Women's Swimming & Diving

Bulls, Zips, RedHawks Earn Saturday Dual Victories

Saturday, Jan. 10 Swim & Dive Results
Akron 209, Toledo 52
Buffalo 165, Duquesne 135
UConn 170, UMass 119
Miami 246, Oakland 107
Miami 236, Denison 117
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Akron Zips Cruise Past Toledo | Results
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Akron swimming team cruised to a 209-52 victory over Toledo in a Mid-American Conference dual. Akron improved to 3-0 in the MAC with the win.

Akron started the meet taking the top two spots in the 200 MR as the "Z" squad of Abbey Cronin, Isabella Pribonic, Avery Knight and Cora Spetz finished first with a time of 1:44.62 while the "I" squad of Natalia Zaiteva, Ada Szwabinska, Martyna Piesko and Hannah Trainer finished second with a time of 1:45.92.

In the 1000 Free, the Zips took the top three times, as Elle Couture (10:32.01), Maggie Patterson (10:37.75) and Ava Withey (10:46.21) led the way.

Akron kept on dominating, with the 200 Free featuring the Zips in first and second. Helena Lalkovic (1:54.55) took first and Brienne Trumpower (1:54.83) finished second. The Blue and Gold took the top four spots in the 100 Back, as Piesko (58.23) finished first while Knight (58.29) and Zaiteva (59.30) took second and third.

Claire Cox led the way in the 100 Breast with a time of 1:05.08 while Efthymia Mazaraki took second with a time of 1:06.70.

In the 200 Fly, Addy Soehnlen took gold with a time of 2:05.78 while Patterson took silver with a time of 2:05.86.

Szwabinska set a new pool record at Toledo in the 50 Free with a time of 22.94 while Callie Pakres finished second with a time of 23.71.

The 100 Free once again saw the Zips take gold, with Szwabinska finishing with a time of 51.12. Spetz took third with a time of 52.78.

Akron swept the top three times in the 200 Back, with Cronin (2:06.01), Zaiteva (2:06.62) and Piesko (2:08.36) leading the charge.

Madelyn Bosler took gold in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:23.55 while Couture (5:07.70) and Lalkvoic (5:07.87) finished first and second in the 500 Free.

The Zips took the top four times in the 100 Fly, with Callie Parkes leading the Zips with a time of 56.77.

Knight placed first in the 200 IM (2:09.58) while Withey finished third (2:14.89).

Akron concluded the head-to-head meeting with the Rockets with a first and second-place finish in the 400 FR. The "I" squad of Trumpower, Lalkovic, Parkes and Trainer (3:29.16) claimed gold while the "Z" squad of Piesko, Couture, Spetz and Szwabinska (3:32.77) claimed silver.

What's Next
Akron heads to South Bend, Ind., to compete in the Tim Welsh Classic on the campus of Notre Dame. The Classic is set to run from January 23 through January 24.


Buffalo Defeats Duquesne at Home | Results
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo swimming and diving program hosted Duquesne University on Saturday afternoon in the Alumni Arena Natatorium, defeating the Dukes, 165-135. The Bulls improved to 9-2 all-time versus Duquesne.

"I was really happy and proud of the girls," said Head Coach Andy Bashor. "They put a lot of good work in this week, did a great job with the way they raced and it showed with some of the times that were put up. The 150-yard races are good for mimicking the 200-yard races we compete in, while minimizing the impact on their bodies after a hard week of training. We'll continue to adapt, train and look to get faster leading into Mid-American Conference Championships."

IN THE POOL
The Bulls opened the meet against the Dukes by winning the 200-yard medley relay. Vivian Roy, Pinar Donmez, Nicole Aguilar and Bella Forsman combined to finish the event in 1:45.20.

Elise McCaul (1st, 10:38.42), Karen Austin (2nd, 10:42.03) and Ava Cunningham (3rd, 10:49.42) continued the program's momentum in the 1,000-yard freestyle by taking the top three spots. The trio added 16 points for the Bulls.

Freshman Alex Bulat (2nd, 1:23.28) and Abbey Gardner (3rd, 1:24.76) posted top-three placements in the 150-yard freestyle to add seven points for the program.
Donmez secured a win for the Bulls in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.94. Grace Rider (3rd, 1:05.44), Ava Pauly (4th, 1:05.60) and Madi Tewksbury (5th, 1:06.85) put four Bulls inside the top five swimmers to place.

Forsman earned the fourth event win for the program, taking first place in the 150-yard butterfly with a time of 1:29.19. Freshman Kamilla Nemes placed third (1:30.12) and Maddy Schnelzer earned fifth (1:34.16), putting three Bulls inside the top five swimmers to place.

