TicketsDALLAS – The University of Cincinnati swimming and diving teams finished their 2021-22 season on Saturday night at the American Athletic Conference Championships.
The final night of events featured the men's and women's 1650-yard and 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, the platform diving finals and the 400-yard freestyle relays.
The women's team finished in fourth place with 571 points while the men finished behind SMU with 1,113 points.
TOP FINISHES
It was a one-two punch on the podium for the Bearcats in the 200-yard backstroke when senior Blake Hanna (1:42.66) and sophomore Hunter Gubeno (1:43.17) both recorded NCAA B-Standard times. Hanna has won this event in the championships on back-to-back occasions.
Freshman Will Claus scored a 323.10, set a new personal record and also placed second in school history in the men's platform dive.
Junior Michael Balcerak, graduate student Dominic Polling, senior Murat Sagdullaev, and Gubeno set another school record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:55.08.
Sophomore Erin Shema, senior Molly Chelovitz, sophomore Jessica Davis and graduate student Madeline Exton clocked a 3:21.36 in a thrilling 400-yard freestyle relay.
FINISHES TO NOTE
Junior Kevin Leibold and sophomore Alex Gonzalez finished second and third in the 1650-yard freestyle with times of 15:27.66 and 15:37.28, respectively, and Leibold's time is a new personal-best and puts him eighth in school history.
Sophomore Tommy Eaton and Balcerak put together second and third place finishes in the 200-yard butterfly with times of 1:43.73 and 1:45.55. These were both NCAA B-Standard times and Eaton's time set a new school record in the race.
Shema put up a new personal-best in the 200-yard backstroke when she clocked a time of 1:58.31 for third place.
Davis (50.12) finished third in the 100-yard freestyle with a new personal-best time that ranks eighth in Bearcats' history.
Polling's 1:56.75 time in the 200-yard breaststroke beat his old school record by .10 seconds and was fast enough to set a NCAA B-Standard time.
Junior Katherine Connolly clocked a NCAA B-Standard time with a 1:58.94 in the 200-yard butterfly, good enough for third place on the podium and a new personal-record and third in school history.
FINAL STANDINGS
Women's results:
Men's results:
AWARD SEASON
Balcerak was named the 2022 AAC Men's Swimmer of the Year for his outstanding 2021-22 junior season.
In February, Balcerak was named AAC swimmer of the week for his performance against Louisville which he took first and an NCAA B-Standard time in the 200-yard butterfly (1:45.69) and second places in the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley relay.
The Illinois native took second in four events against the University of Kentucky (200-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay) the same weekend.
Balcerak repeated his dominating performance at last year's AAC Championships were he won 100-yard butterfly, 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard medley relay.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For an inside look at Cincinnati swimming and diving follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@GoBearcatsSwim).
The final night of events featured the men's and women's 1650-yard and 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, the platform diving finals and the 400-yard freestyle relays.
The women's team finished in fourth place with 571 points while the men finished behind SMU with 1,113 points.
TOP FINISHES
It was a one-two punch on the podium for the Bearcats in the 200-yard backstroke when senior Blake Hanna (1:42.66) and sophomore Hunter Gubeno (1:43.17) both recorded NCAA B-Standard times. Hanna has won this event in the championships on back-to-back occasions.
Freshman Will Claus scored a 323.10, set a new personal record and also placed second in school history in the men's platform dive.
Junior Michael Balcerak, graduate student Dominic Polling, senior Murat Sagdullaev, and Gubeno set another school record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:55.08.
Sophomore Erin Shema, senior Molly Chelovitz, sophomore Jessica Davis and graduate student Madeline Exton clocked a 3:21.36 in a thrilling 400-yard freestyle relay.
FINISHES TO NOTE
Junior Kevin Leibold and sophomore Alex Gonzalez finished second and third in the 1650-yard freestyle with times of 15:27.66 and 15:37.28, respectively, and Leibold's time is a new personal-best and puts him eighth in school history.
Sophomore Tommy Eaton and Balcerak put together second and third place finishes in the 200-yard butterfly with times of 1:43.73 and 1:45.55. These were both NCAA B-Standard times and Eaton's time set a new school record in the race.
Shema put up a new personal-best in the 200-yard backstroke when she clocked a time of 1:58.31 for third place.
Davis (50.12) finished third in the 100-yard freestyle with a new personal-best time that ranks eighth in Bearcats' history.
Polling's 1:56.75 time in the 200-yard breaststroke beat his old school record by .10 seconds and was fast enough to set a NCAA B-Standard time.
Junior Katherine Connolly clocked a NCAA B-Standard time with a 1:58.94 in the 200-yard butterfly, good enough for third place on the podium and a new personal-record and third in school history.
FINAL STANDINGS
Women's results:
- Houston (866.5)
- SMU (866)
- Tulane (641)
- Cincinnati (571)
- ECU (236.5)
Men's results:
- SMU (1298)
- Cincinnati (1113)
AWARD SEASON
Balcerak was named the 2022 AAC Men's Swimmer of the Year for his outstanding 2021-22 junior season.
In February, Balcerak was named AAC swimmer of the week for his performance against Louisville which he took first and an NCAA B-Standard time in the 200-yard butterfly (1:45.69) and second places in the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley relay.
The Illinois native took second in four events against the University of Kentucky (200-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay) the same weekend.
Balcerak repeated his dominating performance at last year's AAC Championships were he won 100-yard butterfly, 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard medley relay.
Congratulations to @GoBearcatsSWIM junior Michael Balcerak on being named Men's Swimmer of the Year. pic.twitter.com/0qx9BGllyW
— American Swimming & Diving (@American_Swim) February 20, 2022
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For an inside look at Cincinnati swimming and diving follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@GoBearcatsSwim).