UB swimming and diving took second place in the Mid-American Conference Championships this weekend in Oxford, Ohio. The Bulls stood at second throughout the whole weekend behind Akron. They ended with 641 points while Akron scored 778.5 and took the victory for the second straight year.
UB had a strong day one — claiming two silver medals and setting a school record.
Junior swimmer Mia Naccarella, fifth-year Katie Pollock, senior Clarice Fisher and graduate Toni Naccarella won the silver medal in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:37.97.
The Bulls also competed in the 800 freestyle relay with sophomore Sawyer Bosley, Mia Naccarella, junior Marij van der Mast and Toni Naccarella. They finished at 7:11.06, breaking the school record and winning silver. The previous record was set in 2017 at 7:11.26. The Bulls ended with 68 points after day one.
On day two, van der Mast competed in the 500 freestyle, winning the B finals at a time of 4:51.39. Toni Naccarella earned her third career gold in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.51 seconds.
Bosley, Toni Naccarella, Mia Naccarella and senior Ellie Duley also competed in the 200 freestyle relay, finishing in second at 1:30.06. Senior diver Victoria Franz won gold in the 1-meter Dive, scoring 315.06 points. Sophomore diver Marialia Kwak won silver with 299.79 points. They ended day two behind Akron with 224 points.
To start off day three, Fisher finished in fourth place of the 100 butterfly at 53.30 seconds as freshman Nicole Aguilar touched the wall just after her in fifth place at 53.63 seconds.
Senior Lena Li won first place in the 400 IM B final at 4:21.41. Bosley went 1:46.12 in the 200 freestyle to claim silver.
Pollock competed in the 100 breaststroke championship final with a time of 1:00.66 to claim silver. Mia Naccarella, Pollock, Fisher and Bosley swam a time of 3:37.06 winning silver in the 400 medley relay to end day three. UB sat at 411 points at the end of the day.
On the last day of the MAC Championships, sophomore Abbey Malmstrom swam a 1:55.57 in the 200 backstroke to win bronze, while Mia Naccarella touched the wall at 1:57.83 to take fifth place.
Toni Naccarella claimed gold in the 100 freestyle with a time of 48.28, while Bosley touched the wall right after her to claim silver at a time of 49.77. UB took No. 1 and No. 2 on the podium for the 3-meter dive, as Kwak earned a score of 342.10 to claim gold and Franz earned 331.85 to claim silver. Bosley, Duley, Aguilar and Toni Naccarella ended the MAC Championships in second, winning silver for the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:17.57.
The Bulls ended their season with numerous honors, as five members earned first team All-MAC honors and two earned second team. Outstanding Senior of the Year was given to Toni Naccarella. Co-MAC Diver of the Year was given to Franz and Kwak while head diving coach Russ Dekker received MAC Diving Coach of the Year for the third year in a row.
Amy Maslin is a sports editor and can be reached at amy.maslin@ubspectrum.com
