Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, January 17
Ypsilanti, Mich.
5 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Toledo
Photo by: Alex Paslawski
Swim & Dive Set to Host Toledo for Friday Meet
1/15/2025 11:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
The meet will start at 5 p.m. inside the Jones Natatorium as the Eagles shoot for their first 4-1 start since 2019-20
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Looking to go 4-1 in dual meets on the season and 2-0 in Mid-American Conference (MAC) competition for the first time since 2019-20, the Eastern Michigan University swim & dive team will face the Toledo Rockets Friday, Jan. 17, at Jones Natatorium, at 5 p.m., as the EMU swimmers and divers will compete as a team for the first time in 2025.
Fans can 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 TOLEDO
The Eagles and Rockets will meet in the pool for the 28th time on Friday. Overall, Eastern holds an edge in the all-time series with a 19-8 record against Toledo. Eastern most recently beat Toledo on the road in the 2022-23 season, Oct. 28, by a score of 165-134. It last beat the Rockets at home in the 2020-21 season, Nov. 6, a 134-104 win for the Eagles. Overall, head coach Derek Perkins is 2-0 in his EMU career against UT and his team's win by an average of 30.5 points.
3-1 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2019-20
Eastern is 3-1 for the first time since Perkins' first season (2019-20). That season, the Eagles finished third at the MAC Championships with 485 points. The meet against Toledo on Friday holds the opportunity for the Eagles to get off to a 4-1 start in duals and 2-0 in conference competition for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.
MEGAN LUPA NCAA ZONE DIIVNG CHAMPIONSHIPS CUT IN PLATFORM DIVE
Freshman diver Megan Lupa (Campden, Ontario/West Niagara Secondary) had a strong meet at the UB Diving Invite, hosted by Buffalo, Jan. 10-12. Lupa earned the first NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut of her career with a score of 229.90 on the platform dive for a second-place finish. On top of the zones cut, Lupa made the finals in all three events (one-meter: seventh, three-meter: sixth, platform: second) and scored 42 points in the meet, the second-most of any diver competing.
EMU DIVERS QUALIFIED FOR NCAA ZONE DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Four Eagle divers have qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships, hosted by Ohio State, in Columbus, March 10-12. Lupa most recently qualified with her 229.90 score on the platform dive at the UB Diving Invite, Jan. 12. She will join teammates, Malia Maire (San Luis Obispo, Calif./San Luis Obispo), Rebekah Knapp (Mesa, Ariz./Skyline), and Ciara Wheeler (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) at the competition. Maire previously qualified in the one-meter with a score of 270.45 against Oakland, Nov. 21, while Knapp qualified in the three-meter after posting a score of 317.25, against Cleveland State, Oct. 18, and in the one-meter with a 267.00 performance versus Oakland, Nov. 21. Wheeler punched her ticket via a 267.38 outing in the one-meter against Indiana State, Nov. 9.
SWIMMERS LAST TIME OUT: AT DENISON INVITATIONAL, DEC. 5-7
The Eagles finished fourth out of five teams at the Denison Invitational, hosted by Denison University, in Granville, Ohio, Dec. 5-7. Abby Szadorski (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East) led the team with 99 points scored in the meet and totaled four top-10 finishes. The senior also swam two season-best times in the 400-yard IM (4:29.09) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.85). Additionally, her 400-yard IM time qualified her for the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) National Invitational Championships (NIC) in Ocala, Fla., March 13-15.
CSCAA NIC CUTS
Along with Szadorski in the 400-yard IM, teammates Kiersten Russell (Clinton, Mich./Saline) and Nehir Oz (Istanbul, Turkey/Cevre) also earned CSCAA NIC cuts at the Denison Invitational. Russell did so in the 50-yard backstroke, swimming the distance in 26.17, while Oz punched her ticket via a 4:28.97 400-yard IM time. Both Oz and Russell's times serve as the fastest from the team in their respective events.
Previously Noted
VS. OAKLAND, NOV. 21
The Eagles captured their third win of the 2024-25 season, topping the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, 161-139, at Jones Natatorium Thursday, Nov. 21. Szadorski earned three event wins (200-yard medley relay, 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke) and swept the breaststroke events for the third time this season. On the boards, Knapp paced the Eagles, earning her second NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut of the season, this time in the one-meter dive (267.00) while leading the Eastern divers with 12 points in the meet.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES: VS. OAKLAND, NOV. 21
Outside of Knapp and Szadorski, the Eagles had strong showings from Oz, who earned the first event wins of her career with a personal-best 1:54.09 swim in the 200-yard freestyle to go with a first-place showing in the 500-yard freestyle (5:05.57). Maire also earned an NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut in the one-meter dive with a career-best 270.45 points.
DIVER OF THE WEEK
Knapp was named MAC Co-Diver of the Week, Nov. 27. The award marks her second of the season and third of her career. She earned the award earlier this season, Oct. 23, after achieving her three-meter NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut with a personal-best 317.25 score, finishing first in a win over Cleveland State, Oct. 18.
