Recap courtesy of Ohio's Athletic Communications Department
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio swimming and diving team opened the 2025-26 season on Friday afternoon (Oct. 24), taking on MAC opponents Buffalo University and Marshall University in a tri-meet event. The Bobcats finish day one with a score of 121.00-46.00 versus Marshall and 107.00-60.00 versus Buffalo, taking the lead heading into day two.
The meet started with 3-meter diving, where junior
Astrid Pichardo placed second overall with an overall score of 276.40.
The 200-yard free relay team of a freshman
Tori Wittenberg, junior
Zita Szoke, sophomore
Jordan Claypoole, and junior
Katie Buroker placed first with a time of 1:30.78.
In the 1000-yard free, freshman
Katrina Kollin placed fourth with a time of 10:14.77, and the senior
Anna McGrath placed fifth with a time of 10:18.93.
The Bobcats had three top-five finishers in the 200-yard IM, with senior
Emily Ellsworth finishing in second with a time of 2:02.96, a freshman
Juliette Daigneault finishing in third place with a time of 2:03.12, and a freshman
Jana Macik finishing in fifth place with a time of 2:05.72.
Senior
Casadie DiBetta took the first-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:11.51. Ellsworth also finished in the top five with a time of 2:17.51, placing fourth.
Ohio had four finishers in the top five in the 200-yard backstroke, with the Bobcats taking the first three spots. Sophomore
Juliana Slaninka finished in first place with a time of 1:58.58, freshman
Lily Baumgartner finished in second place with a time of 1:59.51, junior
Melanie Schweikert finished in third with a time of 1:59.60, and senior
Morgan Brown placed fifth with a time of 2:01.71.
In the 200-yard butterfly, Macik was the top Bobcat finisher, placing second with a time of 1:59.07.
The Bobcats swept the top four spots in the 100-yard free, with Szoke being the top finisher for Ohio with a time of 48.03. Wittenburg finished in second with a time of 50.67, junior
Katie Buroker finished in third place with a time of 51.03, and Claypoole finished with a time of 51.18.
In the final event of the day, the Bobcats placed first in the 400-yard medley relay, with Baumgartner, DiBetta, Szoke, and Wittenburg finishing with a time of 3:38.50.
Ohio returns to the pool tomorrow for day two of the tri-meet with Buffalo and Marshall, with the first event kicking off at 10 a.m., and can be watched on YouTube.
