ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio Swim and Dive Team will look to build upon an impressive finish to the 2024-25 season with more success in 2025-26.
Last season, Ohio went 4-1 in dual meets and 2-1 in the Mid-American Conference before placing second at the MAC Championship Meet. The Bobcats will return a handful of their talent from last season but will also look to some talented newcomers.
"I think (this team) has something to prove," Ohio coach Mason Norman said. "I think that for the first time in my career… I'm seeing a winning culture of them wanting to win, led by the athletes, not by me."
Of the 30 athletes on Ohio's roster, 12 are newcomers, 11 of whom are freshmen. With a wealth of newcomers on the roster, Norman has made sure to emphasize the culture of the program through the upperclassman leadership on the team.
"We had really, like, a huge shift on our team of people that were leaving the program," Norman said. "We have 12 new people this year. So one factor that we kind of took as a priority was to spend a little bit of time with the captains, having the captains spend a little bit more time with their team."
The leadership quality of this year's team is one of its most exciting qualities, according to Norman.
"This is now my eighth season, and I feel like I've always had to push the narrative of like, win a championship, do the things that it takes to win," Norman said. "This is the first time in those eight years I feel like they feel that, and not just individuals, but across the board."
Ohio will start its quest for success this Saturday when it hosts Buffalo and Marshall at the Aquatic Center in Athens, Ohio. Two weeks later, it will go on the road to take on Ball State in a dual meet.
Something slightly out of the ordinary for Ohio this year will be its schedule. Norman and his team won't participate in a meet every single weekend like other programs; instead, they will swim every few weeks and focus on training in between.
"The way that it's paced out, I think, is really going to be beneficial for us, and I think that there's some design behind that, but also, it's kind of luck," Norman said.
Other Ohio meets this season include the TYR '85 Invite in Lynchburg, Virginia, from Nov. 20 through Nov. 23, followed by the Toyota U.S. Open in Austin, Texas, to start December. The Bobcats will partake in a dive-only meet at Buffalo from January 8 through 10.
Ohio's final meet before the MAC Championship will be against Akron on the road, January 30th and 31st.
Ohio had plenty of success last season, led by returning swimmer Zita Szoke (Serbia, Becej), who was named First-Team All-MAC after being a MAC Champion in the 100 and 200-free and becoming the first All-American in 25 years after placing 11th in the 100-free at NCAA Championships. Ohio's other MAC Champion from a season ago was Casadie DiBetta (Saint Clairsville, Ohio), who won the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Both DiBetta and Szoke will return for the Bobcats this season.
Norman believes that his team improved most in the 200-fly and 200-backstroke thanks to the incoming freshmen and transfers they were able to bring in before the season.
The season is just around the corner as Ohio will begin with a meet at home against Marshall and Buffalo this weekend (Oct. 24-25) at the Aquatic Center. The event is set to get started at 5 p.m. ET Friday, followed by a 10 a.m. start time Saturday. The meet can be streamed on YouTube.
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