FOLLOW OHIO SWIMMING & DIVING: Twitter | Instagram

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Ohio swimming and diving team opened the 2021-22 season Friday evening, falling to No. 12 Kentucky, 190-102, inside the Lancaster Aquatic Center.
 
"We're thrilled with the way the team competed tonight," head coach Mason Norman said. "We swam against a very good team in Kentucky that is the defending SEC champions. We could have very easily let that effect our objectives and everyone remained focused and that is something we are going to take with us throughout the season."
 
Sophomore Morgan Croaning (Bridgeville, Pa.) opened her season by placing third in the 1,000-yard freestyle, finishing in 10:24.84. Meanwhile, freshman Gabrielle McKee (Gilbertsville, PA) earned a four-place finish, touching in at 10:28.59. Croaning and McKee went on to tie for first in the 400-yard IM, both finishing the event in 4:36.52, while Croaning earned a fifth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing in 5:09.94. 
 
Junior Emma Fortman (Madeira, Ohio) opened her evening by picking up a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle, touching in at 1:52.84. 
 
Freshman Julia Strine (Shippensburg, Pa.) picked up a third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing in 1:04.85. Then in the 50 free, junior McKenzie Grau (Mason, Ohio) placed third and sophomore Caroline Dunigan (Lansdale, Pa.) finished in fourth place, touching in at 23.82 and 24.16, respectively. Grau also placed fourth in the 100-yard free with a time of 52.25. 
 
Sophomore Gabrielle Brust (Granville, Ohio) picked up right where she left off last season, earning nine points by placing first in the 100-yard backstroke in 56.19. In the same event, senior Athena Aravantinou (North Bethesda, Md.) finished third with a time of 57.16. Brust also picked up a first-place finish in the 100-yard fly, touching in at 55.98. 
 
Aravantinou came back later in the evening, placing third in the 200-yard backstroke, touching in at 2:02.95, while Fortman finished fifth with a time of 2:07.56. Junior Kelsey Morgan (Pickerington, Ohio) finished fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing in 2:21.36. 
 
In diving, junior Sienna Breton (Cheshire, Conn.) finished fourth in the 1-meter event with a score of 256.65. Meanwhile, Halli Siwik (Fishers, Ind.) picked up a fourth-place finish in the 3-meter event, earning a score of 253.05. 
 
The Bobcats are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 30 when Ohio heads to Muncie, Ind. to take on Ball State. The meet is set to begin at 11 a.m. 
 
#OUohyeah