???The women's swimming and diving teams headed into the final weekend of the regular season, looking for success on the road. They came back home with their best record since joining the Mid-American Conference in 1998.
???Friday night, the Bulls (9-3, 4-3 MAC) defeated Bowling Green (1-6, 1-6 MAC), 153.5-145.5, and Youngstown State (4-10), 222-77. They followed the sweep with a loss to Toledo (6-5, 5-2 MAC), 189-103, on Saturday.
???The team wanted to build momentum heading into the MAC Championship meet after beating St. Bonaventure in convincing fashion last weekend, according to head coach Andy Bashor.
???"We played well," Bashor said. "We really swam hard out there. We were on the bus for five hours and came up here looking to compete. I think we're playing as well as we could right now. To come away with two victories up here is really big for us."
???Sophomore swimmer Jordan Deren got the Bulls off to a fast start, taking first place in the 1,000-freestyle with a time of 10:27:53. Later, she finished first in the 500-freestyle with a time of 5:08:41.
???Junior swimmer Jessica Ballard also contributed to the victory. She posted an impressive time of 58.92 in the 100-backstroke. Following the win, she finished first in the 200-individual medley with a season-best time of 2:06:68.
???Freshman swimmer Brynn Marecki continued Buffalo's successful swimming with two first-place finishes for her squad. Marecki finished the 100-breaststroke with a time of 1:05:21 and the 200-breaststroke in 2:22:55. Sophomore swimmer Jessie Koltz took home first place in the 50-freestyle with a time of 24:50.
???The diving portion of the competition was dominated by the one-two punch of junior divers Meili Carpenter and Ursula Jeske.
???In the 1-meter event, Carpenter finished first with a score of 330.40 and Jeske followed her in second place, scoring 247.60.
???Carpenter placing first after scoring 263.35 in the 3-meter event. Jeske tied for second with Falcon freshman Molly Wood with a score of 230.15.
???Bashor was pleased with the individual efforts of her swimmers.
???"Jessica Ballard winning...was really huge for us," he said. "Meili Carpenter winning both boards was also a huge lift."
???Bashor is consistently looking for his team to compete with a will and to swim hard.
???"There is a constant message that I deliver," Bashor said. "We want to go out there and compete and race. It doesn't matter how you feel, good or bad. They're just very good at competing now. When they get in there and really race, that is what's good to see."
???Senior swimmer Alisha Yee and freshman Vicky Yu led the Falcons in their loss. The combination was responsible for three wins as well as two second-place finishes.
???Penguin senior Olivia Arnold finished second in two events and was the best swimmer for Youngstown State at the meet.
???Against the Rockets, Koltz finished first in 50 freestyle and second in 100 butterfly.
???The rest of the meet was highlighted by missed opportunities. Toledo captured both the 200-freestyle relay and the 200-medley relay by the narrowest of margins. They out-touched the Bulls in both contests, grabbing key first-place points.
???Buffalo now has thee weeks off to prepare the MAC Championship meet. The championship begins on Feb. 25 in Bowling Green, Ohio.
