FOLLOW OHIO SWIMMING & DIVING: Twitter | Instagram
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.
#OUohyeah
