A seemingly team-wide flu bug didn’t stop the Falcon swimming team from singing a rendition of ‘Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba’ after a successful Tom Stubbs Relays Friday.

Minus a few swimmers for the exhibition – including standout Sarah Burston – the team still broke meet records in the 200-yard medley relay (1:46.16) and the 300-yard breaststroke relay (3:19.41). The old records in those events were 1:47.65 and 3:20.37, respectively.

‘We’re still battling [with health],’ coach Keri Buff said. ‘So we took this as a good opportunity to train.’

The team’s times in the 400-yard medley relay (3:56.57) and the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:38.48) were also better than the previous meet records, but BG finished second in both events.

In the 200-freestyle, the Falcons narrowly lost to Akron by .05 seconds. As the team watched the final leg, there was hope BG would pull out a win.

‘We were hoping,’ Buff said. ‘Obviously you never want to lose a close one.’

The team made up for the tight finish in the final event of the meet – the 500-yard freestyle relay – which they won by more than seven seconds. Ten swimmers each swam 50 yards in that event, and Buff said it was a credit to her team’s depth they were able to finish so well.

Part of her team’s depth includes senior Meg Richardson – who swam in seven of the 11 relays Friday night and is expected to continue finding success all season.

‘Meg Richardson is scary to all the other [Mid-American Conference] competition because she’s confident and smart,’ Buff said. ‘She’s going to do some damage this year.’

That damage may begin Oct. 30 when the Falcons open the MAC season at Eastern Michigan.

And with the preseason almost behind them, Buff said the team is ready for the real challenge – preparing for a MAC championship.

‘I still think we have work to do,’ Buff said. ‘It’s a tight team, and I think they’re ready for the challenge.”