Bowling Green swim and dive (6-3, 0-2) fell just short against Ball State (4-1, 1-1) on Saturday afternoon’s meet, dropping the game 143-157. 

The meet extended the Cardinals’ win streak to three games. It also improved their home record at the Lewellen Aquatic Center to an undefeated 3-0.  

Meanwhile, the Falcons, who started off the season with a scorching hot 6-1 record, have now dropped two meets in back-to-back weeks. 

Freestyle 

The Cardinals crushed the Falcons in the freestyle races, winning all five freestyle distances.

Junior Payton Kelly and freshman McKenna Potteiger did especially well, each winning two races for Ball State. 

Sophomore Abby Teopfer was a bright spot for the Orange & Brown, coming in second place in both the 500 and 100-yard freestyles.  

Medleys & Relays 

Ball State won the 400-yard freestyle relay and 200-yard medley relay. However, freshman Taylor Devorace gave the Falcons a victory by winning the 200-yard individual medley.  

Backstroke 

The two backstroke races were dominated by Bowling Green, specifically by Emily McNicol. The junior finished first in both the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke. 

Breaststroke 

The breaststroke races were more of a split category. Ball State graduate student Laura Wright won the 100-yard breaststroke, while Bowling Green grad student Ava Vial finished in first in the 200-yard backstroke. 

Butterfly 

Similar to the breaststroke races, the butterfly events were also a mixed bag. Ball State sophomore Alexa Von Holtz won the 200-yard race, while Falcon junior Grace Bodrock won the 100-yard event.  

Diving 

The biggest improvement from last week’s Marshall loss to this week’s meet against Ball State was Bowling Green’s ability to place high at the diving events.  

The Falcons won both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. Bowling Green junior Evie Long was a standout diver after winning the 1-meter dive and coming in third place at the 3-meter dive.  

Falcon sophomore Natalia Mayorga was also outstanding, with a first-place finish in the 3-meter dive and a second-place finish in the 1-meter dive.  

Overall Thoughts 

Most of the events in Saturday’s meet were equal contests between the Falcons and Cardinals. Bowling Green even considerably won the diving events. 

However, the Orange and Brown need to make some massive improvements in their freestyle swimming.  

Losing all five freestyle events to Ball State was certainly the nail in the coffin for the meet, despite good performances everywhere else.  

The Falcons will look to snap out of this two-game skid against Butler next Sunday, Dec. 26, on the road in Indianapolis, Indiana.