The Miami University women's swimming and diving team saw its winning streak come to an end Saturday at the Nixon Aquatic Center after Ohio University (OU) dominated the dual meet 163-135. The men's team hosted the Ball State University (BSU) Cardinals, improving its record with a score of 132-104.

The men's team won its first six events along with three later victories to capture the win from the Cardinals.

Four of the seniors swimming in their final home competition earned first place finishes. Darin Smith took first in the 1,000 freestyle, John Eick touched first in the 50 freestyle, Ryan Neff earned first place points in the 400 individual medley and Jason Hass placed first in the 200 butterfly.

"I was very pleased to see our seniors step up today," Head Coach Pete Lindsay said. "Young swimmers like Sam Childs, Tom Delves and Matt McKee also had some of their best swims this season."

Sophomore Chris Hoppler represented the diving team and dominated the one and three-meter events, while sophomore Sam Childs and senior Brendan Melling claimed first in the 200 freestyle and the 200 breaststroke.

The women's swimming and diving team was not as successful against OU. The Bobcats solidified and clenched the victory after winning eight of the final 10 events. This is the first dual meet loss the 'Hawks have faced since October, when they took on Purdue University.

Miami started strong, dominating the 200 medley relay with the help of Leah Thornton, Bekka Westrick and Nicole Roddenbery. The team remained in the lead until the diving event, in which OU claimed first, third and fourth, which put the Bobcats ahead of the RedHawks.

The meet remained close when seniors Kelsey Vehr and Megan Brunn were victorious in the 200 breaststrokes, tightening the deficit to only 11 points.

Miami was unable to recover from the point deficit, as OU continued to dominate events. The meet finished with an Ohio victory in the 400 freestyle, which clinched the win for the Bobcats.

"Every meet is a learning experience to prepare for the MAC championships in February," sophomore Lisa Werwenski said. "I know the swimmers talked about technical things that could be improved, such as starts and turns. In terms of diving, we just need to work on consistency and getting cleaner entries."  

Both the men and women's teams will begin their specialized training to prepare for the upcoming Mid-American Conference (MAC) championships.