Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, February 25
Akron, Ohio
6 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
MAC Championships
Swim and Dive Preps for MAC Championships, Wednesday-Saturday
2/23/2026 12:20:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
The Eagles are in search of their first conference title since 2007
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University swim and dive teams will compete at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships, hosted by the University of Akron, at the Oliver J. Ocasek Natatorium in Akron, Ohio, Wednesday-Saturday, Feb. 25-28.
The schedule of events and ESPN+ live watch links for each day can be accessed on the swim and dive schedule page here.
Fans can stay tuned 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 live in-meet content.
EMU at MACs
Eastern has captured two MAC crowns in its history, coming in consecutive seasons in 2006 and 2007, under former head coach Peter Linn.
The Eagles took home the 2006 MAC title, its first MAC Championship, besting second-place finisher, the University of Miami, by 11 points. Eastern ended the meet scoring 637.5 points with seven All-MAC honorees (two first team selections and five second team nods). Linn was named the MAC Swimming Coach of the Year while former diving coach Buck Smith was named Diving Coach of the Year. One of the most decorated swimmers in Eagles' history, Madeline Pilchard was tabbed Swimmer of the Year by the conference.
Pilchard raked in three individual MAC titles in the meet, winning the 100y freestyle (50.48), 200y freestyle (1:48.74), and 500y freestyle (4:51.99). She also swam the anchor leg of EMU's first-place 400y freestyle team, a race the Eagles swam in 3:24.97.
The Eagles repeated as champs in the 2007 season, scoring 665 points to edge second-place Ohio University (618 points) by a margin of 47 points inside Eastern's Jones Natatorium.
Pilchard won swimmer of the year for the second consecutive season and Sarah Chrzanowski earned the Diver of the Year Award with her first-place finish in the 1m dive (293.60 points). Eastern saw nine individuals named to All-MAC teams (four to first team and five to second team), while claiming gold in eight events throughout the meet.
Last time at MACs
The Eagles finished seventh as a team with 215 points at last year's MAC Championships, Feb. 26-March 1. They were highlighted by Megan Lupa (Campden, Ontario/West Niagara Secondary), who earned MAC Freshman Diver of the Year, placing seventh in the 3m dive final with 255.75 points, and 15th in the 1m dive finals, scoring 226.95 points. On the fourth and final day of the meet, Eastern scored 73 points, making it their most successful day. The swimmers saw three program top 10 times on the third day of the championships, as Tristen Mina (Santa Clara, Calif./The King's Academy) and Olivia Clarino teamed up to swim the No. 5 (54.59) and No. 7 (55.08) 100y butterfly program times, respectively, before Nina LaRosa (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay) improved her program top 10 100y breaststroke time from No. 8 to No. 7, as she placed ninth in the finals in 1:02.62.
EMU at MACs Under Perkins
Eastern's highest finish at the MAC Championships under Derek Perkins came in his first season when the Eagles placed third with 485 points. His Eagles placed fifth in the 2021-22 season (354 points), and finished sixth in 2020-21 (305 points), 2022-23 (302 points), and 2023-24 (273 points).
Last Time Out Highlights
The Eagles last competed against Ball State University inside Jones Natatorium, Jan. 24, resulting in a loss of 133.5 points to Ball State's 166.5 points. Eastern won three events in the pool, two of which came from LaRosa, as she swam the 100y breaststroke in 1:02.61 for first place, along with taking first in the 200y breaststroke in 2:20.02. The third event win came from Mina, as she took first place in the 100y butterfly with a time of 55.31. Mina was followed by Abbey Clarke (Caledon, Ontario/Robert F. Hall), who finished in second place with a time of 56.43, and Nehir Guven (Istanbul, Turkey/Istek Atanur Oguz Okullari), who earned third with a personal best time of 56.53 to sweep the race.
The divers swept both events, earning the top four scores in each. Rose Kendrick (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) won both events with a personal best score of 280.88 points in the one-meter, and another personal best score of 295.13 points in the three-meter. Marnie Howard (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community West) took second place in the one-meter with 236.78 points, followed by Taityn Speier (Fairfax, Va./WT Woodson), who earned third with 234.75 points, and Aisling Gutierrez (New Kent, Va./New Kent), who scored 231.83 points to take fourth place. In the three-meter, Kendrick was followed by Speier with 252.15 points for second place, Gutierrez earned third with 249.83 points, and Howard closed the sweep with 231.75 points for fourth place.
