Wearing a black swimming cap, a red Ball State University jacket and a aqua-colored towel, Addison Del Rio walked through a tunnel of her teammates Saturday as they shot confetti through the air and fans cheered.
Del Rio and the other senior women of the swimming and diving team: Michelle Huang, Valerie McGowan and Stephanie Paul, were presented with bouquets of flowers and gift bags for their senior day.
A couple hours later, they got another gift as the Cardinals' women beat Miami University for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
"It was the best senior gift, birthday gift or Christmas gift, or any combination of the three that I could have received," Del Rio said.
Co-coach Bob Thomas said the 176-124 victory was the biggest win of the season for the Cardinals.
Co-coach Laura Seibold-Caudill said the win was huge because Ball State identifies Miami, which has won 15 Mid-American Conference championships, as the team to beat each year in the conference.
"I kept waiting for things to change," she said. "I'd pinch myself now and then and wonder when things are going to change. I'd pinch myself and wonder are they going to come back in the last half of the meet to catch us, and then they didn't."
While the women's team won Saturday, the men's team did not have the same success as it fell to the RedHawks for the fifth consecutive year 163-136.
Despite the loss, Thomas said, the Cardinals competed well in the meet.
"They were competitive in every event," he said. "They swam some great times."
The men's seniors, Caleb Bye, Ryan Franklin and Brett Pettit, were also honored before their meet later in the afternoon.
Franklin said having his friends and family at his final home meet was enjoyable and he was focused on enjoying the moment.
"I wasn't really focused in on just swimming [Saturday] like normal," he said.
Pettit said it was a great feeling of accomplishment that he had stuck with the team for four years and finished his career with the Cardinals. It was an emotional day, he said.
"It's a great feeling, but it's something I'm going to miss, especially the meets," he said. "We just had our last morning practice last week, that wasn't that hard to get over."
With the completion of the dual match season, the Cardinals' next competition is at the conference championships. The women's meet begins Feb. 20 while the men's meet begins Feb. 28.
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