The University of Akron Athletics
Saturday, February 24
Athens, OH
PRELIMS 11 AM | FINALS 7 PM
University of Akron
827.5
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Day 4
Photo by: Ernie Aranyosi
Akron Swimming and Diving Secures Coveted Fifth-Straight Mid-American Conference Championship
February 25 | Women's Swimming & Diving
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Results (PDF)
ATHENS, Ohio- The University of Akron swimming and diving team captured its fifth-straight Mid-American Conference Championship behind a dominating performance during the four-day event totaling 827.5 points on Saturday evening at the Ohio University Aquatic Center.
"This is a great victory for us and to be able to do this five years in a row is just unbelievable," said head coach Brian Peresie. "It's been an incredible experience and we are proud to represent the University of Akron the best way we can. I'm excited for this group and excited for our seniors. A couple of us will be moving on to the NCAA Championships, but the season is not over yet and this is a great victory for us."
Akron's team score marks the highest total ever at a Mid-American Conference championship with an eight-team field. The Zips held the last record of 773.50 points from 2016.
The Akron swimming and diving team garnered 13 postseason awards. Senior Paloma Marrero Munoz (Merida, Spain), junior Sadie Fazekas (Windsor, Ontario), junior Madison Myers (Akron, Ohio), sophomore Ellie Nebraska (Columbus, Ohio), sophomore Jackie Pash (Carmel, Ind.) and sophomore Mackenzie Vargas (Roseville, Cali.) were all named to the All-MAC first team. Sophomore Morgan Waggoner (Fremont, Ohio), freshman Paula Garcia (Madrid, Spain), and freshman Annie Lochridge (North Canton, Ohio) received All-MAC second team accolades.
Marrero was selected as the prestigious Most Outstanding Swimmer award and Nogaj was named Freshman Swimmer of the Year.
Head coach Brian Peresie was named the 2018 MAC Coach of the Year for the fifth consecutive year.
At the end of the four-day event, the Zips claimed five relay MAC titles in the 200 medley relay, 800 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, 400 medley relay, and the 400 freestyle relay.
In the final day of the championships, the Zips did not hold back. In the 200 butterfly event, Akron claimed the top-four spots. Mackenzie Vargas won the event and broke a meet record with a time of 1:57.05. Nogaj also broke the meet record with a 1:57.24 and claimed second place. Sophomore Jessica Bonezzi (Wooster, Ohio) took third (2:00.78), with Pash rounding out the fourth-spot with a 2:00.39 time.
Freshman Brooke Lamoureux (Trenton, Ontario) finished fourth in the distance race during the 1650 freestyle and posted a program-best time of 16:27.17. Lamoureux also recorded a program-best time at the 1000 mark in the 1650 race.
The Zips claimed second and third in the 100 freestyle with Waggoner placing second (49.45), followed by Fazekas who took third (49.88). Akron continued its podium marks with Marrero touching the wall first in 2:09.13, a new meet record. Fazekas took third in the event and clocked in at 2:11.16.
On the boards, junior Karly Crail (Edgewood, Ky.) claimed a podium spot in the three-meter diving event with a fifth-place finish scoring 284.45 points.
The final event of the 2018 MAC Championships belonged to Akron to cap off a spectacular weekend. The squad of Waggoner, Nogaj, Myers, and Nebraska touched in at 3:18.92 to claim the 400 freestyle relay event.
Eastern Michigan finished the 2018 MAC Championships as the runner-up with 590.5 points, followed by Buffalo with 573 points.
TEAM RANKINGS
MAC Post Season Specialty Awards
Swimming Coach of the Year: Brian Peresie, Akron
Diving Coach of the Year: Buck Smith, Eastern Michigan
Co-Most Outstanding Swimmer: Paloma Marrero, Akron / Nicole Swartz, EMU
Co-Most Outstanding Diver: Pei Lin, Miami / Talisa Lemke, BGSU
Most Outstanding Senior: Pei Lin, Miami
Freshman Swimmer of the Year: Paulina Nogaj, Akron
Freshman Diver of the Year: Mikela Schempf, Eastern Michigan
All-MAC First Team
Paloma Marrero Munoz, Akron
Sadie Fazekas, Akron
Madison Myers, Akron
Paulina Nogaj, Akron
Ellie Nebraska, Akron
Jackie Pash, Akron
Mackenzie Vargas, Akron
Talisa Lemke, Bowling Green
Megan Burns, Buffalo
Hannah Miller, Buffalo
Delaney Duncan, Eastern Michigan
Nicole Swartz, Eastern Michigan
Casey Gavigan, Eastern Michigan
Ella Moynihan, Miami
Pei Lin, Miami
Corrin Van Lanen, Ohio
All-MAC Second Team
Nicole Roitenberg, Buffalo
Brittany Beetcher, Buffalo
Claire Young, Eastern Michigan
Morgan Waggoner, Akron
Holly Schuster, Miami
Andrea Ernst, Buffalo
Carolyn Junger, Miami
Izzy Jones, Toledo
Emma Bradley, Miami
Paula Garcia, Akron
Eve Kosten, Buffalo
Brielle Johnston, Eastern Michigan
Emily Zimcosky, Ohio
Annie Lochridge, Akron
Izzy Herb, Miami
Results (PDF)
ATHENS, Ohio- The University of Akron swimming and diving team captured its fifth-straight Mid-American Conference Championship behind a dominating performance during the four-day event totaling 827.5 points on Saturday evening at the Ohio University Aquatic Center.
