The Akron Zips (4-2) (3-0 MAC) won their fourth consecutive Swim & Dive Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship and 11th over the last 12 years on Saturday.
Bowling Green (6-5) (0-4 MAC) finished in sixth place with 254.5 points. The Falcons’ best finish since the 2022 season and a major bounce-back from their 2024 eighth-place finish.
“I’m extremely proud of how this team performed, not only during our time in Buffalo but throughout the entire season,” head coach Tanner Barton said. “These ladies had fun on deck and trusted in the training. Our improvement at this year’s championship isn’t going unnoticed.”
Final Team Standings
1. Akron – 726.5 pts.
2. Ohio – 637.5 pts.
3. Miami – 623 pts.
4. Buffalo – 567.5 pts.
5. Ball State – 305.5 pts.
6. Bowling Green – 254.5 pts.
7. Eastern Michigan – 215 pts.
8. Toledo – 175.5 pts.
Bowling Green graduate student Ava Vial also earned a spot on the All-MAC Second Team. 200 breaststroke, she placed third with a time of 2:15.25, which was the fourth-fastest mark in program history. Since Kristin Filby’s 2:14.68 in 2015.
“Ava finished her BGSU career on such a high note,” Barton said about the second-team All-MAC performer. “She has a drive like no other and she executed her race strategy just like we talked about. I couldn’t be happier for her to come home with MAC hardware.”
First Day: Feb. 26
The MAC Championships started with two of the five relay races on Wednesday, ending with Akron in first place with 74 team points and Bowling Green in last place with 46 team points.
Despite the team struggling, Falcon freshman Taylor Devorace earned a career-best with her 1:50.93 opening 200 yards in the 800 freestyle relay. The race was ultimately won by Akron with a time of 7:10.41.
Ohio won the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:36.98, a historic pool record in Buffalo, beating the previous time by 1.07 seconds. The Bobcats’ time was only 0.70 seconds shy of beating the MAC record held in the event.
Second Day: Feb. 27
Thursday ended with the Zips remaining in first place with 264 team points, while the Falcons improved to sixth place with 96 total team points.
The 500 freestyle was won by Akron junior Elle Couture with a time of 4:50.44. Overall, three out of the top 16 finishers in the event were from Akron.
Ohio sophomore Zita Szoke and Ball State junior Payton Kelly tied for first in the 50 freestyle at 22.23 seconds. Despite not winning the event, Akron increased its tournament lead further because five swimmers finished in the top 16.
Bowling Green junior Grace Bodrock helped the Falcons secure their first point of Day 2 with a 16th-place finish in the 200 IM.
Bowling Green then finished sixth in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:42.60, tallying 26 total team points.
Then, the MAC Championships host team, Buffalo, got their first win with a massive 312.05 1-meter diving score from senior Mari Kwak.
Bowling Green heavily improved their team score with a seventh-place 1-meter diving finish from senior Elise Snyder and an eighth-place finish from two-time MAC Diver of the Week Award winner, sophomore Natalia Mayorga.
Third Day: Feb. 28
Friday resulted in more dominance from Akron and Ohio, keeping the Zips in first place with 504 total team points and the Bobcats in second with 424.5 team points.
Bowling Green earned 59 points, bringing their total to 155 points and keeping them in sixth place heading into the final day.
Vial started the scoring for the Falcons, finishing in fourth place in the 400 IM with the fifth-fastest time in program history.
The 200 freestyle brought less success for the Orange and Brown as no Falcon swimmers placed. Ohio sophomore Zita Szoke won the event for her second gold medal of the weekend.
Bowling Green was led by sophomore Grace Perlberg in the 100 breaststroke and Junior Emily McNicol in the 100 backstroke, finishing 11th and 12th in their respective events.
The Falcons ended the day with a seventh-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. Akron won the event for their third relay win of the tournament.
Final Day: March. 1
Akron ran away with the championship on the final day because of a pool record victory in the 200 butterfly from Abby Daniel and a huge win in the 400 freestyle relay.
Daniel’s win was her third individual win in the tournament and the 400 freestyle relay win was Akron’s fourth relay win.
Miami won the 1650 freestyle and 200 backstroke events to regain third place from Buffalo while Ohio cemented itself in second place with junior Casadie DiBetta’s win in the 200 breaststroke.
Bowling Green had its best day of the tournament on Saturday, scoring 99.5 points and keeping them well ahead of EMU and Toledo to finish in sixth place in the tournament.
