The women's swimming and diving team entered the Buffalo record books over the weekend at the Mid-American Conference Championships. Unfortunately, it was not an accomplishment the team will look back on fondly.
The Bulls accumulated 180.5 points over the three-day event at Akron's Ocasek Natatorium, the lowest point total the team has produced since entering the MAC before the 1999-2000 season. The Bulls' record low landed them a last-place finish in the event.
One team happy to enter the record books was Eastern Michigan, who won the MAC Championship for the first time in school history. Eastern Michigan (9-1, 6-1 MAC) edged out a victory over defending MAC champion Miami (Ohio) (9-1, 7-0 MAC) by a score of 637.5-626.5.
Entering the tournament, Bulls head coach Scott Vanderzell had modest expectations for the team. Vanderzell thought that the lack of depth, which haunted the team throughout the season, would hinder performance in the event.
"Based on our size, we knew off the bat our team success was going to suffer," Vanderzell said. "We were a small team this year and without having depth, within the team structure, we knew we were going to struggle."
Knowing that the team could likely not compete for first place, Vanderzell's expectation was that they swim up to their capabilities.
"Our expectations at the beginning of the year was to swim lifetime bests," Vanderzell said. "That was the goal of all the girls when we met at the beginning of the year."
On day one of the three-day event, senior Jennifer Raimondi was the only Bull to qualify for the finals of an individual race. Raimondi finished 15th in the preliminaries of the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:10.26. Raimondi's time was the fastest of any Buffalo swimmer in the event all season. In the "B" final Raimondi finished in 16th place with a time of 2:11.34.
The Bulls (3-9, 0-7 MAC) faired better on days two and three as the team received multiple top-10 individual finishes from junior Kahla Walkinshaw and freshman Rachel Sorg.
Competing in the 100-yard butterfly, Walkinshaw advanced to the finals by finishing sixth in the preliminary race. In the finals Walkinshaw clocked in at a Bulls' season best 58.10, good enough for a fifth-place finish. On day three Walkinshaw turned in another team season-best time in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:05.1. This was good enough for a second fifth-place finish.
Sorg placed fifth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.10. Ohio's Emily Wylam placed first with an MAC record time of 55.69. Sorg also had a top-10 finish in the 200-yard backstroke on day three. Sorg touched the wall in 2:06.78 to give her an eighth-place finish.
Sorg and Walkinshaw also competed in the 200-yard medley relay along with junior Danielle Gervais and senior Olga Wojcik. The foursome gave the Bulls seventh-place points and finished in a Bulls season best 1:49.42
With the season over, Vanderzell is already looking towards next season. The addition of a large recruiting class, combined with the loss of only three seniors will help solve the depth problems which held the team back this season.
"Right now we're just recruiting really hard," Vanderzell said. "We already have six kids committed to next year which already increases our team's size. We have some quality kids coming in the next recruiting class."
Vanderzell said he is happy with this year's swimmers' effort, but wants to see an improvement in the end result.
"They've met their expectations, but my expectations are probably always higher than what theirs will be," Vanderzell said. "I always want to push a little harder. They met my expectations but I'm still reaching for more."
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
