Women's Swimming Hosts Ball State Friday
11/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 2, 2006
Riding a streak of 41 consecutive Mid-American Conference dual meet wins, the Miami University women's swimming and diving hosts Ball State Friday at 5 p.m. the Nixon Aquatic Center. The Redhawks are coming off a pair of convincing wins over MAC foes Akron and Buffalo on the season's opening weekend.
MAC HONORS: After setting a new 100 breaststroke varsity record in her first collegiate meet, Miami freshman Karen Frazier was tabbed as the MAC Swimmer of the Week (Oct. 31). Frazier became the first Miamian since 2005 to reset a varsity swimming record, as she clocked in with a time of 1:04.18 in the 100 breaststroke against Akron (Oct. 27). Frazier's time broke the seven-year-old Miami record of 1:04.20 held by four-time MAC Champion Amanda Furlano. Frazier also reset Furlano's freshman record of 1:04.52, which had stood for nine seasons.
PRESEASON POLL: Winners of four of the last five conference championships, Miami was tabbed second in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Eastern Michigan Eagles, the 2006 MAC Champions, were picked as the preseason conference favorite. Behind the top two schools in the preseason poll, Ohio, Ball State and Bowling Green were tabbed third through fifth, respectively. Toledo (sixth), Akron (seventh) and Buffalo (eighth) rounded out the poll.
NEW YEAR, NEW TEAM: Coming off a second-place finish at last season's conference meet, Miami returns 25 letterwinners, including two-time MAC Champion Kristen Bezier, for the 2006-07 season. While Miami did lose 10 letterwinners from last year's squad, most notably NCAA qualifier and back-to-back MAC Diver of the Year Christin Eberst, the RedHawks' cupboard is anything but bare. Along with Bezier, three additional all-conference performers -- seniors Margaret Patrick and Darcy Meek and sophomore Malarie Schmidt -- anchor a deep Miami lineup that is expected to contend for the program's 16th all-time MAC title.
TIME TO RELOAD: Despite graduating six school record holders, three individual MAC Champions and a three-time NCAA qualifier, history indicates that Miami will be reloading, not rebuilding, in the 2006-07 season. The RedHawks have won eight of the last 11 MAC titles and have not finished outside the top two in the conference since 1993, including four straight MAC titles from 2002-05. Miami also carries a streak of 39 consecutive MAC dual meet wins into the season.
THE STREAK: Having finished with a perfect conference dual meet record for five straight seasons, the RedHawks are riding a streak of 41 consecutive MAC dual meet wins. Miami beat Akron and Buffalo in its season-opening weekend and seeks to extend its streak this weekend when Ball State visits the Nixon Aquatic Center. Miami has not lost a MAC dual meet since Feb. 3, 2001 when it was defeated by Eastern Michigan.
THE ELEVEN: Miami's 11-member senior class enters its final season in Oxford seeking to put an exclamation point on a successful four-year run. The 11 Miami seniors (Emilie Armer, Amber Kerek, Laura-Ashley Lossing, Darcy Meek, Katie Meister, Margaret Patrick, Ashley Petak, Allison Schaser, Ashley Seymour, Tyler Smith and Diana Zeleznikar) have combined to post a 34-3 mark in their three seasons and win two MAC titles, and they are seeking the prgram's 16th all-time MAC crown.
PICKS TO CLICK: Leading the way for Miami this season are a trio of athletes with the ability to succeed at both the conference and national levels -- senior Margaret Patrick, junior Kristen Bezier and freshman Karen Frazier. Patrick was an all-MAC second team selection as a junior, and the Marietta, Ga. native missed an Olympic Trial cut in the 50-meter freestyle by five-hundredths of a second at this summer's Speedo Southern Sectionals. Patrick also was the only Miami women's swimmer to turn in an NCAA "B" cut last season, clocking in at 23.08 in the 50 free at the conference meet. Bezier, the defending MAC Champion in both the 100 and 200 breast, is Miami's only returning all-MAC first-team honoree, while Frazier, the RedHawks' top newcomer, competed at the senior national meet last summer.
UP AND COMERS: Not to be overlooked, Miami also features a crop of up-and-coming swimmers with the ability to be MAC finalists in multiple events. The RedHawks return a pair of all-MAC second-team selections in senior Darcy Meek and sophomore Malarie Schmidt, while sophomore Jenn Flaherty, Miami's top distance swimmer and the MAC runner-up in the 1,650 free, seeks to improve in her second season in Oxford. Sophomore Alyson Schmidt also looks to have a strong sophomore campaign after posting career-best marks in MAC exhibition swims that would have been good enough to final in both the 50 free (23.84) and 100 back (58.36).
NEW FACES: The Class of 2010 enters their first season in the Red and White, and Miami expects a number of its newcomers to help its push toward a MAC title. The addition of divers Kelsey Anagnos and Rachel Smith help offset the loss of two-time MAC Diver of the Year Christin Eberst, while Karen Frazier and Allison Way give the RedHawks depth in the breaststroke and butterfly, respectively. Frazier was a senior national qualifier last summer, while Way was the Nebraska state champion in the 100 fly. Jenna Long in the sprint freestyle and Claire Fogarty and Stephanie Hall in the breaststroke also add depth to Miami's group of talented newcomers.
HISTORY LESSON: Last season, sophomore Kristen Bezier finished as Miami's only individual MAC Champion and was the first Miami swimmer since Amanda Furlano in 1998 to sweep the breaststroke events at the conference meet ... Miami head coach Dave Jennings earned his 200th career dual meet win with a 171-125 victory over Ohio (Jan. 28, 2006), and his current record with the women's program stands at 203-89 ... Miami has won 10 or more dual meets in four of the past five seasons, including a school record 14 victories in both 2002 and 2003 ... The RedHawks have lost only three dual meets since 2004, one each in the past three seasons ... Miami finished last season ranked No. 2 in the CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Poll.
Players Mentioned
