On Thursday, Nov. 21, the Oakland women’s swim and dive team lost to the Eastern Michigan Eagles in a meet with a final score of 161-139 on the road at the Jones Natatorium.
The meet consisted of 16 different events, including two relays, which started and closed the event. Among the 16 events, the Golden Grizzlies and the Eagles placed first in eight — respectively — showing just how close the meet was.
Starting with the 200-medley relay, the Eastern Michigan A team narrowly edged out the Oakland A team for first place, finishing less than half a second ahead of the Golden Grizzlies. However, the rest of Oakland’s relay teams took places second through fifth.
Next, in the 1000 free, Mia Englender claimed first place for the first time in the meet for the Golden Grizzlies. No other Oakland swimmers finished in the top three, but Nora Molnar put some points on the board with her fourth-place finish that marked a new personal best.
Following that, in the 200 free, Nehir Oz and Emma Littrell from Eastern Michigan claimed first and second place, respectively. Closely behind them were Oakland swimmers Kelley Hassett in third, Erika Pietras in fourth and Viviane Partridge in fifth.
In the 100 back, Oakland placed first yet again, thanks to Grace Albrecht, who finished with a time of 56.17. Eagle swimmers notched second through fourth, while Paige Koscielski finished in fifth for the Golden Grizzlies.
During the 100 breast, Eastern Michigan dominated the podium, with three swimmers taking first, second and third. Still, Maya Dobry and Englender contributed three points to Oakland’s score with their respective fourth and fifth-place finishes.
The Golden Grizzlies got back on track in the 200 fly, with Rhianna Hensler dominating the field on her way to finishing first. Additionally, Ajete Eggers placed third for Oakland with a final time of 2:09.83.
Ronja Riihinen and Jordyn Shipps built off Hensler and Eggers in the 50 free, outpacing Eastern Michigan’s swimmers for first and second-place finishes. Notably, Riihinen and Shipps finished extremely close, with just 0.08 seconds separating the pair.
In the 1M dive, Elleana Chalifoux lifted the Golden Grizzlies to another top finish, ending with 279.83 points. Behind Chalifoux, Eastern’s Malia Marie, Rebekah Knapp and Taityn Speier put up enough points to take the next three spots.
Next, Riihinen took another first place in the 100 free, further boosting the Oakland score. In addition to Riihinen, Samantha Thiessen finished in fifth place with a time of 53.97 for the Golden Grizzlies.
Following Oakland’s stretch of first-place finishes, the Eagles had their own streak of finishing at the top of the podium. Eastern Michigan swimmers finished first in the 200 back, 200 breast and 500 free.
That didn’t deter Oakland, as in the 100 fly, Shipps pulled ahead of all swimmers for a top finish. Shipps and Albrecht also dominated in the 200 individual medley, with the duo taking first and second, respectively.
Still, the Eagles dominated in the 3M dive, claiming first, third and fourth, giving Eastern Michigan a somewhat comfortable lead as the meet neared its end. For Oakland, Chalifoux took second, while Abigail McCool contributed a point to the Golden Grizzlies’ total.
In the last event, the 400 free relay, the Eagles capped off their day with another first-place finish. Their A team finished a little over three seconds quicker than Oakland’s A team, giving Eastern Michigan their second consecutive win over the Golden Grizzlies.
Next, the Golden Grizzlies will compete in the Zippy Invite from Thursday, Dec. 5, until Sunday, Dec. 8, in Akron, Ohio. The competition marks Oakland’s last in the calendar year.