The men's swimming and diving team beat Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, Western Illinois University, University of Illinois at Chicago and Xavier University in two double-dual meets on Friday and Saturday.
A double-dual meet is different from a duel meet. In a double dual meet each team competes directly against the two other teams in the meet. It is possible for a team to leave a double dual meet with two wins, two losses or a win and a loss.
The four-win weekend moved Ball State's record to 6-0 overall with another double-dual meet and a dual meet this Friday and Saturday.
Head coach Bob Thomas said he was happy with the perfect start to the season, and wants to carry the momentum into the coming weeks.
"It's kind of a surprise," he said of the unbeaten start. "It was a big upset beating Miami. And those other meets we had good confidence.-áWe are trying to take it one meet at a time and hope for the best.-áWe have a big weekend coming up."
Ball State beat IUPUI 70-41 and WIU 73-38 on Friday and broke many season records in route to the two victories.
"In Friday's meet we had 20 season best times," Thomas said.-á"Anytime you get that many season bests, you're accomplishing what you set out to do. I was very pleased with Friday's performance."
Thomas said some of the success stemmed from the atmosphere and the building where they swam on Friday.-áThe Indianapolis Natatorium, which was home to the 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials.
"Part of it was being able to swim in the Natatorium," Thomas said "There is a lot of history in that facility.-áAnytime you can get into that facility it brings out the best in you, and it did on Friday."
On Saturday Ball State bested UIC 93-45 and Xavier University 98-38 in Lewellen Aquatic Center.
"In our own pool we actually swam faster in many of the events than we did in Friday's meet, and our pool is slower than the Natatorium," Thomas said.
According to Thomas, this weekend marked a pair of successful meets for sophomore diver Ryan Plantz.
"Friday at the Natatorium he finished second in the 3-meter and than on 1-meter he was able to win that outright," Thomas said.-á"He was able to beat a competitor who beat him previously at the Indiana Intercollegiate meet, so that was a nice comeback win for Ryan. On Saturday on the 1-meter, that was his highest score of his collegiate career."
Thomas said with Plantz's 1-meter score on Saturday missed qualifying for diving regionals by 10 points.
Despite the perfect opening to the season, Thomas said he does not want to make any predictions about the rest of the season.
"We have a really young team," he said.-á"I would say we are setting the groundwork for the future.-áIt's really too early to say, 'Yeah we're going to do this and that,' because we only have had two MAC meets, and there are a lot of teams left to compete against."
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