Three different Ball State sports teams were in action over the weekend. From Muncie to Terre Haute, here's what you missed this weekend.
Win in final relay guides Women’s Swim and Dive to victory at Indiana State
It has been over two months since the Ball State Women’s Swim and Dive won a meet. On Saturday the Cardinals swept both Indiana State and Southern Illinois, beating the Salukis, 191.50-108.50, and the Sycamores, 150-148.
Starting off, the Cardinals won the gold medal in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:45.22. Along with the gold medal, they also picked up third and sixth place. After the first relay, junior Cassidy Blackwin would pick up a silver medal in the 1000 Freestyle.
Other athletes who stood out for the Cardinals were freshmen Alex Bader and Alexa McDonald. Head coach J. Agnew said Bader was the Cardinals' “go-to person” in the meet. Bader picked up two wins, both in the breaststroke events.
“Bader was tough as nails,” Agnew said. “She has been battling an injured shoulder. Yet, she stood up and picked up a couple of wins, when we needed them badly.”
McDonald had her moment to shine in the 400 Freestyle Relay, the last event of the meet. Going into the last event, the Cardinals were easily defeating Salukis, but they needed to pick up one last victory against the Sycamores.
The Cardinals were down early in the 400 Relay with the Sycamores taking a .36 seconds lead going into the third leg of the relay. Then, junior Anne Vormohr swam past the Sycamores' third leg swimmer and momentarily led the event by .41 seconds. Finally, McDonald swam the last leg in 52.14 seconds, beating the Sycamores A Relay by .28 seconds
“Any time a meet comes down to the last relay, everybody is just on their feet and excited,” Agnew said. “You get a chance to see what you’re made of and let it rip.”
The Cardinals' next meet is on Feb. 27, when they travel to Akron, Ohio for the Mid-American Conference Championships.
Contact Patrick Murphy with comments at prmurphy2@bsu.edu or on Twitter @PMURPH505.
Men's Tennis falls short to Michigan State in home opener
After facing a 0-7 defeat to Indiana on Jan. 13, Ball State Men’s Tennis fell short of its first victory Saturday as the Cardinals fell 3-4 to Michigan State in their home opener.
The Cardinals began the match with wins in doubles play, as the duo of senior Tom Carney and freshman Danilo Kovacevic defeated senior Ivan Rakic and senior Carson Gates of Michigan State, 6-2. Senior Connor Andersen and sophomore Chris Adams followed with a 6-4 win over senior Billy Shishler and freshman Nick Williams to secure match point.
Victories in singles play for Kovacevic and senior Marko Guzina gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. However, the Spartans would prove that no lead is safe, as the team tied the match, 3-3.
In a back-and-forth final match, Williams defeated Adams to give Michigan State the win.
Head coach Bill Richards said that while his team’s season is still young, there is a lot of work to be done.
“Right now, everybody’s still in shock,” Richards said. “It’s kind of like being up by 30 points with eight minutes left in a basketball game and not being able to close it out, so it’s just one of those situations where you just shake your head and look back. You have to give a lot of credit to Michigan State, they never quit.”
The Cardinals are next in action on Feb. 2, when the team hosts Xavier.
Contact Connor Smith with any comments at cnsmith@bsu.edu or on Twitter @cnsmithbsu.
Track and Field fills weekend with personal bests, various event victories
Ball State Track and Field spent Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis at the Tom Hathaway Classic.
Freshman Karlie Zumbro kicked off the tournament by finishing second in her first-ever pentathlon. Zumbro also competed in the shot put and high jump, where she turned in personal-best scores.
Friday’s competition ended with 12 personal bests and nine top five finishes.
The momentum for the Cardinals did not stop going into competition on Saturday. The individuals recorded two additional event wins and six more top 10 finishes.
One of the biggest wins for the Cardinals this weekend was the mile run victory that was seized by freshman Karleigh Conner. Conner ran a 5:01.32 mile to claim her new career-best time.
“[Conner] is such a gritty competitor," head coach Brian Etelman said. "She's turning into a key piece for us and one of the MAC's young stars in the middle-distance events."
To wrap up the tournament, sophomore Princess Carter finished in fourth place in the weight throw by throwing 17.46m. This was the fourth best individual score in program history.
"[Carter] continues to develop and grow into her own with a big throw in the weight," Etelman said. "Being No. 4 all-time at Ball State puts her in position to be a scoring threat at the MAC meet. We look to rely on her to keep our throws group moving forward."
The Cardinals will continue the season at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame next weekend.
Contact Drew Pierce with any comments at dlpierce2@bsu.edu or on Twitter @dpierce3cc.
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