Although the Mid-American Conference swimming championships in Buffalo are still two days away and the official lineup hasn’t been announced, below are the best predictions for what races the Bobcats will compete in and what chances they have.
Tori Bagan | Sophomore | Breaststroke, Freestyle
After Bagan suffered two stress fractures, she slowly started swimming similar times to last year. “She hasn’t shown us yet how good she really is,” Ohio coach Greg Werner said. The school record holder in the 100-yard breaststroke will compete in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke.
Anastasia Bocharnikova | Senior | Breaststroke, Backstroke
With a time of 1.59:92 minutes in the 200-yard backstroke in the Zippy Invitational, Bocharnikova will compete for a spot on the podium at the MAC championship, while she also will race in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard IM and the medley relay.
Katey Brooks | Senior | Breaststroke, Freestyle, IM
“She has surged a lot in her last season,” Werner said about the North Royalton native. With a season best time in the 100-yard freestyle and the taper, Brooks should be able to improve her ninth place finish from last year and compete for a top-five result. She could help the Bobcats to win a MAC championship in a relay event.
Lauren Funk | Senior | Freestyle
The sprint standout has always had breakout results at the MAC championships, finishing first in the 50-yard freestyle in her sophomore year and earned five top-10 finishes last year. Funk has remained consistent and should be able to repeat her success in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle as well as the 100-yard breaststroke – especially because it is her last conference meet.
“This is my last year,” she said. “And I want to win.”
Haley Clark | Freshman | Backstroke, Butterfly, Freestyle
When other swimmers were injured, the freshman took her chance to become a crucial part of Ohio’s relays success. “I want to help the team win relays at MACs,” she said earlier this season. The College Station, Texas native should also have chances to finish in the top 10 in the 100-yard butterfly.
Addy Ferguson | Freshman | Backstroke, Butterfly
The freshman set new personal records in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly in December and has always placed better than fifth in dual meets. “I want to finish in the top three at MACs,” Ferguson said, but she might even ending up winning the MAC title in the 100-yard backstroke. She will also compete in the 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard backstroke and a medley relay.
Bianca Hauzer | Freshman | Freestyle
The Bobcats’ latest addition out of South Africa has already had a huge effect on the Bobcats, despite not joining them until late December. Behind Williams, Hauzer has evolved as the Bobcats’ second-best distance swimmer, swimming a time of 17:36.50 minutes in the 1650-yard freestyle. Werner said a month ago that he hasn’t talked to her about goals yet, but her current shape could lead to a top five finish in the 1650-yard freestyle.
Rachel Stearns | Junior | Backstroke, IM
Stearns finished last year’s MAC championships on a high note, having had four top-three finishes including a win in the 200-yard backstroke. She is the school record holder in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke, however, she was out of competition for a month and a half after a minor injury and wasn’t able to swim times close to her 1:55.65 minutes in the 200-yard backstroke. Still, Stearns will be crucial for the Bobcats in the medley relays and with the taper might be able to pull off an upset.
Laurin Williams | Junior | Freestyle
Ohio’s distance stand-out had been out for the first meet against Eastern Michigan this year because of an injury, but came back to win four out of seven 500-yard freestyle and all 1650-yard freestyle events for the Bobcats. “I want to get lifetime bests at all of my races (at MACs),” Williams said. If Williams were to do that, she would break two school records and crush the competition in the 500-yard and the 1650-yard freestyle.
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