Against Oakland, Nov. 21, Knapp earned her second first-place finish of the season in the three-meter dive, tying a personal-best with a score of 317.25 in the Eagles' 161-139 win. Her score ranks as the best in the conference thus far according to Swim Cloud. She went on to place third in the one-meter dive with a score of 267.00, earning her second NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut of the season. Overall, Knapp led all Eastern divers with 12 points in the meet.
VS. INDIANA STATE, NOV. 9
The Eagles fell in their home-opener against Indiana State, 187-113, Nov. 9. In the pool, Eastern was led by Azra Umut (Istanbul, Turkey/Fenerbahce School), who finished in first-place in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:04.50, and second in the 100-yard backstroke in 57.51. Both marked personal-bests for the freshman. On the boards, Maire paced the Green and White, winning the three-meter dive with a season-best 266.93 points and placing third in the one-meter with a personal-best 256.88 points. Sophomore Tristen Mina (Santa Clara, Calif./The King's Academy) also swam a lifetime-best in the 100-yard butterfly, touching the wall in 56.16.
AT BUFFALO, OCT. 26
The Eagles escaped enemy territory with a 149.5-148.5 win over Buffalo, Oct. 26. In the pool, they were led by Abby Szadorski (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East), who swept both breaststroke events, winning the 100-yard in 1:04.12, shaving one second off her previous season-fastest time (1:05.12), and the 200-yard in 2:20.13. The senior went on to improve her time in the 200-yard IM, touching the wall in 2:10.05 compared to her 2:11.32 she swam against Cleveland State, Oct. 18. On the boards, Wheeler led the team with a fourth-place outing in the one-meter dive as she posted 251.85 points in the six-dive format.
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 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.
ENTERING YEAR SIX UNDER PERKINS
The program is entering its sixth year under Perkins. Entering the 2024-25 season, Perkins holds a 12-19 record, and 9-10 mark in MAC competition. The program has seen 64 Academic All-MAC selections and four 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 Tom 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 welcomes 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), Lupa, Oz, 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 three-meter dive at the MAC Championships last season, with a score of 301.15.
SWIMMING LEADERS
In the pool, the Eagles return Russell, who clocked the fifth-fastest 100-yard backstroke time in program history in 54.33. Joining Russell is Nina Larosa (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay), who notched the program's eighth-best 100-yard 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 200-yard 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 next compete on the road at Ohio Saturday. Feb. 1, at 11 a.m. The meet will mark EMU's final dual meet of the season prior to the MAC Championships, hosted by Buffalo, Feb. 26-March 1.
FOLLOW US
For the latest in EMU swimming & diving, stay tuned to EMUEagles.com, and follow the team on Instagram, X, and Facebook
Fans can 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 TOLEDO
The Eagles and Rockets will meet in the pool for the 28th time on Friday. Overall, Eastern holds an edge in the all-time series with a 19-8 record against Toledo. Eastern most recently beat Toledo on the road in the 2022-23 season, Oct. 28, by a score of 165-134. It last beat the Rockets at home in the 2020-21 season, Nov. 6, a 134-104 win for the Eagles. Overall, head coach Derek Perkins is 2-0 in his EMU career against UT and his team's win by an average of 30.5 points.
3-1 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2019-20
Eastern is 3-1 for the first time since Perkins' first season (2019-20). That season, the Eagles finished third at the MAC Championships with 485 points. The meet against Toledo on Friday holds the opportunity for the Eagles to get off to a 4-1 start in duals and 2-0 in conference competition for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.
MEGAN LUPA NCAA ZONE DIIVNG CHAMPIONSHIPS CUT IN PLATFORM DIVE
Freshman diver Megan Lupa (Campden, Ontario/West Niagara Secondary) had a strong meet at the UB Diving Invite, hosted by Buffalo, Jan. 10-12. Lupa earned the first NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut of her career with a score of 229.90 on the platform dive for a second-place finish. On top of the zones cut, Lupa made the finals in all three events (one-meter: seventh, three-meter: sixth, platform: second) and scored 42 points in the meet, the second-most of any diver competing.
EMU DIVERS QUALIFIED FOR NCAA ZONE DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Four Eagle divers have qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships, hosted by Ohio State, in Columbus, March 10-12. Lupa most recently qualified with her 229.90 score on the platform dive at the UB Diving Invite, Jan. 12. She will join teammates, Malia Maire (San Luis Obispo, Calif./San Luis Obispo), Rebekah Knapp (Mesa, Ariz./Skyline), and Ciara Wheeler (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) at the competition. Maire previously qualified in the one-meter with a score of 270.45 against Oakland, Nov. 21, while Knapp qualified in the three-meter after posting a score of 317.25, against Cleveland State, Oct. 18, and in the one-meter with a 267.00 performance versus Oakland, Nov. 21. Wheeler punched her ticket via a 267.38 outing in the one-meter against Indiana State, Nov. 9.
