2016 MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, February 24 – Saturday, February 27
- Cooper Pool, Bowling Green, OH (Eastern Time Zone)
- Prelims 11 AM / Finals 7 PM
- Defending Champion: Akron (2x) (results)
- Live Stream (Thursday-Saturday, ESPN3)
- Championship Central
- Fan Guide
- Saturday’s Results
1650 Free
- Jess Powers 16:24.91
- Hannah Miller 16:38.01
- Nicole Swartz 16:49.11
500 free champion, Powers continued to showcase her skills dominating the 1650 free, finishing in NCAA ‘B-cut’ time of 16:24.91. Her teammate Miller, who was 5th at last years championships, touched the pads next, giving Buffalo a 1-2 finish in the event.
200 Back
- Ludwika Szynal 1:53.12
- Laura Dawson 1:56.70
- Ashley Niznik 1:57.88
Szynal of Akron set tone in the 200 back, taking both victories in the backstroke events this weekend. She won the event by more than 3 seconds in a NCAA ‘B-cut’, improving on her time done at last years championships (1:57.25), where she placed 2nd in this event. Her teammate Laura Savariau, who was the defending champion, placed 8th in the A final in 2:00.43.
100 Free
- Megan Burns 48.67
- Ragen Engel 49.50
- Mary Kate Maclean 49.72
Buffalo took another victory on the session, when sprint specialist Burns defended her title, broke the 49 second barrier, and won the event in NCAA ‘B-cut’ time. Akron freshman, Engel made an impact at her first collegiate conference, placing 2nd in an impressive NCAA ‘B-cut’ time of 49.50. Maclean of Eastern Michigan improved on her results from last year, when she won the B final in 50.50. This year, she not only made it into the A final, but made it to the podium.
200 Breast
- Daniela Carrillo 2:10.60
- Paloma Marrero 2:13.43
- Stephanie Lemire 2:14.14
After being out touched for a 3rd place finish in the 100 breast, Carrillo set the bar high in the 200 breast, winning the event way ahead of the field in NCAA ‘B-cut’ time of 2:10.60. Last year, it was Marrero who clinched the title in a time of 2:13.34, this year she was just a few seconds shy of that time but ended up with a 2nd place. Lemire was also just off of her time from last year (2:13.80), that gave her a 2nd place finish, to claim the 3rd place spot this year.
200 Fly
- Erin Seiler 1:57.86
- Jordan Bullock 2:00.70
- Clarice Daniel 2:01.24
Seiler garnered more first place points for the Zips, after winning the 100 fly on day 3, she returned to the pool to dominate the 200. She took almost 2 seconds off of her 3rd place time from the 2015 championships (1:59.26) to swim NCAA ‘B-cut’ time and just missed the meet record time of 1:57.70.
3m Diving
- Pei Lin 406.00
- Alice Hottensmith 303.75
- Rebecce Deacon 301.65
1m champion of Miami won on the 3m board in dominating fashion, finishing more than 100 points ahead of 2nd place finisher, and in a new conference record, smashing her previous record she set in preliminaries (398.95).
400 Free Relay
- Akron 3:19.54
- Buffalo 3:20.71
- Bowling Green & Eastern Michigan 3:21.53
Although Akron had 3 swimmers in the A final of the 100 free, Engel was the only finalist to swim the final relay. The A team of Engel (50.13), Niznik (49.96), Sadie Fazekas (49.60) and Madison Myers (49.85) clocked in in 3:19.54, just shy of the conference record time of 3:19.37.
I, too, would like to congratulate Brian Peresie & the Akron Zips for their outstanding performance at this year’s MAC Championships. Placing 1st for three consecutive years is a great accomplishment for both a coach, their staff & their team. Well done, Zips…it will be exciting to see what you continue to accomplish in the years to come!!
As to the Ohio Mom’s reply, I must disagree. Being an Ohio alum & an Ohio swimmer’s Mom, I feel there is nothing vindictive about these Alum’s comments but they are just an observation of the facts. These present team members have every right to be disappointed with these team results. They are a talented group who put in huge amounts… Read more »
Great showing by Akron! Coach Peresie and staff have impressively established a culture to be reckoned with for years to come.
Congrats to the MAC as a whole. Many great coaches and programs in this underrated conference who continuously gets results and high rates of improvement. Coach Bauerle was once quoted saying he was a better coach prior to the new pool. By that he meant you had to be creative, resourceful and innovative when you don’t have as many resources at your disposal as desired. Look no further then many of the programs in the MAC!
I can’t wait to see the final numbers on who advances to the championships next month. 5-6 schools should be represented.
Congrats to Akron! Brian has done a great job. He has won titles with Akron and before that won several with Ohio University. Im worried about Ohio University now though and the pit they have fallen into. “Big shot” new head coach has now finished a 3rd consecutive 6th place finish (out of 8 teams), and she graduates 130 or so points this year, not including big time relay swimmers. When you score less than 350 as a whole, thats a big hit. Teams like Akron, BGSU, and EMU seem to reload every year but it looks like Ohio has somewhat solidified themselves as a bottom tier team. How the once great teams can fall.
This is an unproductive comment. You could have left it at congratulating Akron. They did an awesome job and deserve the win! No need to try and humiliate other teams who worked extremely hard and are likely disappointed. It’s childish and makes Ohio graduates and alumni look petty and immature. If you have a beef with the athletic department, take it there and stop plastering vindictive comments all over the place. Grow up.
“OHIO MOM”, you make several great points, but as an alum I admit to having the same feelings as “ALUM!”. These young women do not deserve the criticism; however, like MANY Ohio alums, we have not and will not be given any time to express our “beef” with the athletic department. Their support of Swimming & Diving has decreased steadily over the past 10 years and that will not change until there is a HUGE change in the ADs. With that said, I can tell you that I have not been welcomed by the new coach or the staff since the “change in direction” that occurred 3 years ago. That “change” that seemed so necessary has not had any positive… Read more »
I, too, have to disagree. As a past swimmer, I know how hard these kids work and how great or disappointing a season can be based on end of year results. Nobody who puts the work in deserves to swim badly, period. There is a lot of frustration among Ohio alums since the “change in direction” took place. The head coach has been extremely unwelcoming to the alum and our pride in the school and program, and seems to have no interest in continuing any kind of relationship with any of us. This program has a great history of MAC championships and its difficult for us to see a 3rd 6th place finish with really only a handful of girls… Read more »
In all fairness to the new coach, she has only coached the team to 6th place finishes on 2 occasions. The girls placed 6th with an interim coach at the 2014 MAC Championships.
May I add that the interim head coach had minimal previous coaching experience, and was way better at his job from what I hear.
Eastern Michigan tied for 3rd with Bowling Green in the 400 Free Relay