The continuation of a Mid-American Conference winning streak and a come-from-behind finish at the MAC championships highlighted the 2012-13 season for the Eastern Michigan University men’s swim and dive team.
“We trailed for the 18 events in the MAC championships,” EMU swimming coach Peter Linn said. “And being able to win it all in the last two was great because they were able to hang in there enough to pull through in the end.”
The Eagles finished 5-2 and 3-0 in the MAC to keep its dual-meet winning streak alive in the MAC with 63.
“Remember, the results can always go either way because of how close some of the finishes are,” Linn said. “A matter of a thousandth of a second and we could have lost, but it is still a great accomplishment.”
On Oct. 19, EMU began the dual-meet schedule with a home win over the Northwestern University Wildcats, 157-141, at the Jones Natatorium.
The Eagles made the 30-minute trip east to Detroit and handled the Wayne State University Warriors, 164-79, on Nov. 2.
Then, EMU suffered a setback on Nov. 10, falling to the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies on the road, 159-139.
On Jan. 11, the team dropped its second-straight meet to the eventual Division I National Champions, the University of Michigan Wolverines, 196-133.
The meet between those two schools was not on either’s original schedule, and was put together on the week of their meeting by Linn and U of M coach Mike Bottom.
EMU traveled to Muncie, Ind., on Jan. 19 and rebounded from back-to-back losses by defeating the Ball State University Cardinals, 159-130.
On Jan. 26, the Eagles kept the momentum from the Ball State meet going and knocked off the University of New York at Buffalo Bulls in a nail biter, 151.5-148.5.
EMU closed its dual-meet season on a three-meet winning streak by defeating the Miami University (Ohio) RedHawks, 184-110, on Feb. 2.
Their victory over the RedHawks was the seniors’ last meet at Jones Natatorium.
In the Zone C Diving Championships in West Lafayette, Ind., none of the EMU divers qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Senior Jacob Hanson qualified for the NCAAs and finished fourth in the 200-yard backstroke final, which was the highest finish among mid-major swimmers, with a time of 1 minute, 39.87 seconds.
In swimming and diving, the speed accelerates every year, and when asked about the expectations for next season, senior Andrew Saunders said, “I believe all the guys will step it up next season.
The improvement I have seen from them all over the past year was unbelievable, and if they continue to work as hard as they did this year I think they will go far.”
Saunders said looking back on what he will miss the most from being on the team is going into practice and just messing around with them.
“It has been a lot of fun getting to know everyone and it’s going to be a tough year next year without them all,” Saunders said.
Injuries:
On the diving side, sophomore Dakoda Johnson suffered a concussion and a dislocated shoulder, which kept him on the sidelines for most of the season. He should be ready to swim in the fall.
Sophomore Tyler Keelean had a torn ligament in his wrist, which required surgery and kept him out for the season. He is also expected back in the fall.
Looking ahead:
As of this article, Linn said there is no word on when the new captain(s) and incoming freshmen would be named.
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