Ball State’s women's swim and dive team got the win over Eastern Michigan 160.00-140.00 to earn their second conference duel meet win of the season for their final duel meet of 2023.
The Cardinals now sit with an undefeated 3-0 in duel meets this season along with 2-0 against Mid-American Conference opponents this season.
“[It was] just a battle from start to finish,” head coach J. Agnew says “This meet was flip-flopping points and yet that finish at the end, the three-meter diving was exceptional for us. The IM relay, and baiting on the end of that and what can you say about that.”
Sophomore Payton Kelly entered the first event in the 400 medley relay in second by a couple of feet but made up ground in the final stretch to give her relay the victory. Kelly did not stop there though, as she finished first in both the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle, and finished the day off in a close finish 200 freestyle relay.
“I think a lot of our success came down to celebrating a lot of little things,” Kelly said. “It’s easy to celebrate huge wins that everyone has had but I think a lot of our success comes from the little wins that we still celebrate. Bringing everyone in as a team like that and celebrating everything that everyone has contributed is what makes us a stronger team.”
Freshman Alexa Von Holtz followed Kelly and took first place in a close 200 IM race that came down to the final stretch of the pool, the 200 and 100 butterfly, and was also a part of the heat with Kelly who won the 400 medley relay.
“I was very happy with how today went coming back from a huge win last night and being able to come in and crush it again today,” Von Holtz said. “I knew I definitely was going to have to earn my spot on the team, and with the training I had it has been awesome to know that I am moving forward in such a great direction so fast.”
Off the diving board, senior Grace Walker finished fourth on the one-meter with a score of 259.65 and second on the three-meter with a score of 286.20.
“We came off a win yesterday so the girls are a little bit tired competing back to back,” diving coach Brendon Stevens said. “We ended up coming away with another zone cut on three-meter, now we can really put our heads into training since we have nothing else to qualify for.”
Ball State men’s and women’s teams will get set to head to Indianapolis for the House of Champions Invite Nov. 16-18.
Contact Dane Massey with comments at dtmassey@bsu.edu or on Twitter @danemassey22.
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