Eastern Michigan University’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams remain perfect at the start of the season, defeating the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies on Saturday afternoon at Jones Natatorium. The men improved their record to 2-0 beating Oakland 180.5-119.5, and the women are now 3-0 with a 193.5-104.5 victory.
The Golden Grizzlie’s men and women came into the season as the defending Horizon League champions, while Eastern’s men are the defending Mid-American Conference champions. The Eagles women are the current MAC runner-up.
The two schools have a long history of going back and forth, as the EMU men had won six of the last ten meetings, and the women had won five of the last ten including a tie in the last meet leading up to Satuday.
“It’s always fun to beat Oakland,” said EMU coach Peter Linn. “They’re a good team.”
Senior captain, Andrew Henry, helped lead EMU’s men to a victory placing first in three events including the 200-meter freestyle (1:38.73), 100-meter freestyle (45.13) and 200-meter individual medley (1:51.00).
Also helping the men to a victory was Cole Bateman, who placed first in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 50.22. Marcin Rzyski also came away with a couple wins in the 500-meter freestyle, 4:38.67 and the 100-meter butterfly, 1:51.34.
“Cole’s [Bateman] coming along real well, he’s way ahead of where he was a year ago at this time,” said Linn. “He’s a competitive guy, and he’s doing a great job.”
EMU’s women downed Oakland 193.5-104.5, having solid performances from juniors, Carly Jackson and Grace Van Allen. Between the two they compiled five first- place finishes in their respective heats.
“[Carly Jackson] actually had some injuries over the years, so it’s always good to see her when she’s having a good day and beats everybody,” said Linn.
Eastern Michigan’s men are seeking another MAC Championship this year, and the women look to claim its first since 2007.
“We want to be as good as we can be, our primary goal right now is the conference meet,” said Linn.
Eastern Michigan’s next meet is slated for Saturday, Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. where the Ohio State University Buckeyes come to Ypsilanti to face both the men and women.
