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YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The University of Cincinnati swimming and diving programs competed at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 15. Jackie Keire collected first place points in three events on the women's side, part of six individual victories as UC fell 175.5-124.5. The men saw four event wins, including three from freshmen, as they fell 191-109.
"It was a really good overall meet for us," said head coach Mandy Commons-DiSalle. "We lost some close races, but the team did a great job competing and staying in the meet until the end. We set ourselves up really well going into the last meet of 2014."
// Keire Still Reliable
Keire (Burlington, Ont./Nelson) remains one of the most consistent performers for UC this season. The sophomore won the 100 free, 200 free and 500 free, all events she qualified for last season's NCAA Championships in, on Saturday. Her first victory came in the 200, where her time of 1:50.65 won by over three seconds. The 100 free saw her finish in 51.06 to edge teammate Sara Wanasek (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) who finished in second at 53.19. Keire's third victory of the day came in the 500 where she finished in 4:57.86.
Four meets into the season, Keire finds her name on the American Athletic Conference's top-five list in the 50, 100, 200 and 500 freestyles.
// Freshmen Stay Strong
Both the men's and women's teams saw strong performances from their freshman classes. On the women's side, Wanasek and Rachel Dover (Ooltewah, Tenn./East Hamilton) both secured first-place points. Wanasek captured the 1,000 freestyle in 10:16.28. It marks the second-fastest time in the league this season. Dover won the 200 butterfly, touching the wall in 2:02.82. Her mark was the third quickest in the conference this year.
Three of the four victories on the men's side came from rookies. Chris Bready (Missouri City, Texas/Lawrence E. Elkins) captured the 1,000 freestyle in 9:27.22. Bready already owns the league's best time in the 1,000 this season. Redshirt freshman Eitan Holder (Caracas, Venezuela/Aviv [Israel]) won the 100 butterfly with a time of 50.10. Ryan DePietro (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster), who already has an American Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Week Award to his name, won the 400 individual medley in 4:02.26. It marks the fastest time in the league this season by nearly three seconds.
// The Best of the Rest
The Bearcats also got first place points from Jessica Piper (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg) and Dan Gilbertson (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North) on the afternoon. Piper, a junior, won the 100 backstroke in 57.53, a time which is the fourt-quickest in the league this season. Gilberston, a sophomore, took home the 100 breaststroke in 56.94.
// Up Next - RedHawk Invitational
The Bearcats will conclude the fall semester portion of their schedule Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 4-6, at the RedHawk Invitational at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The meet will be UC's first chance this season to swim a preliminary-finals format that is similar to the set-up of the American Athletic Conference and NCAA Championship meets.