Up Next
Qualified divers will move on to the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, hosted by Eastern Michigan, inside Jones Natatorium, Monday-Wednesday, March 9-11. Select swimmers will compete at the CSCAA NICs, hosted by the CSCAA, in Ocala, Fla., Thursday-Saturday, March 12-14.
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.
The schedule of events and ESPN+ live watch links for each day can be accessed on the swim and dive schedule page here.
Fans can stay tuned 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 live in-meet content.
EMU at MACs
Eastern has captured two MAC crowns in its history, coming in consecutive seasons in 2006 and 2007, under former head coach Peter Linn.
The Eagles took home the 2006 MAC title, its first MAC Championship, besting second-place finisher, the University of Miami, by 11 points. Eastern ended the meet scoring 637.5 points with seven All-MAC honorees (two first team selections and five second team nods). Linn was named the MAC Swimming Coach of the Year while former diving coach Buck Smith was named Diving Coach of the Year. One of the most decorated swimmers in Eagles' history, Madeline Pilchard was tabbed Swimmer of the Year by the conference.
Pilchard raked in three individual MAC titles in the meet, winning the 100y freestyle (50.48), 200y freestyle (1:48.74), and 500y freestyle (4:51.99). She also swam the anchor leg of EMU's first-place 400y freestyle team, a race the Eagles swam in 3:24.97.
The Eagles repeated as champs in the 2007 season, scoring 665 points to edge second-place Ohio University (618 points) by a margin of 47 points inside Eastern's Jones Natatorium.
Pilchard won swimmer of the year for the second consecutive season and Sarah Chrzanowski earned the Diver of the Year Award with her first-place finish in the 1m dive (293.60 points). Eastern saw nine individuals named to All-MAC teams (four to first team and five to second team), while claiming gold in eight events throughout the meet.
Last time at MACs
The Eagles finished seventh as a team with 215 points at last year's MAC Championships, Feb. 26-March 1. They were highlighted by Megan Lupa (Campden, Ontario/West Niagara Secondary), who earned MAC Freshman Diver of the Year, placing seventh in the 3m dive final with 255.75 points, and 15th in the 1m dive finals, scoring 226.95 points. On the fourth and final day of the meet, Eastern scored 73 points, making it their most successful day. The swimmers saw three program top 10 times on the third day of the championships, as Tristen Mina (Santa Clara, Calif./The King's Academy) and Olivia Clarino teamed up to swim the No. 5 (54.59) and No. 7 (55.08) 100y butterfly program times, respectively, before Nina LaRosa (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay) improved her program top 10 100y breaststroke time from No. 8 to No. 7, as she placed ninth in the finals in 1:02.62.
EMU at MACs Under Perkins
Eastern's highest finish at the MAC Championships under Derek Perkins came in his first season when the Eagles placed third with 485 points. His Eagles placed fifth in the 2021-22 season (354 points), and finished sixth in 2020-21 (305 points), 2022-23 (302 points), and 2023-24 (273 points).
Last Time Out Highlights
The Eagles last competed against Ball State University inside Jones Natatorium, Jan. 24, resulting in a loss of 133.5 points to Ball State's 166.5 points. Eastern won three events in the pool, two of which came from LaRosa, as she swam the 100y breaststroke in 1:02.61 for first place, along with taking first in the 200y breaststroke in 2:20.02. The third event win came from Mina, as she took first place in the 100y butterfly with a time of 55.31. Mina was followed by Abbey Clarke (Caledon, Ontario/Robert F. Hall), who finished in second place with a time of 56.43, and Nehir Guven (Istanbul, Turkey/Istek Atanur Oguz Okullari), who earned third with a personal best time of 56.53 to sweep the race.
The divers swept both events, earning the top four scores in each. Rose Kendrick (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) won both events with a personal best score of 280.88 points in the one-meter, and another personal best score of 295.13 points in the three-meter. Marnie Howard (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community West) took second place in the one-meter with 236.78 points, followed by Taityn Speier (Fairfax, Va./WT Woodson), who earned third with 234.75 points, and Aisling Gutierrez (New Kent, Va./New Kent), who scored 231.83 points to take fourth place. In the three-meter, Kendrick was followed by Speier with 252.15 points for second place, Gutierrez earned third with 249.83 points, and Howard closed the sweep with 231.75 points for fourth place.
Up Next
Qualified divers will move on to the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, hosted by Eastern Michigan, inside Jones Natatorium, Monday-Wednesday, March 9-11. Select swimmers will compete at the CSCAA NICs, hosted by the CSCAA, in Ocala, Fla., Thursday-Saturday, March 12-14.
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.
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