The pool was filled, but depth certainly played a role in Eastern Michigan's victories over both of Buffalo's swimming and diving teams at the Jones Natatorium in Ypsilanti, Mich., on Saturday.
In the conference match-up, the Eagles handed the Bulls a 123-71 loss on the men's side and a more competitive 125-103 loss to the women's team.
"We were able to long the bus ride and still felt confident and optimistic about the event," said Scott Vanderzell, head coach of the women's team. "I thought we swam pretty well, and individually, we did a great job especially with the travel."
On the women's side, freshman Rachel Sorg won the 200-yard backstroke for the Bulls, touching the wall at the 2:11.71 mark, nearly one second ahead of second-place Kelley Atkinson an Eastern Michigan senior.
Second-place finishers included senior Jennifer Raimondi in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:57.87, less than one second behind the first-place swimmer, freshman Alissa Ricard of the Eagles. Senior Julie Marcotte finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke finishing with a time of 2:28.11.
Vanderzell was quick to give his team credit for enduring the loss and remaining aggressive against an Eastern Michigan team near the top in the MAC standings.
"(Eastern Michigan) is a very strong team," Vanderzell said. "What we can take away from this is that we were tired but were still able to compete and come back strong."
For the men, freshman Cassidy Lynch had the most impressive day taking a first- and a second-place finish in two diving events. Lynch splashed his way to 285.10 points to take first place in the men's one-meter diving event. In the three-meter diving event Lynch tallied 279.75 points, enough for second place behind junior Josh Olsen of the Eagles.
Men's head coach Budd Termin praised Lynch's performance.
"Cassidy Lynch looks to be one of the top three divers in the conference in an event in which juniors and seniors dominate," Termin said. "He is doing a great job."
Junior Luke Adams' undefeated streak in the 200-yd backstroke this season was snapped by Eagle freshman Mark Kurtzer, who finished the event with a time of 1:53.37. Adams took second place in the event with a time of 1:55.45.
Junior Aaron Moessinger earned a second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly for the Bulls, finishing at 1:58.46, over three full seconds behind Eagles freshman Ryan Fulkerson's time of 1:55.36. Senior Jeff Hurst finished at 47.45 in the men's 100-yard freestyle to take second place behind freshman Derick Roe, who swam the event in 47.12 for Eastern Michigan.
With Eastern Michigan men's decisive victory over the Bulls, the Eagles extended their league winning streak to 43 victories, a feat which has spanned eight seasons for the Eagles. A Mid-American Conference powerhouse such as the Eagles has strength throughout their lineup that has allowed them to be strong in team scoring. Despite some individual successes, the Buffalo team lacks a deep roster like that of the perennial Eastern Michigan squad.
"The team finished with good times and we did well performance-wise," Termin said. "Everybody got within the range of their times. We just lack the depth to compete as a team at this point. But we'll get better.
The men will have three weeks of rest before they begin postseason competition. The Bulls will first compete in Pittsburgh at the East Coast Athletic Conference Championship before heading into the MAC Championship on March 2-4. The MAC Championship will be held in Athens, Ohio, by host school Ohio University.
The women's team will complete their regular season at home in the Alumni Arena Natatorium on Feb. 11 against Cornell University at 2 p.m. Following the meet with Cornell, the Bulls will head into the MAC Championship Feb. 23-25.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
