Michigan State University
Oakland
Spartan Swimming & Diving Tames Golden Grizzlies
1/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
EAST LANSING, Mich. â€" Michigan State celebrated senior day on Saturday, Jan. 23, with a pair of victories over Oakland, defeating the Golden Grizzlies, 179-118 on the men's side, and 160-134 on the women's. Seniors Elizabeth Brown and Ian Rodriguez notched two wins apiece in their final meet at the Charles McCaffree Pool in East Lansing.
The Spartans opened the meet with a victory in both the men's and women's 200 medley relay. The women's team of sophomore Madison Nowak, junior Kennedy Cutler, junior Sarah Love and sophomore Racheal Bukowski combined for a 1:43.20, defeating the team from OU by more than a second. Rodriguez, junior Alec Kandt, sophomore Alex Trompke and sophomore Nick Leshok posted a time of 1:29.51 to win the men's race.
In the men's 1,000 free, MSU claimed the top two spots with sophomore Joe Szczupakiewicz and junior Jon Burke, posting efforts of 9:31.48 and 9:41.98, respectively. Szczupakiewicz went on to take first in the 500 free, swimming a 4:37.70. Sophomore Haley Kornburger was second in the women's competition with a 10:26.90.
MSU controlled the 100 backstroke, claiming first in both the men and women's races. Trompke won the men's competition with a 50.12, as Rodriguez followed closely behind for second, tapping the wall in 50.33. Nowak paced the women with a 56.30. She dove back into the pool to win the 200 backstroke with a 2:02.83.
The Spartans swept top honors in the 200 fly, led Brown's 2:02.55. Freshman Emily Brunett took third with a 2:07.81. Brown claimed her second win of the day in the 100 fly with a 56.29. Sophomore Mitch Strahlman won the men's race with an effort of 1:51.59.
Leshok led the way in the 50 free, turning in a time of 20.80 to edge out teammate, senior Jacob Moore, who clocked a 20.90. Leshok returned to the pool just a few events later to claim the 100 free in a time of 45.93. Bukowski won the women's race with a 23.56.
On the boards, a trio of Spartan freshmen swept the women's 3-meter dive. Heidi Surdyk tallied a score of 266.48, while Morgan Wellenzohn and Julia Oppedisano recorded scored of 249.30 and 224.17, respectively. Junior Brennan LaBar posted a 319.43 to win the men's 3-meter competition.
In the 1-meter dive, junior Madeline Sewell added nine points to MSU's cause with a score of 294.15 for first place. Surdyk took second with a 296.57, as Oppedisano was third with a 267.82. LaBar completed his sweep of the men's boards, winning with a 316.87.
Michigan State concludes its dual season on Feb. 6 at Michigan. The Big Ten Championships begin on Feb. 17 with the women's competition in Ann Arbor, and the men travel to West Lafayette on Feb. 24 for the Big Tens.
Players Mentioned
