Where Culture Meets the Clock: Inside Swim and Dive's Program Success and Historic Season

by Sam Watson, BGSU Strategic Communications

7/16/2026

A 12-0 start, the program's first MAC dual win since 2022 and a MAC champion for the first time in four years. Tanner Barton's second season at Bowling Green delivered a breakthrough built on trust, culture and a deep connection to the community that surrounds Cooper Natatorium.

Tanner Barton knew something was different the week Miami came to town.

On Oct. 18, early in his second season as head coach of the swim and dive program, he clinched his first career MAC dual victory. It catalyzed a historic 12-0 start, the best in school history.

Barton points to that meet, and one relay, as the moment his team stopped hoping for success and started expecting it.

"Our ladies were starting to believe in themselves, and we as a coaching staff laid out how we could secure that victory over Miami," Barton said. "They were like, 'All right, we've got this. If we win that first 200 medley relay, the rest of the events can fall into place.'"

They did. Bowling Green's A relay defeated Miami's A relay, and the B relay followed with a third-place finish.

"That was a huge switch for the team," Barton said. "It gave us more confidence and belief in what we were doing, and in turn that set the precedent for the rest of the day."

"It was huge for the program because what we were emphasizing day in and day out was actually leading to results. We talk about working hard in the pool, having fun on deck. That's exactly what we saw at that meet."

Tanner Barton

After toppling Miami, Bowling Green notched another conference win against Eastern Michigan, 169-131.

That standard ran through a senior class eight deep, with representation in each of the program's four training groups: sprint, mid-distance, distance and diving.

"We had leaders who could lead by example within each training group, but also leaders who embraced the workouts and saw those workouts through from start to finish," Barton said. "They're also having a lot of fun. They had fun with each other, which in turn goes back to what we always talk about: work hard, have fun."

A structural shift also paid dividends over the course of the season. Barton moved the mid-distance group's Tuesday morning work from aerobic stroke sets to IM race-pace training, a change that showed up in the results. Seniors Grace Bodrock and Maddie Bond, along with transfer Bridget Kurtzweil, all posted personal bests in the 200 IM. Bond and Kurtzweil went on to score lifetime bests in the 400 IM as well.

"We were three for three in terms of personal bests," Barton said. "I think, as a whole, our ladies were incredibly supportive of each other, and that's based on the messaging that we have as a coaching staff and the messaging coming from our leadership council."

The season's momentum carried into its final weeks, when the Falcons closed the regular season by hosting Toledo in the annual Battle of I-75. Bowling Green swept every event at Cooper Natatorium that Friday night, a result Barton still marvels at.

"Any time you can beat your rival, it's a great year," Barton said. "We looked at where we were and what times we had put up throughout the season, and we, as a coaching staff, also evaluated where Toledo was, and we knew what we needed to do."

Senior Morgan Sokol delivered on senior night, staying stroke-for-stroke with her Toledo counterpart deep into the 1650 freestyle before pulling away for the win. Moments later, Emily McNicol used her underwater work to out-touch Toledo's Leah Smith and post a personal best in the 200 backstroke.

"We didn't just do what we needed to do to set ourselves up to win," Barton said. "We did even more, and that's what made it so special."

Bowling Green closed the season at the MAC Championship with a pair of milestones the program hadn't celebrated in years. Natalia Mayorga became the Falcons' first MAC champion since 2022 in the three meter dive, and the 400 freestyle relay of Annie Berrow, Sierra Newton, Samia Becdach and McNicol won its heat and qualified for the National Invitational Championship in Ocala, Florida.

"That fueled Nat, but also spoke to who we are as a team," Barton said. "It was a great representation of BG swimming and diving. Those two events, the way we closed out the MAC Championship, is like the exclamation point on how the season went."

MAC Championship Celebration - Swim and Dive

Mayorga, teammates and coaches seconds after her three meter dive victory at the MAC Championships.

"That was probably one of the best endings to a conference championship I've ever experienced as a head coach, assistant coach or a swimmer. It was just a great final session."

Tanner Barton

Barton came to Bowling Green from John Carroll University, where his program shared a six-lane pool with few outside groups. Cooper Natatorium's 20 lanes tell a different story; one Barton has embraced.

"What I appreciate most about Bowling Green is how the people in Bowling Green want BGSU and our athletic programs to be successful," Barton said. "We share this pool in the mornings with the masters swimmers, the older fitness classes, the ladies in the community who have retired and call themselves the mermaids, the aspiring triathletes. It's something you don't see at other Division I institutions."

That philosophy extends beyond the pool deck. Barton makes a point to show up around town, from Rally BG and Firefly Nights to hosting swim clinics that draw families from all over. On July 20, Cooper Natatorium will host the Maumee Valley Swim League championship meet, welcoming age-group swimmers from local country clubs to compete on Bowling Green's blocks and touch pads.

Local businesses have become part of the program's fabric as well. K&E Design, co-founded by former Falcon swimmer Elodie Schreiber, has partnered with the team on ideas to improve its facilities. Novel Blends has become a go-to meeting spot for Barton and campus partners, and Juniper has hosted the program's homecoming alumni gathering.

"K&E is one of the cornerstones in Bowling Green," Barton said. "Elodie came to school here from France, fell in love with this area, started a business and is still in BG."

Barton is equally proud of what happens outside the pool. Bowling Green's team GPA has ranked atop the MAC for four consecutive semesters, and this year the program ranked among the top marks nationally at the Division I level. Two seniors graduated with perfect 4.0 GPAs cumulatively, including McNicol, the program's second-fastest backstroker in history.

"We talk about not choosing a major that will be easy for four years but choosing a major that will prepare you for the next 40 years," Barton said. "The ladies in the water training are some of the best students on campus."

Continuity has been a hallmark of Barton's staff. Assistant coach Ian Bishop followed him from John Carroll, diving coach Mike Retcher — a Napoleon, Ohio, native entering his fifth season — was retained upon Barton's arrival, and assistant coach Greg Zuniga joined ahead of Barton's first season at BG. This year, the staff added graduate assistant Luna Castellanos, a Division II national champion diver from Clarion who will work alongside Retcher.

"We have great continuity in this staff, which is big at our level," Barton said. "We're ensuring that we have individuals who continue to embrace BG and what we offer, and we're growing. It's a win-win."