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March 9, 2002

Results

Athens, Ohio -- Miami could not hold onto its slim two-point lead heading into the final day of the Mid-American Conference Men's Swimming and Diving Championships and came in second behind three-time defending champion Eastern Michigan, 777-749, Saturday at the Ohio University Aquatic Center.

Senior John Carroll (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis) was named MAC Swimmer of the Year for the second time in three years while senior Eric DiSalle (Maumee, Ohio/St. Francis) garnered MAC Senior Swimmer of the Year honors.

The RedHawks owned a 506-504 advantage at the beginning of the day but were done in by the Eagles' dominance in a few events. Eastern had four of the top seven swimmers in the 1,650 freestyle, three of the top seven in the 100 free, and put two divers in the finals of the three-meter. Meanwhile, Miami had three of the top 13 in the 1,650, two of the top 13 in the 100 free and only one diver - senior Dylan Nichols (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) - in the three-meter finals.

By winning the 200 butterfly on Saturday, Carroll defended all three of his titles from last year, the other two coming in the 500 free and 400 individual medley. His 200 fly time of 1:46.03 bettered the NCAA Provisional Qualifying Standard by more than 2.5 seconds and was just 0.57 seconds shy of the automatic qualifying time.

Carroll, along with sophomore David Fraas (Ashland, Ohio/St. Francis), junior Kelly Ball (Granger, Ind./Penn) and DiSalle, also swam a leg of the second-place 400 free relay, which finished in 3:03.00.

In all, Carroll won three events and swam on a winning relay, a runner-up relay and two third-place relays. He finishes his career with nine individual MAC championships, tied for the most in school history with John Russell and Bill Mulliken.

Finishing up another stellar MAC meet was DiSalle, who took second in the 200 back with a time of 1:49.86. At the three-day championships, he claimed two individual titles, captured second in a third race, and swam on a first-place relay, a second-place relay and two third-place relays.

Nichols found out how difficult it is to three-peat. The champion in the one- and three-meter the last two years, Nichols came in third in the one-meter Thursday, then dove to a second-place finish in the three-meter Saturday with a score of 467.45. Toledo's Michael Alvan won it with 486.75 points.

The best event on the day for Miami was the 100 free, in which it had four of the top six finishers in Carroll, senior Ryan Gandre (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman), Ball and sophomore Andrew Keefe (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier). The latter three placed second, third and sixth, respectively.

The RedHawks also excelled in the 200 back. Aside from DiSalle, freshman Jason Krasula (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) took fifth, junior Andy Norr (Schoolcraft, Mich./Portage Central) 10th, junior Jeremy Salomon (Pepper Pike, Ohio/Cleveland Orange) 12th and freshman John Grubb (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) 14th.

In other action, senior Kevin Mulgrew (Malden, Mass./Malden Catholic) touched the wall fifth in the 1,650, while senior Mark Piersma (Huntsville, Ala./Grissom) and Krasula claimed seventh and 13th, respectively. Fraas took fourth and sophomore Ken Sensenbrenner (Champaign, Ill./Central) 13th in the 100 free. Rounding out the RedHawk finalists, senior Jason Finck (Villa Hills, Ky./Beechwood) reached the deck fifth in the 200 breast, followed by sophomore Paul Jacob (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) in 11th.

Carroll, DiSalle, Ball and Fraas were named to the All-MAC First Team, while Gandre and sophomore Brad Bartel (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) landed on the second team.

Next on the docket is the NCAA Championships March 28-30 in Athens, Ga. Carroll is the only RedHawk with a chance to qualify, and it appears it is a good one. As of March 7, his time in the 200 fly was tied for 20th best in the nation.