Swim & Dive Season Preview: Falcons Invigorated With Energy As Tanner Barton Era Begins

Calendar

Sep 13

11 a.m.

Women's Swimming & Diving

vs Jean Campbell Alumni Meet

Oct 4

12 p.m.

Women's Swimming & Diving

vs Butler Duals

Oct 18

1 p.m.

Women's Swimming & Diving

vs Miami University (OH)

Nov 7

6 p.m.

Women's Swimming & Diving

vs Eastern Michigan University

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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – When BGSU director of athletics Derek van der Merwe initially met head swim & dive coach Tanner Barton, he was "immediately struck by his contagious passion and energy" as referenced during Barton's introductory press conference in April.

That energy has been a constant theme for the first-year BGSU head coach and has radiated throughout the 2024-25 version of the Falcons.

"We talk a lot about energy, and the energy in practice has been very high," Barton said. "When you have high energy, you're normally going to approach things with a better attitude. When you approach challenging practices with a better attitude, you're more likely to succeed."

Barton has built his program around three guiding principles – the team is greater than the individual, having fun on the pool deck while also working hard and celebrating small victories. He hopes these statutes will help instill a championship culture for a team that has finished last at the MAC Championship in three of the past four seasons.

"Everything that we are doing is for the betterment of the team, and that has been the main focal point," Barton said, who spent four years as the head coach at John Carroll University and led the Blue Streaks to four Ohio Athletic Conference titles on both the men's and women's sides. "We want to make this an enjoyable environment for our team, but we must do challenging sets in order to get faster and better. We also want to celebrate those small victories as we incrementally get better with each meet, each week and each practice."

Barton lists freshman Samia Becdach – who he says her performances "will be instrumental in how our team does this season" – and senior Elayna Krupp as the team's top sprint freestylers. Graduate student Livia Castro, sophomore Abby Toepfer and junior Morgan Sokol will lead the way in distance freestyle.

"Morgan's been training at an exceptionally high level," Barton said of Sokol. "The times that she's putting up in practices are representative of what she should be able to do in meets. If she is can do what we think she's capable of doing, she'll have a very, very good season."

The butterfly events are where the team has the most depth according to Barton, as freshman Karina Solera, graduate student Ava Vial, junior Grace Bodrock and senior Fabiana D'Ambrogio are swimmers he sees potential in.

As for breaststrokers, sophomore Joanna Robertson, junior Madison Bond, freshman Alyse Sorg, senior Abigail Dolliver and sophomore Grace Perlberg – who has dealt with multiple injuries in the past but has trained well in the offseason according to Barton – will look to be valuable components for the Falcons.

Junior Emily McNicol, sophomore Alexandra Johnson and Sokol will highlight the backstrokers while Vial, Bond and senior Lily Kaiser will swim IM events.

Third-year diving coach Michael Retcher has seven divers competing on this year's squad, two of which are newcomers. Two of the returners, junior Evie Long and sophomore Natalia Mayorga, qualified for NCAA Diving Zones last season.

"Evie's not the flashy diver who comes out and wows you in every meet, but she just has this way of being so consistent and is leading the team in that," Retcher said of Long. "That really proved last year in the second half of the season when we needed her as she came out and won a couple one-meter events. She's looking to build upon that success."

Graduate student Elise Snyder, who transferred out of Bowling Green last year but is now back with the squad, earned a spot at NCAA Diving Zones in 2023.

Sophomores Lilly Lacey and Victoria Miller join freshmen Aylen Velazquez and Claire Werner as the other divers looking to add depth to the mix for a unit that has sent four divers to NCAA Diving Zones in each of the last two seasons.

"The goals are to continue to build on the success from the last two years," Retcher said. "We have a very young diving team overall, but a lot of them already have proven results. There definitely is a lot of strength and capabilities out of that. We're really hoping to put ourselves in a position to have as many divers as possible score points for the team at the conference meet."

For the program as a whole, trying to find a place in a highly competitive, mid-major conference is something Barton will continue to strive for using his energy and guiding principles to lead the Falcons in a positive direction.

"Nobody in this program wants to be at the bottom of the MAC," Barton said. "People want to ascend up the rankings, and the work ethic in the water and in the weight room matches that right now. We have to continue to keep our foot on the gas, and I do think that this team is going to make strides this season."

Season Schedule

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