DiBetta Wins Third-Straight MAC Championship and Szoke Wins Again-to-Again MAC Championships as Ohio Swim and Dive Finishes the MAC Championships in Second Place

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AKRON, Ohio – Senior Casadie DiBetta takes first within the 200-yard breaststroke for the third yr in a row, and junior Zita Szoke wins her second straight 100-yard freestyle, because the Ohio swim and dive crew completed competitors on the Mid-American Conference Championships on Saturday (Feb. 28) on the Oliver J. Ocasek Natatorium on the campus of Akron. Ohio completed the Championships second general with a rating of 559.

Following the meet, DiBetta and Szoke had been named First Team All-MAC, whereas freshman Juliette Daigneault, senior Emily Ellsworth, freshman Katrina Kollin, and junior Melanie Schweikert earned Second Team All-MAC honors.

Akron would take residence the championship with a rating of 771, whereas Ball State (500), Miami (492), Buffalo (446), Eastern Michigan (263), UMass (195), Toledo (174), and Bowling Green (159) would comply with the Bobcats on the ultimate leaderboard.

In the primary occasion of the ultimate day of competitors, senior Anna McGrath (Lewis Center, Ohio) would take fifth place general within the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:57.32. Kolllin (Dublin, Ohio) would end ninth general with a time of 17:05.08.

In the 200-yard backstroke, Schweikert (Maineville, Ohio) positioned fourth with a time of 1:55.40. Sophomore Juliana Slaninka (Mentor, Ohio) completed third within the comfort last, 11^th general, with a time of 1:59.02, and freshman Lily Baumgartner (Ada, Ohio) completed in fifth within the comfort last, 13^th general, with a time of 1:59.19.

In the 100-yard freestyle, Szoke (Serbia, Bejec) punched one other ticket to the 2026 NCAA Championships, profitable her second consecutive MAC Championship within the occasion, ending with a time of 47.59. Earlier within the preliminary spherical, Szoke set a brand new Ohio, MAC, Championship, and Akron Pool Record within the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 47.55. Daigneault (Scottsdale, Ariz.) would end behind Szoke in sixth place general with a time of 49.77. Freshman Tori Wittenberg (Medford, N.J) would end fifth within the comfort last, 13^th general, with a time of fifty.26.

DiBetta (St. Clairsville, Ohio) punches her first ticket to the NCAA Championships, profitable her third consecutive 200-yard breaststroke championship with a time of two:09.33, a brand new Ohio report. DiBetta is the primary Bobcat breaststroke swimmer in 26 years to punch their ticket to the NCAA Championships. Ellsworth (Westerville, Ohio) would end in fifth place with a time of two:13.71.

Ohio had two podium finishes within the 200-yard butterfly, with freshman Jana Macik (Aldie, Va.) ending in third place with a time of 1:58.75 and junior Isabella Arbaugh (Ann Arbor, Mich.) ending in seventh place with a time of two:02.40.

Junior Astrid Pichardo (Guanajuato, Mexico) positioned seventh general in 3-meter diving with an general rating of 261.10.

In the ultimate occasion of the evening, Ohio would take second place within the 400-yard freestyle relay. Wittenberg, Szoke, Daigneault, and junior Jordan Claypoole (Parkersburg, W. Va.) would end with a time of three:16.66, setting a brand new Ohio report.

Up subsequent, the Bobcats will head to the 2026 CSCAA National Invitational in Ocala, Fla., March 12-14. Those who qualify will head to the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships March 11-13. DiBetta and Szoke will head to the NCAA Championships in Atlanta, Ga. March 18-21.

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