Eastern Michigan University and Oakland University swam the 2015 edition of their rivalry meet on Saturday, November 7th. The Eagles got the win at home against the Golden Grizzlies, 180.5 to 119.5 for the men and 193.5 to 104.5 for the women. The EMU men move 26-6 all-time against Oakland as the EMU women move to 17-13-1 all-time against Oakland.
Women’s Meet
The meet kicked off with EMU going one-two in the 200 medley relay and then the 1000 free became a top-four freshmen showdown. Eagle junior Grace Van Allen’s first of three wins began with the 200 free (1:51.34), then followed an Eagle top-three sweep of the 100 back.
It took three events before Oakland was able to capture a win in the 100 breast with Rachel Waite (1:03.46). Carly Jackson was the second victorious junior for the Eagles, capturing both butterfly events to match her 50 fly split in the aforementioned 200 medley relay. The 50 free saw the top-four finish within a hundredth of second of each other as both teams evenly split the event.
The competition pool saw calm waters as the action began with diving. Rebecca Deacon led the campaign on the 3-meter board with a 256.28 and would do the same for Eastern Michigan later on the 1-meter in a 253.43. The Eagles added major points here, sweeping the top-three and later the top-five.
Oakland got some much-needed points with Nikki Flynn (51.71) and Holly Morren’s (52.00) 1-2 finish in the 100 free but EMU junior Alexis Mitcheltree fired back to claim the 200 back (2:02.44) in addition to the 100 back (55.86). The Golden Grizzlies pushed back in the last half of the meet with a solid showing in the 200 breast spearheaded by Oakland’s Waite. Eastern Michigan’s 400 B free relay closed out the day for the Eagles’ win.
Multiple event winners and notable swims/dives
- Grace Van Allen, EMU: 200 free, 500 free, 200 IM
- Carly Jackson, EMU: 200 medley relay, 200 fly, 100 fly
- Alexis Mitcheltree, EMU: 200 medley relay, 100 back, 200 back, 400 free relay
- Rebecca Deacon, EMU: 3-meter, 1-meter
- Nikki Flynn, OU: 200 free, 50 free, 100 free
- Rachel Waite, OU: 100 breast, 200 breast
Men’s Meet
The male competition for the Eagles and Golden Grizzlies was just as fierce. Oakland snatched victory first in the 200 medley relay (1:30.92) but the distance pair of Logan Burton and Kyle Lichtenberg quickly dampened the visitors’ lead. Senior Andrew Henry followed suit to win the 200 free in 1:38.73, the first of his three wins for the day.
The two teams continued to fight for wins but the 100 breast was a strong event for Oakland. Their 1-3-4-5 finish guided by freshman Devon Nowicki (55.71) provided good scoring depth. Alexander Chan prevailed on the diving events Saturday afternoon with a 348.37 score on the 3-meter and a 368.70 on the 1-meter. Much the women, the EMU men dove for sweeping podium finishes.
Henry returned to his streak by clocking a 45.13 in the 100 free to win over Oakland’s freshman stud Paul Huch. Eastern Michigan picked up wins in the 200 breast and 500 free with Christopher Hodges and Marcin Rzyski, respectively, but with two Oakland freshmen close on their heels. Henry grabbed his third win in the 200 IM (1:51.00) before Oakland closed the meet with a triumphant 400 free relay consisting of Tuomas Kiviluoma, Jacob Pearson, Jeremiah Morren, and Paul Huch.
Multiple event winners and notable swims/dives
- Devon Nowicki, OU: 200 medley relay, 100 breast, 200 breast
- Paul Huch, OU: 50 free, 100 free, 400 free relay
- Tuomas Kiviluoma, OU: 200 medley relay, 200 free, 100 fly, 400 free relay
- Andrew Henry, EMU: 200 medley relay, 200 free, 100 free, 200 IM
- Marcin Rzyski, EMU: 200 fly, 500 free
- Tosh Kawaguchi, EMU: 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM
- Alexander Chan, EMU: 3-meter, 1-meter