TicketsCINCINNATI—The University of Cincinnati opens the spring portion of the 2022-23 season by hosting Kenyon College inside the Keating Aquatic Center on Friday.
The meet will begin at 11:00 a.m. with the diving events, followed by the swimming events, starting at 2 p.m. Fans can follow the action through the meet mobile app. Stats will be published on the UC swimming and diving website at the conclusion of the meet. The meet will also be streamed on the Cincinnati Bearcats youtube channel.
"I am excited to kick off the start of our spring semester competitions by honoring our senior swimmers," head coach Mandy Commons-DiSalle said. "I'm very proud of this group that has been with me over the past four years. Not only are they extremely talented, but an outstanding group of young men & women who all have a very bright future. Thank you to these seniors for their commitment to Cincinnati."
// SENIOR DAY
Friday will also be senior day for the Bearcats. Nine seniors will be recognized before the start of the meet, Katherine Connolly, Lindsey Sanders, Mohamed Abdelbaky, Michael Balcerak, Calvin Coetzee, Ethan Hanna, Kevin Leibold, Josh Knapke, and Spencer Sehlhorst The recognition ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m.
This meet is the first of three-straight home meets for the Bearcats. The last time Cincinnati swam at home, they split the dual against Miami (OH) as the men's team won 216-84, while the women fell 166-134.
// SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Kenyon College is an NCAA Division III school competing in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Owls' head coach is Jess Book, who is currently in his 10th season at Kenyon. Both their men's and women's teams boast a 4-0 dual record on the season. The Owls women's swimming and diving team comes into Cincinnati ranked No. 1 in the latest CSCAA DIII top-25 poll, while the men ranked second.
The last time the Bearcats competed against Kenyon was in 2020 in a three-team dual with Xavier. Both Cincinnati teams won the meet. The last time the teams competed in just a dual was 2019, when Cincinnati went up to Gambler, Ohio and swept the dual as the men won 141-102 and the women won 156-87.
// LAST TIME OUT
The University of Cincinnati men's team was crowned team champions after recording three top-15 finishes at the 2022 CSCAA College National Open Water Championships on Sunday.
Freshman Ido Gal led the way for the UC men to claim their second Open Water team championship in UC history. Gal swam the 5K race in 54:45.46, placing third overall, tying the best finish by a Bearcat at the meet.
Junior Alex Gonzalez was right behind Gal, placing fourth overall with a time of 55:30.80. One of three UC men's team captains, junior Kevin Leibold , rounded out the Bearcat scorers with a time of 56:56.87, earning 15th overall.
Both Gal and Gonzalez earned invites to the USA Swimming 5K Open Water Championships.