Bowling Green State University
MAC Championships
Swimming Third at MAC Championship; Harris Wins 200 Backstroke
March 03, 2013 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Buffalo, N.Y. - The Bowling Green State University swim team celebrated a Mid-American Conference title, as Alexa Harris swam a personal best and school record 1:57.30 to finish first in the championship final, along with Bowling Green's Petra Martin being named MAC Coach of the Year.
Overall, the Falcons finished in third place, an improvement of five places from last year's eighth place finish. Bowling Green earned 467 points to trail only Ohio (505) and champion Miami (621). It was the program's best finish at MAC Championships since the 2004 season.
COMPLETE RESULTS
SATURDAY RESULTS ONLY
"The team has done a phenomenal job this year and I'm so proud of them," Martin said. "This meet brought us even closer together as a team. I'm really proud of this program and what we have become over the last three years. This is such a huge step for us."
Harris's win in the 200 backstroke made her the first MAC champion for Bowling Green since 2009, when Vicky Yu won in the 200 butterfly. Her time was faster than the 1:57.75 she swam in prelims and both times eclipsed the NCAA "B" standard in the event.
The Falcons also saw top finishes in the 200 breaststroke, as Daniela Carrillo and Stephanie Boyle finished second and third. Carrillo swam a BGSU record of 2:11.20 in the prelims, finishing with a 2:11.95 in the final. Her time meets the NCAA "B" standard and puts her in a good position to earn an invitation to the NCAA Championships.
Boyle swam a career-best 2:15.43 - the third-fastest time in school history and another time that surpassed the NCAA B standard. Senior Alexis Kain won the consolation final to finish ninth overall.
Freshman Jordan Bullock finished fifth in the 200 butterfly, posting a personal best time of 2:00.11 to break the BGSU record held by Vicky Yu. Nicole Hranchook competed in the consolation final and finished 14th with a time of 2:05.09.
Emily Bennet swam in the championship final of the 100 freestyle, finishing seventh with a time of 50.89. Teammates Joëlle Scheps and Brittany Szekely finished 12th and 16th overall swimming in the consolation final.
Emily Waller led the Falcons in the 1650 freestyle, touching in a career-best 17:07.69 to finish in ninth place. Tara Capouch was close behind in 11th, swimming a time of 17:10.29.
The final event of the night was the 400 freestyle relay, where the Falcons finished in fifth place. Scheps, Bennet, Szekely and Hannah Newman swam the final race in a school-record time of 3:23.78, securing a top-three finish for the team.
For her performance, Harris was named to the All-MAC First Team, while Boyle, Waller, Carrillo, Scheps and Kain earned All-MAC Second Team selections.
The result was only the second top-three finish for Bowling Green at the MAC Championships in 20 years. Martin's Coach of the Year honor is the first since Keri Buff won the award in 2003. The Falcons now wait to hear if any individuals qualify to the NCAA Championships, set to take place March 21-23 in Indianapolis, Ind.
