The Ohio Bobcats (3-1 Mid-American Conference) traveled north on Friday and Saturday to face off against the reigning Mid-American Conference champion Akron Zips (4-0 MAC). The Zips handed the Bobcats their first loss of the season after scoring a 239-171 victory.
The meet was a showdown between the top two finishers at last year’s MAC Championship, and a potential preview of how this year’s championship will play out. Both teams entered this meet undefeated in conference competition, meaning they very well could be competing for the top spot again.
Competition opened Friday with the 1-meter dive, where three Ohio divers, junior Astrid Pichardo, junior Stephanie Balthaser and freshman Bella Basford, finished first, third and fourth after their respective attempts. However, after the first swimming event, the 200-yard freestyle relay, Akron moved into the lead, in part thanks to a second-place finish from the Bobcats being erased due to a disqualification.
From this point, the Zips did not relinquish their lead, but Ohio remained competitive throughout the day. The Bobcats picked up two more event wins Friday, with senior Casadie DiBetta taking gold in the 50-yard breaststroke and junior Melanie Schweikert winning the 200-yard backstroke.
The 400-yard medley relay of freshman Lily Baumgartner, DiBetta, sophomore Jordan Claypoole and junior Zita Szoke also took home a second-place finish. The day ended with Akron leading 132-73, but Ohio was still in the fight heading into day two.
Ohio got off to a strong start Saturday, beginning with Schweikert, DiBetta, Claypoole and Szoke winning the 200-yard medley relay. Junior Ashley Sallows and freshman Katrina Kollin followed this up with respective second- and third-place finishes in the 1000-yard freestyle.
The Bobcats remained competitive throughout the day. Szoke won the 50- and 200-yard freestyle, DiBetta won the 100-yard breaststroke, senior Emily Ellsworth won the 400-yard individual medley and Szoke, freshmen Tori Wittenberg, freshmen Juliette Daigneault and Claypoole took home gold in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Just like in the 1-meter dive on Friday, Pichardo topped the board and win the 3-meter dive, with Basford and Balthaser also putting in solid performances and swapping positions from the previous days event.
Despite Ohio’s many top finishes Saturday, the Zips were able to hold off the Bobcats’ comeback effort with many strong performances of their own, and close out the meet with a 239-171 win.
The Bobcats’ divers have one more meet in the regular season as they look to get back to their winning ways. They head to Oxford, Ohio, on Feb. 6 and 7 to face off against the Miami RedHawks.
Meanwhile, both the swimmers and divers get a chance at revenge, as they prepare for the MAC Championship on Feb 25-28. Akron is one of eight teams Ohio will face in the conference championship as the Zips look to defend their title and the Bobcats look for their first championship since 2011.
