Zips Swimming and Diving Seeks Five-Peat at 2018 MAC Championships

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AKRON, Ohio- The University of Akron swimming and diving team will begin its quest for a fifth-straight Mid-American Conference Championship as it heads to Athens, Ohio for the 2018 MAC Swimming and Diving Championships that will be held from Wednesday, Feb. 21 through Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Ohio University Aquatic Center on the campus of Ohio University.

Action begins on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. with the 200-medley relay, an event in which the Zips captured a MAC title a year ago.

On the final three days of competition, preliminaries will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by finals starting at 6:30 p.m.

In 2017, Akron tallied a total score of 750 points over the four-day event on the strength of three relay wins, five individual titles, and 20 top-three finishes.

Head coach Brian Peresie was named the MAC Coach of the Year for the fourth-straight year in 2017 and has led Akron to the MAC title in each season at the helm of the Zips' program.

"It's going to be a great week of racing," said Peresie. "There are a lot of great teams and individual performers in the MAC. This is always the most exciting time of the year and I know everyone will be giving their best efforts."

A talent-laden Akron roster will be led by four Zips who are seeking to defend their league titles won in 2017. Senior Paloma Marrero Munoz (Merida, Spain) captured the 200 breaststroke (2:10.03) a year ago, while juniors Sadie Fazekas (Windsor, Ontario) and Madison Myers (Akron, Ohio) along with sophomore Jackie Pash (Carmel, Ind.) took top honors in the 200 IM (1:56.92), 100 fly (52.71) and 400 IM (4:18.06), respectively.

Akron's freshman have made great strides this year and will compete with the top swimmers in the MAC. Freshmen Paula Garcia (Madrid, Spain), Brooke Lamoureux (Trenton, Ontario), Annie Lochridge (North Canton, Ohio), Paulina Nogaj (Radom, Poland), and Ally Wharton (New Albany, Ohio) all now hold top program records in their respective event.

"I think we will see some young stars shine bright this week," said Peresie. "However, a single star does not win a team championship. It takes a collective effort and investment in helping those around you succeed."

In the preseason poll by the respective MAC coaches, the Zips were selected as a unanimous favorite to defend their title at the 2018 Championships. Buffalo was tabbed to place second, followed by Eastern Michigan to finish third.

Akron enters the 2018 MAC championships with six overall regular season wins, including two invitational titles, and five head-to-head victories. The Zips fell just one time to MAC opponent Eastern Michigan, 162-138 on Nov. 4, 2017.

Zips Swimming and Diving Seeks Five-Peat at 2018 MAC Championships

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Players Mentioned

Sadie Fazekas

Paula Garcia

Brooke Lamoureux

Annie Lochridge

Paloma Marrero Munoz

Madison Myers

Paulina Nogaj

Jackie Pash

Ally Wharton

The University of Akron Athletics