"This is a great victory for us and to be able to do this five years in a row is just unbelievable," said head coach Brian Peresie. "It's been an incredible experience and we are proud to represent the University of Akron the best way we can. I'm excited for this group and excited for our seniors. A couple of us will be moving on to the NCAA Championships, but the season is not over yet and this is a great victory for us."
Akron's team score marks the highest total ever at a Mid-American Conference championship with an eight-team field. The Zips held the last record of 773.50 points from 2016.
The Akron swimming and diving team garnered 13 postseason awards. Senior Paloma Marrero Munoz (Merida, Spain), junior Sadie Fazekas (Windsor, Ontario), junior Madison Myers (Akron, Ohio), sophomore Ellie Nebraska (Columbus, Ohio), sophomore Jackie Pash (Carmel, Ind.) and sophomore Mackenzie Vargas (Roseville, Cali.) were all named to the All-MAC first team. Sophomore Morgan Waggoner (Fremont, Ohio), freshman Paula Garcia (Madrid, Spain), and freshman Annie Lochridge (North Canton, Ohio) received All-MAC second team accolades.
Marrero was selected as the prestigious Most Outstanding Swimmer award and Nogaj was named Freshman Swimmer of the Year.
Head coach Brian Peresie was named the 2018 MAC Coach of the Year for the fifth consecutive year.
At the end of the four-day event, the Zips claimed five relay MAC titles in the 200 medley relay, 800 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, 400 medley relay, and the 400 freestyle relay.
In the final day of the championships, the Zips did not hold back. In the 200 butterfly event, Akron claimed the top-four spots. Mackenzie Vargas won the event and broke a meet record with a time of 1:57.05. Nogaj also broke the meet record with a 1:57.24 and claimed second place. Sophomore Jessica Bonezzi (Wooster, Ohio) took third (2:00.78), with Pash rounding out the fourth-spot with a 2:00.39 time.
Freshman Brooke Lamoureux (Trenton, Ontario) finished fourth in the distance race during the 1650 freestyle and posted a program-best time of 16:27.17. Lamoureux also recorded a program-best time at the 1000 mark in the 1650 race.
The Zips claimed second and third in the 100 freestyle with Waggoner placing second (49.45), followed by Fazekas who took third (49.88). Akron continued its podium marks with Marrero touching the wall first in 2:09.13, a new meet record. Fazekas took third in the event and clocked in at 2:11.16.
On the boards, junior Karly Crail (Edgewood, Ky.) claimed a podium spot in the three-meter diving event with a fifth-place finish scoring 284.45 points.
The final event of the 2018 MAC Championships belonged to Akron to cap off a spectacular weekend. The squad of Waggoner, Nogaj, Myers, and Nebraska touched in at 3:18.92 to claim the 400 freestyle relay event.
Eastern Michigan finished the 2018 MAC Championships as the runner-up with 590.5 points, followed by Buffalo with 573 points.
TEAM RANKINGS
- Akron - 827.5
- Eastern Michigan - 590.5
- Buffalo - 573
- Miami - 516
- Bowling Green - 333
- Toledo - 254
- Ohio - 253
- Ball State - 158
MAC Post Season Specialty Awards
Swimming Coach of the Year: Brian Peresie, Akron
Diving Coach of the Year: Buck Smith, Eastern Michigan
Co-Most Outstanding Swimmer: Paloma Marrero, Akron / Nicole Swartz, EMU
Co-Most Outstanding Diver: Pei Lin, Miami / Talisa Lemke, BGSU
Most Outstanding Senior: Pei Lin, Miami
Freshman Swimmer of the Year: Paulina Nogaj, Akron
Freshman Diver of the Year: Mikela Schempf, Eastern Michigan
All-MAC First Team
Paloma Marrero Munoz, Akron
Sadie Fazekas, Akron
Madison Myers, Akron
Paulina Nogaj, Akron
Ellie Nebraska, Akron
Jackie Pash, Akron
Mackenzie Vargas, Akron
Talisa Lemke, Bowling Green
Megan Burns, Buffalo
Hannah Miller, Buffalo
Delaney Duncan, Eastern Michigan
Nicole Swartz, Eastern Michigan
Casey Gavigan, Eastern Michigan
Ella Moynihan, Miami
Pei Lin, Miami
Corrin Van Lanen, Ohio
All-MAC Second Team
Nicole Roitenberg, Buffalo
Brittany Beetcher, Buffalo
Claire Young, Eastern Michigan
Morgan Waggoner, Akron
Holly Schuster, Miami
Andrea Ernst, Buffalo
Carolyn Junger, Miami
Izzy Jones, Toledo
Emma Bradley, Miami
Paula Garcia, Akron
Eve Kosten, Buffalo
Brielle Johnston, Eastern Michigan
Emily Zimcosky, Ohio
Annie Lochridge, Akron
Izzy Herb, Miami
Players Mentioned
Fly/ Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Fly/Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breast
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breast
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Back/Free/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Back
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
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