Miami Splits with Wright State

OXFORD, Ohio, November 10. SOPHOMORE Melissa Roemmele (Lexington, Ky.) swept the boards and the Miami University women's swimming and diving teamwon nine of 13 events as it cruised to a 136-107 win over local rival Wright State Friday at the Nixon Aquatic Center. Meanwhile, Miami senior Paul Ricard (Bowling Green, Ohio) swept the distance freestyle events, but the Wright State Raiders won nine of 13 events as they downed the Miami men, 139-102.

For the women, eight different Miamians posted individual wins in the non-conference dual meet, including Roemmele's sweep of the 1- and 3-meter dives. In diving coach Todd Spohn's final home dual meet with the RedHawks, Roemmele sent the 21-year Miami veteran off in style with a pair of first-place scores on the 1-meter (241.87) and 3-meter (280.20) boards. An 11-time MAC Coach of the Year, Spohn mentored both the men's (Chris Heaton) and women's (Christin Eberst) MAC Diver of the Year last season.

Miami's "A" relay team opened the meet with a strong performance in the 200 medley relay, turning in a first-place time of 1:47.24, but Wright State responded with a victory in the 1,000 freestyle and evened the score at 18-18.

The Raiders made it back-to-back wins as it placed the top two swimmers in the 200 freestyle, but the RedHawks finished with the top three swimmers in the 50 free, including first-place finisher Margaret Patrick (Marietta, Ga.) with a time of 24.10. Sophomore Alyson Schmidt (Maineville, Ohio) and freshman Jenna Long (Yorktown, Ind.) placed second (25.25) and third (25.32) in the event, respectively.

Miami won its second straight event when senior Ashley Seymour (Wilmette, Ill.) clocked in with a first-place time of 2:09.20 in the 200 individual medley, and the RedHawks made it three in a row with Roemmele's first-place score (280.20) on the 3-meter board. The three straight top finishes gave Miami a 12-point lead at 62-50.

The RedHawks' strong swimming continued as sophomore Allison Stevens' (Laurel, Md.) career-best time in the 100 butterfly (57.30) and Diana Zeleznikar's (Rocky River, Ohio) career-best time in the 100 freestyle (52.59) gave Miami five straight first-place finishes. Sophomore Tenley Marsteller (Erie, Pa.) also clocked in with a first-place time in the 100 backstroke (59.34), and Roemmele added a first-place tally (241.87) on the 1-meter board, pushing Miami's advantage to 118-89.

Wright State broke the Miami winning streak with a top finish in the 500 freestyle, and after a Paige Iversen (New Hope, Pa.) victory in the 100 breast (1:06.64), the Raiders closed the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay.

In the men's meet, Ricard notched a pair of individual wins for the second straight meet as he placed first in both the 500 and 1,000 freestyle. The RedHawks, however, managed only two other victories in the 3-meter dive and 400 freestyle relay as they dropped their second straight non-conference dual meet.

After Wright State placed first in the 200 medley relay to open the meet, Ricard clocked in with a first-place time of 9:30.15 in the 1,000 freestyle, giving Miami its first win of the meet. Ricard's victory also evened the score at 18-18.

Wright State then placed the top three swimmers in the 200 freestyle, notched another win in the 50 freestyle, and added a first-place finish in the 200 individual medley as it expanded its advantage to 67-44. Sandwiched in between the three Wright State wins was a first-place finish by sophomore Chris Heaton (Centerville, Ohio) in the 3-meter dive (301.95), his third straight top finish on the 3-meter board.

The Raiders reeled off three straight wins in the 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle, pushing their lead out to 94-55, and two additional top finishes in the 100 backstroke and 1-meter dive gave Wright State a forty-point edge.

Ricard added his second win of the meet in the 500 freestyle, turning in a first-place time of 4:31.65 to complete his sweep of the distance freestyle events. For Ricard, it was his fourth individual win in the distance freestyle events this season.

Wright State added top finishes in the 1-meter dive and 100 breaststroke before Miami closed the meet with a first-place time of 3:08.22 in the 400 freestyle relay. The late victory was not enough to overcome the Raiders in the standings, as they ended the meet with a 37-point edge.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use