiana State at Jones Natatorium in Ypsilanti, Mich.
FOLLOW US
For the latest in EMU swimming & diving, stay tuned to EMUEagles.com, and follow the team's social media accounts on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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