Through hard work and determination, the Eastern Michigan University women’s swim and dive team accomplished its first ever undefeated season in dual meets.
The Eagles finished the dual-meet season at 7-0 and 5-0 in Mid-American Conference play.
“Being able to see the team collectively as one put together, the streak was a great thing to see,” EMU swimming coach Peter Linn said.
The dual-meet season began Oct. 27, with a 168-132 victory over the Ohio University Bobcats in Athens, Ohio.
EMU carried the momentum into its matchup with the Wayne State University Warriors on Nov. 2, dismantling them 157-86.
The next day, the Eagles returned home to the Jones Natatorium and knocked off the University of Toledo Rockets, 163.5-136.5.
On Nov. 10, EMU traveled to Rochester, Mich., and defeated the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies, 171-123.
The Eagles did not have another dual meet until Jan. 12, when the team handled the Bowling Green State University Falcons on Senior Day, 166-128.
On Jan. 19, the Eagles went down to Muncie, Ind., and took care of the Ball State University Cardinals, 158-142.
In the dual-meet regular season finale on Jan. 26, EMU defeated the University of New York at Buffalo Bulls 169-131 to cap off a historic season.
Expectations for the Eagles were at an all-time high going into the MAC championships, which took place from Feb. 28 to March 2 in Buffalo, N.Y.
EMU finished fourth in the event with a score of 450, but Linn was not disappointed in the effort.
“[The finish] was very realistic because the conference schedule does not have us swimming against all of the teams,” Linn said. “They also score the meet differently, so it is one of those things where you had a team like Ohio, who finished ahead of us and did not have three or four of their swimmers in the meet against us. It’s like having your star center out and you lose and then you get beat by them in the MACs with their full roster.”
Senior Briana Emig was honored with the Outstanding Senior Award for performance in the three-day event and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Senior Kelly Hendricks and redshirt junior Danielle Hulvey qualified for the NCAA Championships at the Zone C Diving Championships in West Lafayette, Ind., on March 16.
In the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Hendricks placed third in the three-meter dive with a 356.05, giving the Eagles their best individual finish in both the men’s and women’s championships.
Emig and Hulvey were also a part of the championships.
Hendricks sees the whole team stepping up next season to fill the void of the departing seniors.
“It will be a collective effort,” she said. “This is a great team, and with hard work, everyone will get competitive results as I did. I see the potential of my teammates for next years and the years after.”
Injuries:
On the swimming side, injuries were not as big of an issue.
“This season was a bit smoother than most as far as not having swimming injuries,” Linn said. “But there were some [team members] that were sick for certain periods of time.”
For women’s diving, there were no significant injuries Linn could recall at the time of the interview.
Looking ahead:
As of this article, Linn said there is no word on when the new captain(s) and incoming freshmen would be named.
When asked about what it will take to become a captain, Linn said, “We want people to look at what kind of values they need in order to become one and be able to have a great work ethic.”
