RedHawks Host 2004 MAC Championships This Weekend
2/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Feb. 24, 2004
OXFORD, Ohio -
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2004 MAC Championship Information
Final 2003-2004 Overall Record: 12-1 * Final 2003-2004 MAC Record: 8-0This Week: The eight other Mid-American Conference swimming & diving teams descend upon Oxford for the 2004 MAC Women's Swimming & Diving Championships, Feb. 26-28, at the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center. The RedHawks are the two-time defending champions and have won a league-record 13 titles overall.
Last Time Out: The Red and White swam to a first-place finish at the Midwest Conference Classic last weekend in Indianapolis.
Sophomore Ellen Koch (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) won two events to pace the RedHawk attack. Koch was the top finisher in the preliminary and championship heats of both the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly. For her efforts, Koch was named the MAC Swimmer of the Week on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
2003 MAC Champions: At Bowling Green in 2003, senior Amy Miranda(Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) and junior Trisha Lamb (Oregon, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) combined for four MAC Championships in leading Miami to its second consecutive conference title. Miranda was victorious in both the 500 and 1650 freestyle events, while Lamb topped the field in both the 100 and 200 backstroke. Departed letterwinner Jackie Hiltman and sophomore Katie Unger (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) joined the duo on the all-MAC first team, as junior Cara Magee (Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon) took second-team honors.
Shown Winners: While Miami has won the last two MAC Championships, three RedHawks have experience as individual championships. Leading the way is senior Amy Miranda. In her first three seasons, the Louisville native has won the 1650 freestyle each year and the 500 free in each of the last two. Junior Trisha Lamb swept the two backstroke events last season (100 & 200), while junior Michelle Reynolds (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming) claimed the 200 butterfly championship in 2002.
Bringing the Championship Home-Literally: This season marks the fourth time Oxford has played home to the MAC Championships. Two of the previous three times, 1982 and 1999, the RedHawks have claimed the crown at home, while in 1995, Miami fell short of Ohio by 12.5 points in taking second place.
History: In the 23 years of the MAC Championships, the RedHawks have had unprecedented success. Aside from winning the event a MAC-record 13 times, Miami has placed second in eight of the remaining 10 years, second only to Bowling Green's nine second place finishes. MU has failed to finish in the top two just twice in 23 seasons, taking third in 1991 and fourth in 1993. The RedHawks are the only conference school to finish in the top four all 23 years, followed by Ohio which has finished among the top four 20 times.
We're Going Streaking!: Miami finished its conference season undefeated for the third straight year. In doing so, the RedHawks have pushed their conference winning streak to 25 meets, dating back to the 2000-2001 season. On a lesser scale, the Red and White ended its regular season on a 12-meet winning streak after a season-opening loss to Purdue.
Getting It Done: A large reason for the Red and White's recent winning streaks has been consistency. During the 2003-04 conference season, Miami has managed to win at least 10 events at all eight meets, averaging just over 12 per meet. Including exhbitioned events, MU has won 97-of-128 (.758) MAC dual-meet events. Overall, the RedHawks have come away with 128 wins in 184 dual meet events (.696), while holding seven opponents under 100 points and topping 200 points three times.
Diver Dominance: A couple RedHawk divers have managed to string together a winning streak of their own: 22 straight first-place finishes in diving events. Sophomore Christin Eberst (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and senior Heidi Willemssen (Prior Lake, Minn./Lakeview) have combined to win the last 22 events either of them have competed in, once in an exhibitioned event. Eberst has led the way, winning 20 times, while Willemssen has taken first twice.
Eberst has been unstoppable in just her sophomore season. As a freshman, she won 17-of-22 regular-season events. In her brief career, she has taken top honors 37-of-46 (.804) times, including a 3-0 mark when exhibitioning.
Up Next: The season continues for RedHawk divers and NCAA qualifiers, as the diving regionals and NCAA Championships are the last remaining meets on the schedule. Hosted by Indiana, the diving regionals run March 12-13, with the NCAA Championships being held one week later (March 18-20) by Texas A&M.