Meet Preview: Swim & Dive Making the Most of MAC Championships Opportunity

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Tanner Barton was excited, yet nervous.

It was the final night of the 2014 MAC Championships at Buffalo's Alumni Arena Natatorium, and the then freshman swimmer for Ball State had accomplished something he was not expecting.

In that morning preliminary 200 butterfly – which was Barton's best event as a Cardinal – he shaved over four seconds off his previous personal best, an eternity in swimming.

His mark of 1:50.90 put him in the B final of the event that evening, a feat not necessarily common for a freshman.

The joy and thrill of taking part in the swim and representing his team at a young age on such a big stage made Barton elated.

At the same time, he felt a wave of anxiousness wash over him like the cool water in UB's 700,000-gallon pool he was about to jump in on the starting block of Lane 6.

He needed a calming influence before the biggest moment in his young collegiate career.

Barton looked no further than the foundations in his life – his parents, Tim and Andrea, sitting in the blue and white bleachers three rows from the top above the pool deck catty-corner from his block.

Father and son locked eyes, as Tanner held up his hand pinching his thumb and index finger together while his other three fingers fanned out and moved twice – the Ball State signal for its Cardinal mascot accompanied by a "Chirp Chirp" uttering. Tim did the same. Barton then proceeded to take fourth in the B final and swim a few milliseconds better than his prelim time.

It is the memory that Barton calls his greatest as a collegiate swimmer.

"Seeing my parents in the stands was so centering and grounding," Barton said. "I always did a special handshake with my dad, and it reminded me of that and how he would say to have fun. That moment was one I'll never forget."

Eleven years later, as Barton embarks on his first MAC Championships as a head coach at the same pool where enjoying the big moment and having fun was evoked in his mind.

It is a lesson that he has preached to his Falcon team all season long leading up to the most important meet of the season.

"Since our very first team meeting, we've talked about working hard in the pool and having fun on deck," Barton said. "We as a coaching staff will challenge our student-athletes to become the best versions of themselves, but we will also have fun and make the most of every opportunity that we have."

Ava Vial will be one swimmer who most surely take advantage of her opportunities. The focused and determined graduate student finished in fifth at last year's MAC Championships in the 400 IM and has earned top 15 times in the conference this season in the same event as well as the 200 butterfly and the 200 breaststroke.

Junior Emily McNicol is looking to break through and qualify for her first career A final (top 8 off prelim times) in the backstroke events. She is currently 13^th in the MAC in the 100 backstroke and 23^rd in the 200 backstroke after finishing 11^th and 16^th, respectively, in the events at last year's MAC Championships.

"Both of them have been incredible leaders," Barton said about Vial and McNicol. "They bought into the program from Day No. 1, and they were willing and ready to do whatever was asked of them. Their commitment to the training coupled with their love for this program is what has helped them succeed this year. It's why I'm so confident that they're going to do extremely well during these next few days."

In freestyle events and relays, Barton is looking to get contributions from freshman Samia Becdach, who is ranked in the top 25 in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle swims in the MAC.

Returning for the first time since November's Magnus Cup Invitational is Karina Solera. The freshman represented her native country of Costa Rica at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Hungary in December and broke the nation's 200m butterfly short course meter record. She will be looking to contribute in the 100 and 200 butterfly events.

The diving unit remains deep, as two-time MAC Diver of the Week Natalia Mayorga leads the squad. The sophomore has the third-best 1-meter and 3-meter scores in the MAC this season. Additionally, she has earned NCAA Zone Diving cuts in both events as well as platform, which is not contested at the MAC Championships.

Elise Snyder is ranked in the top 10 in the MAC in the 1 and 3-meter events this season, while Evie Long is looking to improve upon her 10^th-best ranking in the 1-meter dive.

Barton knows it is an uphill battle, as the Falcons have finished in last at the MAC Championships in three of the last four years. However, with a mostly new coaching staff and different training methods than in the past, he remains confident in his team and what they have built – always coupled with the constant reminder to have fun on deck.

"At the end of the final session on Saturday night, I am hoping for all of our women to be proud of what they've accomplished as a team," Barton said. "I don't want our program to focus on what one or two individuals achieved, but what we did as a team regardless of how many points we score or what place we finish. I want them to use that excitement as fuel heading into these next few years, because this is only the beginning."

MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION

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