The Akron women and Cornell men earned the Zippy Invitational titles this weekend.
Complete Women's Rankings
1. Akron, 2,007
2. Oakland University, 1,614
3. University at Buffalo, 1,546.5
4. Cornell University, 1,259
5. University of Toledo, 823.5
6. St. Bonaventure University, 616
7. Clarion University, 354
8. Bloomsburg University, 293
9. Niagara University, 274
10. Wheeling Jesuit University, 86
Complete Men's Rankings
1. Cornell University, 1,950
2. Oakland University, 1,770
3. University at Buffalo, 1,543
4. Bloomsburg University, 1,038
5. St. Bonaventure University, 648
6. Clarion University, 638
7. Niagara University, 566
8. Wheeling Jesuit University, 303
Akron Press Release
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron swimming and diving team continued their reign at the Zippy Invitational as the Zips defended their home pool and claimed their third consecutive Invitational crown after the three days of competition at the Ocasek Natatorium.
Following the three day invitational, the Zips won the women's field with a total of 2,007 points, followed by Oakland (1,614) in second, and Buffalo with 1,546.5 for third. On the men's side, Cornell came out on top with 1,950 points, second place went to Oakland with 1,770, and Buffalo came in third with 1,543.
The invitational consisted of 20 events for both the men and women. Out of those 20 events, Akron took home 10 first place finishes, and garnered 25 top three finishes. Throughout the weekend, the Zips broke three Mid-American Conference records, six meet records, and four ONAT records.
A new day came with the same success in the pool for Akron as the Zips broke another Mid-American Conference record in the 200 backstroke. Senior Luka Szynal (Lublin, Poland), who previously owned the league record after her performance at the 2016 MAC Championships, dashed through the water with ease clocking in at 1:52.94 for a first place finish and a new conference, program, meet and pool record.
Heading into the weekend, senior Kara Kaulius (McDonald, Pa.) owned the third-fastest time in the program (15:56.48) in the mile (1,650 yards). The senior went out and beat her personal-best time by five seconds, 16:51.10, which earned her third place and the programs new second fastest time.
After the preliminary round of the 100 freestyle, Akron claimed five of the eight available spots in the championship final round. In the evening, the Zips quickly dove off the blocks and ended up finishing second, third, fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. Sophomore Madison Myers (Akron, Ohio) took over the programs top time in the event after touching in at 49.33 for second and sophomore Sadie Fazekas (Windsor, Ontario) now owns the third fastest program time, 49.73.
Senior Paloma Marrero Munoz (Merida, Spain) swept the competition in the breaststroke events on the weekend. She completed the perfect weekend on the final day claiming first in the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:11.65. The time also qualified for a NCAA Division I B-cut time.
In the 200 butterfly, freshman Mackenzie Vargas (Roseville, Cali.) continued to impress in her first year with the Zips as she improved upon her personal-best time by .09 of a second (2:01.53) in her second place finish.
The Zips closed their annual invitation in Akron fashion by setting a new meet and pool record in the 400 freestyle relay. The combination of Myers, Engel, junior Susan Franz (Canton, Ohio), and Fazekas turned in a time of 3:19.59, which is now the second fastest time in the program.
Akron steps away from competition for a month before returning to action on Jan. 14 as the Zips go head-to-head with Rockets in Toledo, Ohio. During the month of December, the Zips head down to Florida for their annual training trip.
Oakland Press Release
AKRON, Ohio -- Holly Morren broke her own Horizon League and school record in the 100-yard freestyle by clocking a time of 49.46 during prelims of the final day of the Zippy Invitational Sunday at Ocasek Natatorium. She finished in fourth-place later in the finals session and earned her NCAA B-cut. Coming into this weekend’s meet, Morren was the only woman in conference history to swim a sub-50 second open 100 free and has done it six times now in her career.
Jeremiah Morren won the 100 free on the men’s side registering an NCAA B-cut time of 44.63, while Aleksander Danielewski won the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:46.14, also a B-cut.
Patricia Aschan also recorded an NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:15.83, which ranks sixth all-time in school history and is a career-best. Grace Shinske and Katie Colwell also swam times that cracked the program’s top-10 list in the 200 back (2:00.92; seventh all-time) and 100 free (51.09; 10th all-time) respectively. The 400 free relay team of Morren, Arynn de Leeuw, Aschan and Colwell swam to a time of 3:22.61, good for third all-time in school history.
Both Oakland swimming and diving teams finished runner-up in the meet and will next prepare for the team’s training trip in Florida later this month.
