Miami University
Eastern Michigan
RedHawks Defeat Eagles, 176-103, In MAC Home Opener
11/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 12, 2005
OXFORD, Ohio - With victories in 13 of 16 events, the Miami University women's swimming and diving team (6-1, 4-0 MAC) extended their conference dual-meet winning streak to 36 with a 176-103 win over the Eastern Michigan Eagles.
In their conference home opener at Nixon Aquatic Center on Saturday, the RedHawks dominated the meet from the outset, winning nine of the first ten events.
Miami opened the meet by placing the top three teams in the 400 medley relay, with the RedHawks "A" relay squad taking the event in 3:55.83. Freshman Jenn Flaherty (Scarborough, Maine/ Scarborough) followed with another Miami win in the 1000 free, her fourth-consecutive victory in the event and her seventh overall win of the season. Flaherty clocked in at 10:15.98, her top time in the 1000 free this season, as she helped stake the RedHawks a 26-12 lead.
Eastern Michigan tallied its first win of the meet when it placed two of the top three finishers in the 200 free, narrowing Miami's lead to 32-23, but Miami freshman Malarie Schmidt (Batavia, Ill./Rosary) responded with a win in the 100 back as the RedHawks placed the top three finishers in the event. It was Schmidt's fifth win in a backstroke event this year.
The RedHawks stretched their lead to 63-30 with senior Katie Unger `s (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) win in the 100 breast, and another Miami win by senior Katie Forster (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) in the 200 fly gave the RedHawks a 77-35 advantage.
Junior Margaret Patrick (Marietta, Ga./Holy Innocents) posted Miami's third-consecutive win with her top finish in the 50 free, touching the wall in 23.94. Patrick's time was tied for her best of the season as she also posted the same time in the 50 free at Miami's tri-meet versus Illinois and Marshall on Nov. 4.
At the halfway point of the meet, Miami staked to a 50-point lead at 100-50 after senior Christin Eberst's (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) victory in the three-meter board. Patrick followed with her second win of the meet in the 100 free, the third time this year she swept the freestyle sprint events, while another victory by Schmidt in the 200 back gave Miami wins in seven consecutive events.
The Eagles stopped the RedHawk winning streak and notched their second victory of the meet in the 200 breast, and another Eastern Michigan win in the 500 free cut Miami's lead to 144-82.
Needing to get to 151 points to close out their 36th-consecutive conference win dating back to Feb. 3, 2001, a win by Kathryn Stephens (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) in the 100 fly sealed the RedHawks' win. Miami then finished the meet with wins by Eberst in the one-meter dive and senior Laura Armbruster (North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton) in the 200 IM.
Miami is in action next weekend when it heads to Bloomington, Ind. for the Indiana Invitational on Nov. 18 and 19.
MEET NOTES: Flaherty's time in the 1000 free bested her previous season best of 10:16.47 set at the season-opening meet against Akron (Oct. 28). Flaherty has now won the 1000 free at each of the four meets she has swam in the event ... Schmidt's time of 58.74 in the 100 back was her top time of the season, eclipsing her previous best of 58.88 set in Miami's tri-meet against Marshall and Illinois (Nov. 4). Schmidt also swept the backstroke events against Eastern Michigan with a win in the 200 back, marking the second time this season she has won the 100 and 200 back at the same meet ... Patrick's sweep of the freestyle sprint events gave her six overall wins on the season. Patrick also swept the 50 and 100 free against Akron (Oct. 28) and Ball State (Nov. 5) ... Eberst swept the boards for the fifth consecutive meet, giving her wins in all 10 diving events she had entered this season. Dating back to last season, Eberst has won 25 of the last 32 diving events she has entered ... Three athletes, Patrick, Schmidt and Eberst, each posted multiple individual wins at the meet.
Players Mentioned
