Men’s Swimming And Diving Defeats Ball State

Men’s Swimming And Diving Defeats Ball State
Aces Defeat Cardinals, 151.5-148.5

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – An exciting meet came down to the final events as the University of Evansville men’s swimming and diving team defeated Ball State by a final of 151.5-148.5 on Friday afternoon at Wyttenbach Pool.

“I am super happy, we did a great job of coming together as a team. The divers were awesome and relays were great,” Purple Aces head coach Rickey Perkins said. “Ethan O’Rourke won three meets and did a nice job. I am very happy with the win, the guys worked very hard and it is great to see their work pay off.”

O’Rourke’s stellar day began in the 100 backstroke event as he swam a 52.16, topping the competition by 1.49 seconds. He was even more dominant in the 200 backstroke race. O’Rourke’s time of 1:55.25 was over four seconds better than his nearest competition. He finished the day with another great race, taking top honors in the 200 IM. His 1:57.44 was nearly four seconds ahead of second place.

Evansville swept the diving events, led by Cory Barnes and Miguel Marcano. Barnes was credited with a 212.17 to take first place in the 1-meter event while Marcano recorded a 258.15 in the 3-meter dive to earn the win.

Dan O’Brien had a solid day for the Aces. The sophomore came home on top in the 100 fly, registering a 51.86 to win by 0.41 over Ball State. He also contributed to a team win in the 200 medley relay. He joined Troy Burger, Matt Duke and Matt Childress to swim a 1:36.35. The group won by just 0.12.

Troy Burger was victorious in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in 59.61. He was 1.69 seconds ahead of teammate Will Glasscock. Burger got the job done again in the 200 yard breaststroke, dominating the competition by over three seconds as he finished with a time of 2:12.60.

Tomorrow, the Aces men and women will hold their final home event of the season, taking on Valparaiso at 1 p.m. at Wyttenbach Pool.