Norman Named Coach of the Year as Ohio Swim and Dive Finishes Second at 2025 MAC Championships

Saturday, March 1

Buffalo, N.Y.

10 a.m./ 6 p.m.

Mid-American Conference

Norman Named Coach of the Year as Ohio Swim and Dive Finishes Second at 2025 MAC Championships

3/1/2025 9:12:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

2025 MAC Championship Complete Results Day Four Results Photo Gallery

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BUFFALO, N.Y. – Ohio swimming and diving head coach Mason Norman was named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, as the Bobcats wrapped up the 2025 MAC Championships in second place with 637.5 points. It's the highest finish for the Bobcats since they finished second in 2013. Norman is the first Ohio coach to win MAC Coach of the Year Honors since 2011.

Sophomore Zita Szoke (Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary) was crowned MAC Champion in the 100 free, while junior Casadie DiBetta (St. Clairsville, Ohio) repeated as MAC Champion in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Following the meet, Szoke, DiBetta, senior Gabrielle McKee (Gilbertsville, Pa.), junior Emily Ellsworth (Westerville, Ohio) and graduate student Caroline Dunigan (Lansdale, Pa.) were named First Team All-MAC, while senior Julia Strine (Shippensburg, Pa.) and junior Morgan Brownc(Roanoke, Ind.) earned Second Team All-MAC honors.

Ohio opened the night in the 1650 free, with McKee placing second overall with a time of 16:48.98. Junior Anna McGrath (Lewis Center, Ohio) earned a sixth-place finish with a time of 17:03.35, while freshman Melissa Blaine (Cape Coral, Fla.) finished 14^th with a time of 17:26.31.

In the 200-yard backstroke, sophomore Melanie Schweikert (Maineville, Ohio) placed fifth, finishing with a time of 1:58.98, while Brown finished eighth, touching in with a time of 200.35. Then in her first MAC Championships, freshman Juliana Slaninka finished 12^th, touching in with a time of 1:59.83.

After setting the school, pool, MAC and MAC Championship record in the 100 free prelims with a time of 47.84, Szoke was back in action in the finals, winning the event and her third individual championship of the week, touching in with a time of 47.89.

Dunigan finished high in the 100 free, placing fourth overall with a time of49.39.

DiBetta was back in action in the 200-yard breaststroke, repeating as MAC champion with a new school and pool record with a time of 2:10.99. The win made DiBetta the first back-to-back champion in the event since 2013-14.

Ohio continued to put up a number of points in the 200 breast, with Strine placing second with a time of 2:11.91, while Ellsworth placed fourth with a time of 2:15.38. Senior Raphaelle Anglade (Toulouse, France) wrapped up the 'A' final finishes for Ohio with a seventh-place finish and a time of 2:16.71. Senior Edie Sawyer (Cranberry Township, Pa.) placed sixth in the 'B' final and 14^th overall with a time of 2:19.26.

In the 3- meter dive, sophomore Stephanie Balthaser (Delaware, Ohio) placed eighth in her first career MAC finals, recording a score of 231.40.

In the final event of the night, the 400-yard free relay, the Ohio squad of Zoke, Dunigan, freshman Jordan Claypoole (Parkersburg, W. Va.) and sophomore Katie Buroker (Zionsville, Ind.) placed second with a school record time of 3:17.73.

Up next, the Bobcats will head to Ocala, Fla. for the 2025 CSCAA National Invitational Championship March 12-15. Those who qualify will head to NCAA Zone C Diving Championships March 13-15, and the NCAA Championships March 19-22 in Federal Way, Wash.

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