Amanda Jurgelon (2nd, 24.29) and Jillian Strine (4th, 24.59) earned two of the top four spots in the 50-yard freestyle. Jurgelon was within a second of her personal best time in the event (23.68).

Aguilar posted yet another event win for the program, earning first place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 52.22. Bulat placed third (53.01) and Jurgelon finished fourth (53.34) to put three Bulls inside the top four.

The Bulls earned four of the top five spots in the 150-yard breaststroke. Donmez finished second (1:41.73), with Tewksbury in third (1:44.65), Pauly taking fourth (1:45.25) and Rider in fifth (1:46.05).

Nemes secured her second top-three finish of the day in the 500-yard freestyle, taking second with a time of 5:08.12. McCaul (3rd, 5:09.67), Austin (4th, 5:16.20) and Cunningham (5th, 5:17.62) earned top-five placements. The four Bulls added 10 points for the program.

Forsman closed out the individual events in the pool by winning the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:05.93. Nemes trailed to post another top three finish with a time of 2:06.60.

The Bulls ended the afternoon by taking second (3:29.97) and third (3:35.17) in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

DIVING WELL
Adele Melamud headlined for the Bulls in the three-meter event, winning with a score of 315.38. The freshman was just shy of her personal best score of 321.55, which ranks seventh in program history.

The Bulls earned five of the top six spots as a team in the three-meter, with Mallory Hanna taking second (287.63), Maggie Meyers in third (276.30), Tristan Krajcarski placing fourth (249.53) and Daphne Fox finished sixth (215.10).

Hanna's score of 287.63 was a new personal record that qualified the senior for the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships this spring. Hanna is now the fourth Buffalo diver to qualify for the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships in both the one-meter and three-meter, joining Presley Dorsett, Melamud and Sophie Meuwissen.
Melamud continued her momentum into the one-meter, winning the event with a new personal best score of 279.38. The freshman's performance joined the program's all-time leaderboard to rank 10th. The event win marked Melamud's seventh of the season.

The Buffalo divers piled into the standings, taking five of the top six spots again in the one-meter. Hanna finished second (255.30), with Krajcarski earning third (250.58), Meyers in fifth (239.18), and Fox placing sixth (228.68). Krajcarski's score was a new personal best.

"I'm really proud of the team considering the challenges we faced this week," said Head Diving Coach Russ Dekker. "Their accomplishments despite obstacles were impressive."
 
UP NEXT
The Bulls are back in action next Saturday, January 17th, competing against Ball State at 11 a.m. The meet will mark the program's final road competition before the Mid-American Conference Championships. The Bulls will host their final home meet on Saturday, January 31st, celebrating senior day in the Alumni Arena Natatorium at 11 a.m. against Miami of Ohio.


Miami Executes at Oakland 
ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Miami University swimming and diving team finished strong at Oakland University on Saturday, Jan. 10. The RedHawk women defeated Oakland 246-107 and also defeated Dennison 236-117.  The men fell to Oakland 148-205 but defeated Dennison 242-111.

How it Happened:
  • Day two of the meet against Oakland University and Denison University started with the women's 400-yard medley relay. The women's A team finished first. Ella Ziegert, Madison Watschke, Kaylin Herbet and Julia Waechter turned in a combined time of 3:43.32.
  • Gracie Gregory came in first-place in the women's 1000-yard freestyle posting a time of 10:08.11.
  • The women's 200-yard IM followed where Piper Prince finished in second-place with a time of 2:03.69.
  • After that was the Women's 200-yard backstroke where Ziegert finished in second-place, earning a time of 1:58.80.
  • Herbet finished first in the women's 100-yard freestyle, turning in a time of 49.84. Waechter was right behind her in second-place with a time of 50.75.
  • Next up was the women's 200-yard butterfly where Gracie Gregory finished second, earning a time of 2:04.93. Mady Bachmeier was in third-place, earning a time of 2:05.31.
  • Watschke was first in the women's 200-yard breaststroke, recording a time of 2:17.35.
  • The women's 200-yard freestyle relay was next. The women's A team finished first. Natalie Gilson, Waechter, Halliday and Herbet turned in a combined time of 1:32.03.
  • For diving events, Sydney Rice finished first in the women's 3M dive with a score of 285.60. Nora Kowalski was second, tallying a score of 265.55. Gretchen Osmun was third, turning in a score of 261.70.
UP NEXT: The RedHawks swimming and diving team will return to Oxford on Jan. 16. The men will compete against Ball State University, while the women will compete against Eastern Michigan University. Events will start at 2 p.m.