Following a dominating performance a week ago, the women's swimming and diving team will have to guard against a letdown when it hosts the Akron Zips and Eastern Michigan Eagles in a double-dual conference meet Saturday at Lewellen Aquatics Center.
The meet will be more than a conference battle for the Cardinals - it will also be Senior Day. Prior to the beginning of competition, ceremonies are set to take place in honor of six seniors associated with the program.
Ball State stole the show at Akron earlier in the season on the way to its first place finish in the Giant Eagle Zippy Invitational, held Dec. 5-7. The Cardinals fell to Eastern Michigan (166-128) last season but beat Akron in the same contest at Ypsilanti, Mich.
Akron will be much tougher to defeat in a head-to-head dual meet than in an invitational, head coach Laura Seibold-Caudill said. She said the Eagles have several individual performers who may be able to make it close Saturday.
"All three teams are very equal," she said. "We're going to have our hands full. We need to swim well and perform well like we did last week."
Seibold-Caudill said the meet would be dedicated to a senior squad that has done a lot for the program over the course of their collegiate careers.
The senior athletes who will swim in their last home meet include freestylers Melissa Keilen, Sarah Black, and Rachel Gingerich and distance swimmer Sarah Cashdollar. Team manager Jessica Sullivan and Stephanie Zarins, who served as a student assistant coach this season due to shoulder injuries, will also be honored.
In addition, the coach said Eastern Michigan has a few individuals who are very strong. She also praised the Eagle's overall team depth.
Emily Aubie, Karla Bailey, Michelle Braden and Keilen have had outstanding seasons, Seibold-Caudill said. Keilen has stepped up her performances so much, she said, that she is swimming faster than ever before.
"They are driven," assistant coach Erinn Jankowski added. "As a team, they kind of feed off each other. We have to let them come together. We show them the door and they have to open it."
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