Even with the tough competing schools from the BIG 10, ACC, SEC and PAC-10 programs, and being the only team invited from the Mid-American Conference, the Falcons placed seventh this weekend at the Ohio State Swimming and Diving Invitational.

“We had a great meet,” BG coach Keri Buff said. ” We stood up and swam against some of the best teams in the country and we did it well, really well. Our freshmen really stepped up and had many lifetime bests.”

Freshman Alisha Yee, who has been swimming strong all season, finished in the top five in the 100 backstroke and also scored for the Falcons in the 100 backstroke. Freshman Sami Jordan, also swimming the 100 backstroke, placed seventh. Yee also placed sixth in the 200 IM, setting a personal best time of 2:06.16.

Dana Schultz, senior, took home the highest BGSU finish by placing fourth in the 200 butterfly event. She also placed seventh in the 100 butterfly. Schultz and Yee were part of the 400 Medley Relay, along with Stephanie Buckner and Kara Ohngren, which placed seventh. The 200 freestyle relay, consisting of Jordan, Jessica Guinness, Schultz and Buckner, finished ninth.

“The girls were tough and performed all best times for the year,” Buff said. “Our relays were outstanding.”

Buckner, who was part of one of the relay teams, also scored for the Falcons in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle events.

The weekend ended with Minnesota taking first place. Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois all placed within the top four spots. Iowa just passed by BGSU, coming in sixth. Miami, Purdue, Arizona State and Florida filled up the last four placements in the invitational.

“We had 47 swims that made it back to finals,” Buff said. “This far exceeded any of our expectations. We got everything out of this weekend that we needed and more. We go into second semester and the MAC Championships very confident.”