Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Ball State
Swimming and Diving Sweeps Ball State
12/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
Dec. 12, 2009
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Michigan State men's and women's swimming and diving teams each defeated Ball State on Saturday (Dec. 12) afternoon in Muncie, Ind. The men's team defeated the Cardinals, 183-117, while the women's team won, 155-145.
"It was a good meet for us," said MSU head coach Matt Gianiodis. "The women showed a lot of character. We were down in the meet and they came back; I'm really proud of them. The guys basically took care of business and we got some good swims out of the meet."
Jon LaRocque, kevin Puskaric, Sho Koba and Joe Schmitt opened the meet for MSU with a win in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:33.80.
Colby Ward dominated the 1,000 freestyle for MSU, turning in 9:54.11 which was over 20 seconds faster than the next closest finisher. Jacob Jarzen (1:42.69) and Puskaric (1:44.22) then followed and finished first and second, respectively, in the 200 freestyle. Puskaric later turned in a 2:02.57 in the 200 breaststroke which was good for first place.
Kerry Sodonis swam a 1:06.89 in the 100 breaststroke to take first place while Schmitt also placed first with a 58.67 in the same event on the men's side. Sodonis also won the 200 breaststroke with a 2:23.87.
In the men's 200 butterfly, Sean Costello led a Spartan sweep of the top three spots with a 1:54.77 while Gabe Strickler (1:59.68) and Koba (2:02.09) followed in second and third place, respectively.
Sarah Clay and Ivan Zalessov each won the one-meter and three-meter diving competitions for the Spartans. Zalessov set a school record on the one-meter board with a 356.63 and scored a 318.68 on the three-meter. Clay scored a 297.00 on the one-meter board and 276.23 on the three-meter platform.
After Alex Pierce (2:10.67) and Erinn Wertz (2:11.78) went one-two in the 200 IM, the Spartan women won the meet by taking first and second place in the 200 freestyle relay in the final event of the day. The team of Stephanie Fisher, Jenny Rusch, Kelsie Schooley and Wertz turned in a 1:36.87 for the win.
"The freshman sprinters did a really nice job in the last relay," Gianiodis said. "I'm really proud of them."
The Spartans will not return to action until Jan. 7-9, 2010 when they travel to West Lafayette, Ind., for a three-day meet with Purdue.