SWIMMERS LAST TIME OUT: AT DENISON INVITATIONAL, DEC. 5-7
The Eagles finished fourth out of five teams at the Denison Invitational, hosted by Denison University, in Granville, Ohio, Dec. 5-7. Abby Szadorski (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East) led the team with 99 points scored in the meet and totaled four top-10 finishes. The senior also swam two season-best times in the 400-yard IM (4:29.09) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.85). Additionally, her 400-yard IM time qualified her for the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) National Invitational Championships (NIC) in Ocala, Fla., March 13-15.
CSCAA NIC CUTS
Along with Szadorski in the 400-yard IM, teammates Kiersten Russell (Clinton, Mich./Saline) and Nehir Oz (Istanbul, Turkey/Cevre) also earned CSCAA NIC cuts at the Denison Invitational. Russell did so in the 50-yard backstroke, swimming the distance in 26.17, while Oz punched her ticket via a 4:28.97 400-yard IM time. Both Oz and Russell's times serve as the fastest from the team in their respective events.
Previously Noted
VS. OAKLAND, NOV. 21
The Eagles captured their third win of the 2024-25 season, topping the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, 161-139, at Jones Natatorium Thursday, Nov. 21. Szadorski earned three event wins (200-yard medley relay, 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke) and swept the breaststroke events for the third time this season. On the boards, Knapp paced the Eagles, earning her second NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut of the season, this time in the one-meter dive (267.00) while leading the Eastern divers with 12 points in the meet.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES: VS. OAKLAND, NOV. 21
Outside of Knapp and Szadorski, the Eagles had strong showings from Oz, who earned the first event wins of her career with a personal-best 1:54.09 swim in the 200-yard freestyle to go with a first-place showing in the 500-yard freestyle (5:05.57). Maire also earned an NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut in the one-meter dive with a career-best 270.45 points.
DIVER OF THE WEEK
Knapp was named MAC Co-Diver of the Week, Nov. 27. The award marks her second of the season and third of her career. She earned the award earlier this season, Oct. 23, after achieving her three-meter NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut with a personal-best 317.25 score, finishing first in a win over Cleveland State, Oct. 18.
Against Oakland, Nov. 21, Knapp earned her second first-place finish of the season in the three-meter dive, tying a personal-best with a score of 317.25 in the Eagles' 161-139 win. Her score ranks as the best in the conference thus far according to Swim Cloud. She went on to place third in the one-meter dive with a score of 267.00, earning her second NCAA Zone Diving Championships cut of the season. Overall, Knapp led all Eastern divers with 12 points in the meet.
VS. INDIANA STATE, NOV. 9
The Eagles fell in their home-opener against Indiana State, 187-113, Nov. 9. In the pool, Eastern was led by Azra Umut (Istanbul, Turkey/Fenerbahce School), who finished in first-place in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:04.50, and second in the 100-yard backstroke in 57.51. Both marked personal-bests for the freshman. On the boards, Maire paced the Green and White, winning the three-meter dive with a season-best 266.93 points and placing third in the one-meter with a personal-best 256.88 points. Sophomore Tristen Mina (Santa Clara, Calif./The King's Academy) also swam a lifetime-best in the 100-yard butterfly, touching the wall in 56.16.
AT BUFFALO, OCT. 26
The Eagles escaped enemy territory with a 149.5-148.5 win over Buffalo, Oct. 26. In the pool, they were led by Abby Szadorski (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East), who swept both breaststroke events, winning the 100-yard in 1:04.12, shaving one second off her previous season-fastest time (1:05.12), and the 200-yard in 2:20.13. The senior went on to improve her time in the 200-yard IM, touching the wall in 2:10.05 compared to her 2:11.32 she swam against Cleveland State, Oct. 18. On the boards, Wheeler led the team with a fourth-place outing in the one-meter dive as she posted 251.85 points in the six-dive format.
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 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.
ENTERING YEAR SIX UNDER PERKINS
The program is entering its sixth year under Perkins. Entering the 2024-25 season, Perkins holds a 12-19 record, and 9-10 mark in MAC competition. The program has seen 64 Academic All-MAC selections and four 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 Tom 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 welcomes 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), Lupa, Oz, 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 three-meter dive at the MAC Championships last season, with a score of 301.15.
SWIMMING LEADERS
In the pool, the Eagles return Russell, who clocked the fifth-fastest 100-yard backstroke time in program history in 54.33. Joining Russell is Nina Larosa (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay), who notched the program's eighth-best 100-yard 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 200-yard 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 next compete on the road at Ohio Saturday. Feb. 1, at 11 a.m. The meet will mark EMU's final dual meet of the season prior to the MAC Championships, hosted by Buffalo, Feb. 26-March 1.
FOLLOW US
For the latest in EMU swimming & diving, stay tuned to EMUEagles.com, and follow the team on Instagram, X, and Facebook
Players Mentioned
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