Bulls End the Semester With a Big Weekend at Home

The Buffalo Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving teams ended the first semester of the season with home competitions against Eastern Michigan and Ball State over the weekend. The men faced MAC competition for the first time this year, while the women went up against MAC teams for the first time at home.

Friday's competition against Eastern Michigan was a true test for both the men and women, as the Eagles have had a long standing tradition of success within the conference. The Bulls entered the meet looking to see how they measured up against some very good competition. The women opened the meet with a 1-2 finish in the 400 medley relay. The score of the meet remained close until the 50 free when Caroline Simmons, Jessie Koltz, and Sam Palma combined for a 1-2-4 finish. The trio of Jessie Koltz, Sam Palma, and Sam Eckert finished 1-2-3 in the 100 fly and put the final stamp on the evening. The women won the meet by a score of 166-128.

The men stepped up to the challenge of facing an Eastern Michigan program who has won 28 MAC titles. The men were led by sophomore Jared Heine who won the 200 free, sophomore Kenny Rhoades on 1-meter, freshman Matt Schwippert in the 100 fly, and the 400 free relay team who won the final event in a time of 3:07.97. It was the best showing by a Buffalo team against EMU in school history.

Saturday's meet against Ball State resulted in a victory for both the men and the women. The competition began with a 1-2 finish by both squads in the 200 medley relay. The women's "A" relay team just out touched the "B" relay, while the men's "B" relay snuck in for the win over the "A". Buffalo won all but 5 total events on the day. Noteworthy performances include wins by Kenny Rhoades on 1-meter and 3-meter diving, Meili Carpenter on both boards, Jessie Koltz in the 50 free and 100 fly, Kim Dale in the 1000 free, and Zach Ruske in the 200 free and 200 IM. Needless to say, a lot of great things happened this past weekend!

Congratulations Bulls!