The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
MAC Championships
Swimming and Diving Maintains First-Place Standing in Day Three of MAC Championships
February 27 | Women's Swimming & Diving
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Day Three Results | Combined Results
Ypsilanti, Mich. – With three program records set in Friday night's final session and a Mid-American Conference championship time in the 400 medley relay, the University of Akron swimming and diving team extended its first-place lead on day three of the 2015 MAC Championships at Jones Natatorium.
The Zips lead the tally with 440 points and are followed by Bowling Green in second place at 354. Eastern Michigan (344), Buffalo (318), and Miami (Ohio)(285) round out the top five.
The team of Luka Szynal, Amanda Lawson, Erin Seiler and Hannah Raspopovich posted Akron's third victory of the conference meet with a MAC championship time of 3:39.01 in the 400 medley relay. It is Akron's first-ever conference title in that event.
The mark of 3:39.01 was also good for a Jones Natatorium pool record, besting the time of 3:43.56 set by a team from Bowling Green in 2014.
Raspopovich, a junior, is a member of all three of Akron's conference champion relays.
The Zips posted three individual second-place finishes on the night.
Akron led the tally for most of the evening, with Buffalo managing a slim 255-252 lead following the first event.
Seiler helped the Zips take back the lead after notching a second-place finish in the 100 fly as she bested her own program record with a time of 53.09. She also broke the record during the preliminary session, swimming the event in 53.62 seconds. Junior Ashley Niznik finished sixth in the 100 fly, followed by senior Meghan Pearson in eighth.
Their finishes put Akron ahead of second-place Buffalo 307-294. The Zips would remain in first place throughout the end of the day.
In the next event, the 100-yard breaststroke, Raspopovich led Akron, claiming second place after touching at 1:01.61. Lawson followed close behind at 1:01.86 for fourth place. The duo's times both met the NCAA B standard.
In addition to the three program records set during the final session on Friday night, Lawson, a senior, also recorded the fastest 100-yard breaststroke time in Akron's history during preliminaries with a mark of 1:01.17.
Szynal set Akron's other program record during finals taking second in the 100 back at 54.19. The sophomore led the way for the Zips, edging Niznik and sophomore Laura Savariau who took third and fourth, respectively. Szynal and Savariau each met the NCAA B cut with her time.
The Zips return to Eastern Michigan's Jones Natatorium for the final day of the 2015 MAC Championships on Saturday. They look to defend their 2014 title with preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m. and finals set for 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
