The Akron Invitational concluded on Sunday evening with the men and women taking home 2nd place finishes. It was the highest team finish ever for the women at this meet, leaving them just points behind defending champion Ohio. The men were unable to defend their team title, but posted a higher team score than last year, showing how much they have improved in just a few short months.
The evening began with the 1650 free in which Jordan Deren placed 2nd overall with an impressive time of 17:15.95. Amanda Reall and Alisa Koopman finished 13th and 15th respectively in the event as well. Senior Jessica Ballard won the consolation heat with a time of 2:04.87, an in-season best time for her. Caroline Simmons placed 3rd in the 100 free (51.38) while Sam Palma finished 7th in the same event with a time of 52.94. Brynn Marecki placed 2nd in the 200 breast (2:22.33) and Logan Mason placed 9th in the 200 fly (2:10.28). The final event of the meet was the 400 free relay. The team of Jessica Ballard, Jordan Deren, Sam Palma and Caroline Simmons finished 4th.
Connor Vander Zalm began the session with a 3rd place finish in the men's 1650 free with a season best time of 16:22.98. The 200 back was one of the team's most impressive individual events of the weekend as Zach Ruske, Andrew Tamchyna, and Matt Schwippert finished 1st-2nd-5th. The Bulls also had 3 swimmers in the final heat of the 100 free. Sophomores Jared Heine, Simon Proudfoot, and Chad Miller combined for a 5th-6th-8th place finish. The team's strong showing in the 100 free meant great things for the 400 free relay, which placed 2nd overall.
