It’s a rivalry dual meet like no other, as Ball State men’s swim and dive (1-3) squares off against a Mid-American Conference foe and in-state rival in the Evansville Purple Aces.
“I think it’s great to have the opportunity,” head swimming coach Bob Thomas said. “To be able to compete year in and year out so close to another program like we have had with them.”
Since the rivalry began in the 2010-11 season, the Cardinals haven’t been able to beat the Purple Aces at their pool.
With his team coming in fourth place last weekend at the Butler Invitational, Thomas said sophomore Ben Andrew has had success in the pool, since coming in third place in the 50-yard freestyle.
“He’s been on a roll,” Thomas said. “He’s hungry, focused and I feel that we can count on him to pull his weight.”
Coming into this meet, the Cardinals have to look out for two athletes competing for the Purple Aces.
Purple Aces to watch out for
Evansville comes into this dual meet with a lost to the St. Louis Billikens, 156-65. One of the Purple Aces to watch for is senior Matthew Duke. Duke’s fast time this season is a 21.11 seconds, which he recorded at the House of Champions meet. Another athlete to watch for is in one-meter diving. Junior Miguel Marcano scored 260.32 points in the dual meet against St. Louis.
Cardinals to watch for
In practices this week, Andrew said he has been focusing on his catch and finishing his strokes.
“Things like working to grab enough water as I can and move forward,” Andrew said. “Instead of moving my arms fast, because that’s not going to get me anywhere.”
During the 50-yard freestyle, Andrew attempts to hold at least one breath down and one breath back. He said this breathing pattern is important.
“I mean it's down and back, so you don’t really need to breath but it can be easy to want to breath,” Andrew said. “So sticking to a breathing pattern and getting as much as I can out of every stroke.”
In this rivalry dual meet, Andrew said he’s looking forward to facing Duke.
“It will be good,” Andrew said. “I had raced him a little last year, and it will be good to see where he’s at.”
Unlike its counterparts, the diving team has been taking this week very relaxed. Head diving coach Nick Gayes said the team hasn’t been doing much.
“Monday we really didn't do anything,” Gayes said. “Tuesday, we had a lot of team meetings, which I think they were pretty beneficial to us, but we didn’t get much diving. We had a little bit today and they’re off tomorrow because they have to have an extra day off this week, due to the meet on Sunday.”
At the Purdue Invite, Gayes got to see the Purple Aces diving team in action, while coaching the women’s diving team.
“For me I want to see what kind of progress they have made over the last three to four months and if they are indeed getting better or not,” Gayes said. “Also, if there are flaws that might open some doors for us or not.”
For freshman Sean Wolfe, he said this meet will be very interesting.
“There’s just a lot of competition and I know this is a big meet,” Wolfe said. “It’s going to be a big meet, an interesting meet and a fun meet because of all the excitement.”
At the Butler Invitational, Wolfe was able to win both the one-meter and three-meter diving events. Wolfe said he has been taking each day with a grain of salt.
“I’m really humble about it and I just hope to continue to improve,” Wolfe said. “I know I can still improve a lot from where I am.”
The meet is slated to start at 1 p.m. at the Wyttenbach Pool in Evansville.
Contact Patrick Murphy with comments at prmurphy2@bsu.edu.
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