Bowling Green State University
Ohio
Falcons Edge Out Bobcats in Final Race of the Night
November 06, 2009 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Swim team earns first win at first home meet of the season
Bowling Green, Ohio--It all came down to the final race of the evening, but the BGSU Falcons reigned victorious in their first home meet of the 2009-10 season, defeating the Ohio Bobcats, 148-146. The swimming Falcons improve their record to 1-2.
Over the course of the night, the Falcons finished in top-three places 25 times, including eight first place finsihes, nine second place finishes and eight third place finishes.
Overcoming a deficit
On their quest to their first victory, the Falcons overcame a 32-point deficit that the Bobcats earned by taking first, second and third places in both the one- and three-meter diving events. Although the Falcons held the lead over the Bobcats through 13 of the 16 events the Orange and Brown were briefly overcome by the Bobcats diving squad who boosted the Bobcats over the Falcons, 130-128. Two events later, the Falcons redeemed their lead in the final race of the night, the 400-yard medley relay, in which they swam to first- and third-place finishes.
The race started out tight. During the first-leg of the event, the Falcons and Bobcats swam neck-to-neck, but the tie was short-lived. The Falcons quickly gained the lead during the second-leg of the race and never let it go. The top-finishing relay team finished a full body length ahead of competing Bobcats. Falcons Emily Bennet, Meg Richardson, Emily Waller and Carrie Enright were members of the top-place squad, finishing the race in 3:30.75.
The third-place success of the Falcon 'B' squad was just as important to the team win over the Bobcats. Making up the third-place crew was Jamie Akenberger, Vicky Yu, Andrea Brown and Sarah Reinink, who finished the race with a combined time of 3:36.39.
Making it a team effort
The Falcon's win over the 2008-09 second-place MAC finishers was a result of strong individual performances from every swimmer on the team. Top contenders in the meet include; freshmen Emily Bennet and Alexis Kain; sophomores Vicky Yu, Megan Bomicino and Amanda Rom; junior Sarah Burston; and senior Meg Richardson.
Bennet tapped into first on three occassions, including the meet-winning 400-yard freestyle relay race, while also finishing second in a fourth event. Bennet set the pace in the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.11), the 50-yard freestyle (24.08) and was the first-leg of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay (3:30.75). Bennet took second in the 100-yard freestyle but was just barely out-touched, coming in only five one-hundredths of a second behind an OU swimmer.
Kain, Bomicino, Rom and Yu each added one first-place finish to the Falcons winning efforts.
Teammates Alexis Kain and Amanda Rom swapped first- and second-place finishes in the breaststroke events. Kain captured first in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:06.72) while tapping into second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:26.52). Rom nabbed first in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:25.72) and second in the 100 (1:07.72). Rom and Kain were also both apart of winning relay teams. Kain swam backstroke in the top-place 400-yard medley relay team while Rom was the second-leg of the 400-yard medly relay team that took third.
Yu Vicky found first-place success in the 200-yard butterfly (2:06.43), which she led by more than a full-body length. Yu also took second in the 100-yard butterfly (58.09) and swam butterfly in the top finishing 400-yard medley relay.
Megan Bomicino added a first-place finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle, swimming the 40-lap race in 10:32.61, only one second off of her personal best time. The distance swimmer also found second-place success in the 500-yard freestyle (5:10.25).
Adding valuable points to the Falcons winning score was Sarah Burston and Meg Richardson.
Burston took two second-place finishes in the 200-yard butterfly (2:08.43) and the 200-yard IM (2:10.43). She was also a member of the 400-yard medley relay team that took third in the first event of the meet.
In addition to being a member of the two first-place relay crews, Richardson tapped into second in the 50-yard freestyle (24.14) and third in the 100-yard freestyle, touching in just three one-hundredths of a second behind teammate Emily Bennet.
Catch more Falcon action tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, as the Orange and Brown square off against MAC rivals, the Miami Redhawks, at 1:00 p.m. at Cooper Pool.
Later tomorrow night the BGSU swim team will be hosting their annual trivia bowl to crown, "The Smartest People in Bowling Gree." The bowl will be held on the second floor of the Sebo Center at 7:00 p.m. Entry is $105 for one person, $150 for a couple and $500 for a table of eight. Fees include admission into the trivia bowl, membership to the Falcon Club and all you can eat and drink pizza, wings, pop and beer.
