Bowling Green State University
Tom Stubbs Relays
Swimming Dominates Tom Stubbs Relays
October 12, 2012 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Improved depth helps Falcons win eight of ten events
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University swim team won eight of ten races and broke three meet records in a strong showing at the Tom Stubbs Relays, a preseason meet against Toledo, Akron and Youngstown State on Friday, Oct. 12 at BGSU's Cooper Pool.
The Falcons outperformed the competition beginning with the first race and carried that momentum through the day, taking the top spot in all but two events. Senior Emily Bennet had a part in five winning relays and two meet records, while fellow upperclassmen Alexa Harris, Alexis Kain, Jen Beatty, Emily Waller, Joëlle Scheps and Brittany Szekely were crucial pieces of the Falcons' winning teams.
Bowling Green placed first in the 200 and 400 medley relays, the 3x100 backstroke, 3x100 breaststroke and the 200, 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle relays. Meet records were set by the Falcons in the 3x100 backstroke, 800 free relay and 400 medley relay.
Head coach Petra Martin said the team's early success is the result of improved depth, chemistry and accountability. With twelve new faces on the roster, the Falcons are equipped with more competitive options than in previous seasons. While BGSU's "A" teams finished top-three in every race, the "B" squads notched top-four finishes in six races as well - a testament to this year's depth.
"They surprised me a bit," Martin said. "We've been working on building good habits and this is just another part of that building process. If we want to be a certain kind of team in February, we need to be that team now and practice with the intensity and the passion - everything that goes with it. That's what we talked about this morning and you saw the results."
The Falcons got off to a fast start, with the team of Beatty, Kain, Jordan Bullock and Bennet winning the 200 medley relay by more than a second over second-place Toledo (1:46.29). After taking second to the Rockets in the 3x100 butterfly, Bowling Green came storming back as Bennet, Harris and Beatty set a meet record of 2:54.27 to win the 3x100 backstroke. From there, the Falcons began a streak of six consecutive first-place finishes, shattering meet records in the 800 free relay (7:36.54) and 400 medley relay (3:52.02) in the process.
Bowling Green, eighth place at the Mid-American Conference Championships last year, easily bested the defending MAC Champion Rockets, whose dominant performance at the Tom Stubbs Relays last year set them up for postseason success.
"After last season we focused on working better together and accountability of each person," Martin said. "I think that's really helping. We have a big freshman class and that definitely added a lot of depth and more speed. I think putting those things together is going to start showing some results."
The Falcons kick off the regular season at home on Oct. 26, hosting a tri-meet against Ashland and Wayne State at Cooper Pool in the BGSU Student Recreation Center.
