MORGANTOWN, W. Va. â€" The Ohio women’s swimming and diving team wrapped up its final road meet of the regular season, falling 155-143 to Big 12 foe West Virginia Saturday evening.
The meet began with the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet of Addison Ferguson (Westfield Center, Ohio), Tori Bagan (Roanoke, Ind.), Laura Dawson (Newcastle Upon Tyne, Eng.), and Liz Murphy (Western Springs, Ill.) got the Bobcats rolling with a first-place finish in the event, with a time of 1:44.83.
Bianca Hauzer (Bedfordview, South Africa) and Stephanie Gyurke (Bellvue, Ohio) followed in the 1,000-yard freestyle, earning second and third-place, respectively. Hauzer’s time was 10:28.31, and Gyurke’s was 10:40.32.
Ohio continued to make a splash, sweeping the podium in the 200-yard freestyle event. Dawson brought in the win with a final time of 1:51.58 and was followed by Josie Barker (Richmond, N. Yorkshire, Eng.) with a time of 1:54.59. In third-place was Katie Lemen (Carmel, Ind.) with a time of 1:55.53.
Ferguson continued to be a force for the Bobcats in the 100-yard backstroke, winning the event with a time of 55.50. This time broke the WVU pool record from 2011, which stood at 56.51. Bagan followed with a win in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing with a time of 1:03.45. Hannah Shinn (Waterloo, Ill.) finished third in the event, with a time of 1:07.85.
The meet continued into the 200-yard butterfly, in which Elena Patz (Waunakee, Wis.) earned the bronze with a final time of 2:07.10. Murphy swam after her teammate in the 50-yard freestyle event, winning the silver in 24.59.
The meet then turned to the diving events, in which Karrisa Conner (Granite Bay, Calif.) earned bronze in the 1-meter event. Her final score was 234.21.
As the competition returned to swimming, Lemen and Barker stepped back to the blocks to compete in the 100-yard freestyle event. Lemen earned second place with a time of 53.43, and Barker earned third with a final time of 53.55.
Dawson and Ferguson competed next in the 200-yard backstroke, in which Ohio earned a win and a second-place finish. Dawson won the race with a time of 1:59.56, and Ferguson followed with a time of 2:02.91. Bagan returned afterwards in the 200-yard breaststroke event, earning second place with a time of 2:23.31.
The competition then turned to the second distance event of the afternoon, the 500-yard freestyle. Hauzer and Barker showed well for the Bobcats, with Hauzer earning the silver with a time of 5:04.71 and Barker earning bronze with a final time of 5:09.28.
The next event was the 100-yard butterfly, in which Ferguson won her second individual event of the meet. She completed the event with a time of 56.10. Carrie Dukes (Monktown, Md.) followed with a third-place finish, with a time of 57.34.
Dawson competed in the final individual event of the afternoon, the 200-yard individual medley, and brought in her third individual win of the meet with a time of 2:07.13. Gyurke won third-place in the event, with a time of 2:09.69.
The competition finished with the 200-yard freestyle relay. The Bobcats earned the gold and the bronze to finish the meet, with the team of Bagan, Haley Clark (College Station, Texas), Lemen, and Murphy won the race with a time of 1:36.49. The relay of Dukes, Hauzer, Michelle Gaisor (Louisville, Ken.), and Barker earned third with a time of 1:39.82.
“We had a great meet against WVU,†first year head coach Rachel Komisarz-Baugh said. “The team really stepped up and pulled together. It was a close meet and I'm proud of the girls for fighting all the way through. Overall, we had 23 in-season best times.
The Bobcats wrap up the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 7 when they return to Athens for their final tune-up before the Mid-American Conference Championships. Ohio will take on Miami at 1 p.m. inside the Ohio University Aquatics Center.
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