Zips Drop 12-point Heartbreaker Against Oakland

November 14 | Women's Swimming & Diving

AKRON, Ohio - Akron's swimming and diving program played host to Oakland this afternoon. The Zips tallied 41 top-five finishes, including six wins but could not hold off the Grizzlies' attack, dropping a heartbreaking 156-144 decision in Ocasek Natatorium.

The non-conference loss drops UA's record to 1-5 (1-3 MAC) while Oakland improves to 3-2 (0-0 Summit League) on the year.

Oakland came out blazing, capturing wins in the first two events but Akron made a strong statement in the third by taking the top three slots in 200-yard freestyle. Senior Julia Gregos won the race in a time of 1:54.78 while fellow senior Melissa Gary captured second place (1:56.65) as freshman Rebecca Emerich rounded out the Zips in third (1:59.28).

Senior Kendall Karchner kept the Zips rolling in the 100-yard backstroke, as she tapped in second with a time of 56.52 ahead of freshman Kelsea Cross who finished with a time of 58.00. Karchner also claimed the win in the 200-yard backstroke with a 2:05.46 timestamp while freshman Rebecca Zimmer tapped in third with a time of 2:09.16. Zimmer would also claim a third place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle, swimming in a time of 10:40.37.

Seniors Cathryn Collins and Kylie Bombrys delivered the 2-3 finish in the 200-yard butterfly as Collins tapped in second (2:03.66) while Bombrys finished third (2:06.05).

Collins, one of the Zips top-performers today, won the 500-yard freestyle race with a 5:02.73 timestamp while Gregos tapped into third place with a time of 5:08.34. Collins also finished second in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:11.05.

In the 100-yard breaststroke senior Stephanie Zielinski earned a second place finish with a time of 1:06.00 while junior Julie Reynolds finished fourth in a time of 1:06.87. Zielinski turned it up a notch in the 100-yard freestyle as she and Miles collaborated for the 1-2 finish with respective times of 52.33 and 52.66.

UA freshmen continue rising to the occasion as Katie Miles delivered a win in the 50-yard in a time of 24.00. Freshman Kelsea Cross tapped in at second in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 59.00 while Cross finished third in the 200-yard individual medley, swimming in a time of 2:11.42.

In the 1-meter diving segment, sophomore Leeanna Hoover finished second with a score of 260.55. Hoover also paced the Zips from the 3-meter board, finishing second with 249.83 points. Sophomore Aubrey Akromas dove into third with a score of 242.63 while junior Jayne Malloy finished fourth with 232.28 points.

The UA relay teams performed well as the Akron's "A" team won the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:35.82 with Zielinski, Miles, sophomore Meg Finnerty and Gregos assisting on the swim. Akron's "A" team also finished second in the 400-yard medley relay to open the meet this afternoon, Karchner, freshman Rachel Szymkowiak, Miles and Zielinski finished with a time of 3:55.65.

The Zips are absent from competition until Dec. 4-6 when Akron hosts the Zippy Invitational which welcomes 21 men's and women's swimming and diving programs from 12 different school to compete in Ocasek Natatorium.