Swimming & Diving

Dec. 11, 2010

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State swimming and diving team swept Ball State in its final meet before the holiday break on Saturday, Dec. 11 at McCaffee Pool at IM West. The Spartan women topped BSU 167 to 125, while the men won 181 to 107.

"I thought the team did a great job tonight," said head coach Matt Gianiodis. "I am extremely proud of the way everyone competed in the final meet before the holiday break. It was great to see everyone give it their all, even though some individuals may have swam in off events. Now, it is important for us to get healthy this break, as we had been dealing with sickness, and come back the second half of the season strong and ready to compete."

MSU got the meet started on a high note when both the men and women were victorious in the 200-yard medley relay. The women's team of Alex Pierce, Kerry Sodonis, Becca Ebner and Jenny Rush posted a time of 1:46.33 while the men's team of Nick McGowan, Cameron Bartlett, Michael Uggeri and Sam Schulze finished in 1:33.77. The men also saw the relay team of Brian Rockwell, Kevin Puskaric, Bryan Williams and Mark Schramm clocked in at 1:35.34 for second place.

The Spartans then took to the board for the next events. Keeping with the success of the swimmers, the divers also swept both the women's three-meter and the men's one-meter. The women occupied positions one through four with Sarah Clay leading the way in first with a score of 302.86. Brooke Sauchak recorded the sixth NCAA qualifying mark for the team as she followed in second (288.60) with Jordan Jackson in third (269.10) and Sarah Mory in fourth (2.67.23). Ivan Zalessov posted a pool-record dive of 355.87 to place over 100 points ahead of the next diver in second. Brian Akers joined Zalessov to give MSU the top two divers in the one-meter. Akers posted a score of 247.65.

KJ Burkland got her strong day started in the 1,000-yard freestyle as she led a string of three Spartan swimmers with her time of 10:26.20. Whitney Woodbridge followed in second (10:37.95) and Rachel Wilson was third (10:40.95).

Brad Gillilan took home top honors in the men's 1,000-yard freestyle with his 9:45.89 mark. Brian Rockwell was second in the event with a time of 10:24.62.

The men remained strong in the 200-yard freestyle as the team sat atop the top three-positions in the event. Ricky Forrest led the way in first (1:45.25) with Jason Austerman in second (1:45.82) and Sam Schulze in third (1:47.69).

Pierce took home top honors in the women's 100-yard backstroke with her time of 58.98. In one of the closest events of the night, Nick Roberts narrowly edged Uggeri in the men's 100-yard backstroke. Roberts clocked in at 52.60 when Uggeri finished in 52.70.

MSU swept the 100-yard breaststroke with Sodonis leading the women's side (1:05.49) and Bartlett finishing tops on the men's side (57.84). Bartlett was joined by Brandon Williams in second (1:00.08).

Ebner swam to another win in the 200-yard butterfly with her time of 2:04.39. Jacob Jarzen paced a trio of men swimmers in the 200-yard butterfly when he clocked in at 1:49.83. Jarzen was joined by Bryan Williams in second with his time of 1:52.45 and Jake Austerman in third (1:58.52).

In the 50-yard freestyle, Jenny Rusch was the top women's swimmer in the event as she clocked in at 24.07. Rusch was joined by Brooke Telander who finished with a 24.57 mark. Morgan Piasecki rounded out the MSU swimmers in third with a time of 24.59.

Josh Geschwendt led the men's 50-yard freestyle as he finished with a first-place time of 21.41. Geschwendt was joined by Pat Falconer who finished the event in 21.5.

Jackson led the women divers in the one-meter with her score of 262.79. Jackson narrowly edged Clay who placed second with a 261.83 mark.

Falconer was the top swimmer for the men with his top time of 47.67 in the 100-yard freestyle. Colby Ward followed in second as he clocked in at 48.01.

The 200-yard backstroke saw both the men and women finish in positions one through three. In the women's heat, Mauve McHugh clocked in with a 2:09.47 mark. Samantha Hilk followed in second (2:10.41) and Rachel Wilson was third (2:11.25. For the men, Roberts paced the race with a time of 1:54.08. Mark Gammell was second (1:55.51), while Drew Goins finished third (1:57.27).

Sodonis clocked in with a top time of 2:22.51 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Bartlett posted his third title of the night when he clocked in at 2:07.84, topping Forest in second who turned in a time of 2:12.93.

Burkland turned in another top finish when she clocked in at 5:09.22 in the 500-yard freestyle. Bryan Williams earned his first individual crown of the evening when he turned in a time of 4:35.82 in the 500-yard freestyle. Gillilan followed in second as he finished the race in 4:47.95.

Ebner earned her third win when she paced the women's 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.21.

In what turned out to be the closest event of the night, Schramm edged Puskaric by the slightest of margins in the 100-yard butterfly. Schramm finished in 53.44 while Puskaric clocked in at 53.45.

Zalessov completed the sweep of the men's diving events when he finished first in the three-meter. Zalessov posted a score of 391.50, topping Bryce Beyer in second (266.63) and Akers in third (253.95).

Geschwendt clocked in his second win over BSU when he clocked in at 1:58.07 in the 200-yard IM.

The Spartans concluded the meet in strong fashion when they won both the men's and women's 400-yard freestyle relay. Leading the women with a time of 3:34.52 was Rusch, Piasecki, Laura Leslie and Summer Strickler.

The men finished the meet strong as they swept all three top spots in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Bryan Williams, Falconer, Brandon Williams and McGowan won the event with a time of 3:05.28. Placing second with a time of 3:07.78 was Jarzen, Puskaric, Forest and Uggeri. Schramm, Jason Lintjer, Schulze and Roberts completed MSU's sweep as they finished in 3:09.46.

MSU will return to action when it travels to Auburn, Ala., for the yearly training trip Jan. 6-8, 2011.

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